Feeding Frequency Effects on Water Quality and Growth of Walleye Fingerlings in Intensive Culture

Abstract

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of feeding frequency on water quality and the growth of fingerling walleyes Stizostedion vitreum raised in intensive culture. Walleyes were fed 9 or 90 feedings/d for 63 d in experiment 1 (E1) and 3 or 30 feedings/d for 56 d in experiment 2 (E2). In both experiments, the means of daily measurements of dissolved oxygen were significantly higher and means of total ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) were significantly lower in the treatment receiving the greater number of feedings per day. Final means of fish length and weight, coefficients of variability of length and weight, growth rates, and food conversions (feed fed/weight gained) did not differ significantly between feeding frequency treatments in either E1 or E2. The length-frequency distributions in both feeding trials were normal, and there were no significant differences in normality, kurtosis, or skewness between feeding frequencies. The results demonstrate that multiple feedings per day can b...