EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FEEDS ON MATURATION OF SNAKEHEAD (CHANNA LUCIUS, CUVIER, 1831) CULTURED IN EARTHERN PONDS

This study aims to find a suitable feed for the maturation of snakehead (Channa lucius) cultured in pond systems. The experiment was designed randomly in two different treatments, trash fish (treatment 1) and pelletfeed (treatment 2), respectively. Each treatment was repeated three times. The weight of females selected for the experiment was about 102 ± 3,12g. Environmental factors were controlled in an appropriate range for fish growth and mature during the experiment. After 120 days of rearing, the final values of gonad somatic index of fish in treatment 1 and treatment 2 were respectively 3.61 ± 1.1 and 3.54 ± 1.8%. Condition factors of fish in treatment 1 and treatment 2 were 0.0093 ± 0.0013; 0.0095 ± 0.0008, respectively. Absolute fecundity of the fish in treatment 1 was 41,951 ± 7,820 eggs/kg, whereas this value in treatment 2 was 42,106 ± 7,201 eggs/kg. Relative fecundity of the fish in treatment 1 and treatment 2 were 5,762 ± 1,580 and 4,296 ± 737 eggs/fish,respectively. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the maturity rate of fish in treatment 1 and treatment 2, which were 75.0 ± 0.38% and 72.7 ± 0.28%, respectively. The results gained from this study indicated that both treatments (treatment 1 and treatment 2) were equally good for fish maturational characteristics of snakehead (Channa lucius).