EFFECT OF THE RATION PROCESSING AND USE OF THE BINDERS ON GROWTH OF BULLFROG TADPOLES (Rana catesbeiana SHAW, 1802)

Abstract

The present work was carried out at the Aquaculture Center Nutrition Laboratory, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias í  UNESP - Jaboticabal, during the period January 23 to March 27, 1995. The aim of the present experiment was to study the effect of different ration processings (pelleted, bran, aggregated ration) with different binders (wheat flour and gelatin) on growth of the bullfrog tadpoles. Six dietary treatments were used in a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement employing a completely randomized design. The ration processing significantIy affected the weight gain, feed conversion and survival of the tadpoles, independently of the binder employed. The results suggest that at the initial development stage (fourth week) the best performance was observed in the tadpoles fed the aggregated dough diet and, after this period, with the pelleted ration.