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Abstract
The leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) is a high-value marine species, with successful breeding studies conducted in several countries, including Vietnam, although survival rates remain low. One unresolved factor contributing to this issue is the appropriateness of the diet and feeding frequency for juveniles. This study focused on addressing these two aspects. Juvenile groupers with an average length of 20.91 mm were used, and experiments were conducted with four feeding rates (5%, 8%, 10%, and 13% of body weight) and three feeding frequencies (1, 2, and 3 times per day). Results indicated that a feeding rate of 5% body weight provided the fastest growth in length (41.10 ± 0.97 cm/fish), weight (3.43 ± 0.08 g/fish), and the highest survival rate (76.7%) (p<0.05). Increasing the feeding rate from 5% to 10% reduced the size variation (p<0.05) but had no effect on deformity rate (p>0.05). In terms of feeding frequency, the best growth performance was observed with three daily feedings, resulting in optimal length (47.20 ± 1.36 cm/fish), weight (3.54 ± 0.29 g/fish), and survival rate (73.3%) at the end of the nursery phase (p<0.05). Similar trends were observed for size variation, deformity rate, and feed conversion ratio (FCR), but no significant difference was found compared to the twice-a-day feeding group (p>0.05). Thus, a feeding regime of 5% body weight at a frequency of three times per day is recommended for optimal growth and production efficiency of juvenile leopard coral grouper during the nursery phase.
Keywords: Leopard coral trout grouper (Plectropomus leopardus), feeding rate, feeding frequency, FCR, coefficient variation, deformity rate.