Evaluation of different dietary protein levels on growth performance in the culture of Pearlspot, Etroplus suratensis (Bloch, 1790) in freshwater

Pearlspot (Etroplus suratensis) is an indigenous fish extensively found along the east and south-west coasts of Peninsular India and is an excellent table fish of delicacy, fetching a good demand and market price due to its taste and appearance. It can be farmed under extensive and intensive farming in freshwater and salt water eco-systems in ponds and cages. The growth of pearlspot in freshwater ecosystem is mainly influenced by dietary protein levels. The present study was conducted in the cement ponds to evaluate the growth performance of E. suratensis for a period of 8 months with four different protein diets viz., 35%, 30%, 25% and 20% as Treatment T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively in triplicates. The fish fingerlings weighing an average weight of 6gm were stocked in cement tanks of 20.00 m2 size. At the end of the feeding trial, the fishes were weighed to assess growth parameters in terms of weight gain percentage, feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER). The diet T3 displayed significantly (p