Effects of Different Dietary Mineral Contents on the Survival and Growth Rate of Black Apple Snails (Pila polita) in the Juvenile Stage

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of different dietary mineral contents on the growth, survival rate, and biomass increase of the black apple snail, Pila polita, during the nursing phase. Juveniles (0.26 g snail-1) were fed diets with five different mineral supplementation levels: (1) Control (No.Mi); (2) Mineral supplement 3% (Mi3); (3) Mineral supplement 5% (Mi5); (4) Mineral supplement 7% (Mi7); and (5) Mineral supplement 9% (Mi9), with three replicates per treatment. Snails were reared in composite tanks with a density of 300 ind m-2 for 56 days. After 56 days, the snail survival rate in Mi7 (98.4%) was higher (P <0.05) than in No.Mi (95.8%). Snails in Mi7 also obtained the highest height, weight, and yield (23.16mm, 2.58g, and 742 g m-2), which were significantly different from the other treatments (P <0.05). The results also showed that the dietary mineral concentration of 7% generated an acceptable mineral ratio, which could increase snail rearing efficiency.