WEANING OF WILD YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR WINTER FLOUNDER PLEURONECTES-AMERICANUS (WALBAUM) ON A DRY DIET - EFFECTS ON GROWTH, SURVIVAL, AND FEED-EFFICIENCY RATIOS

Winter flounder Pleuronectes americanus is being developed for aquacul ture in Atlantic Canada, Weaning, the switch from a live diet to formu lated feed, is a critical stage in the culture of any fish species, In this study, we used wild young-of-the-year stock to determine whether juvenile winter flounder can be weaned from live, cultured Artemia on to dry feed. The dry feed used was originally formulated for turbot Sc ophthalmus maximus and cod Gadus morhua by BP Nutrition, Stavanger, No rway. The performance of live feed and dry pellets was compared in ter ms of survival, growth and feed efficiency over three months. We were able to wean wild juvenile winter flounder onto dry feed after one wee k, Increased specific growth rates and feed efficiency ratios in weane d juveniles indicated that prepared diet was a better food source than Artemia, Survival was not influenced by food type.