T. Boujard et F. Medale, REGULATION OF VOLUNTARY FEED-INTAKE IN JUVENILE RAINBOW-TROUT FED BY HAND OR BY SELF-FEEDERS WITH DIETS CONTAINING 2 DIFFERENT PROTEIN-ENERGY RATIOS, Aquatic living resources, 7(3), 1994, pp. 211-215
The effect of increasing non-protein energy level in a 40 % protein di
et on the voluntary feed intake (VFI) was investigated in juvenile rai
nbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish were fed to satiety using two d
ifferent methods, hand feeding or time restricted self-feeding. Regard
less of the feeding methods, the VFI and the feed: gain ratio was alwa
ys significantly higher for the fish fed the low energy diet than for
those fed the high energy diet. In addition, no effect of the diet on
the specific growth rate could be detected. It is concluded that fish
were able to regulate with a great accuracy their feed intake when fed
either by hand or by self-feeders. This regulation was precise enough
to satisfy their energy needs and led fish fed the two different expe
rimental diets to reach identical growth performance, regardless of th
e feeding technique.