| Abstract: | Live diets are preferably used for rearing Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens Regan, 1910) since they provide superior growth over the dry feed. In the current study, three different preparations of mosquito larvae were prepared (frozen at ?20°C, F–20; freeze‐dried and kept at 4°C, FD4; freeze‐dried and kept at ambient temperature, FDAT) and were individually fed to 1‐month‐old red male fighting fish (1.18 ± 0.01 g initial body weight) over 6 weeks duration. At the end of experiment, there were no significant differences in growth performance and feed utilization across three dietary treatments (p ? 0.05). Specific activity of lipase was significantly lower in fish fed FD4 and FDAT than with the F–20 diet, while no differences in other enzymes were observed. The fish fed with FDAT diet significantly increased in viscerosomatic index relative to F–20 and FD4 treatments. Significant improvements in skin redness and flesh quality (RNA and RNA/protein ratio) were observed in the fish fed with FDAT diet relative to the other treatments. This preferred FDAT treatment also maintained the carcass composition. Analysis of digestive enzymes in FDAT mosquito larvae demonstrated the presence of protein‐, carbohydrate‐, and lipid‐digesting enzymes after 1 month of storage. The findings from our experiments indicate that the freeze‐dried form (FDAT) of mosquito larvae is suitable for rearing Siamese fighting fish. However, effective preparation protocol and appropriate storage times should be further studied. |
