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Minimal water volume for intensively producing male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens Regan, 1910)

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Abstract

Water volume is a key parameter affecting the individual rearing of male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens Regan, 1910). In this study, minimization of water volume was pursued by assessing growth, feed utilization, digestive enzyme activities, color coordinates, muscle quality, and carcass composition. One-month-old solid-red male fish (0.97 ± 0.01 g initial body weight) were distributed individually into glass aquaria with five alternative water volumes (100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 mL), comprising 15 fish per treatment (n = 15), over 8 weeks duration. No mortality of the reared fish was found during the study. Growth performance and feed utilization of the fish reared in 150 mL water were superior to the other treatments. The water volume significantly affected specific activities of the digestive enzymes (P ˂ 0.05), except for amylase, and no differences in enzyme activities were observed between fish reared in 150 and in 300 mL water. The preferred treatment maintained skin lightness (L*) and had the highest redness (a* and a*/b*) among the treatments. Protein synthesis (RNA concentration) and its turnover rate (RNA/protein ratio) and myosin and actin in muscle also benefited from this treatment. Carcass composition, in terms of moisture, crude protein, and crude ash, was maintained, but the amount of crude lipid fluctuated with water volume. Based on our experiments, the preferred minimal water volume for individual rearing of male Siamese fighting fish should be about 150 mL.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seppo Karrila and the Publication Clinic, Research and Development Office, PSU, for advice in manuscript preparation.

Funding

Funding was provided by the budget revenue (Contract No. SCI590420S) of the Prince of Songkla University (PSU). The fish samples were kindly provided by Boonrueang Plakat Farm in Nakonpathom province of Thailand. Research facilities were supported by Kidchakan Supamattaya Aquatic Animal Health Research Center, Faculty of Natural Resources, PSU.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aquatic Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand

    Suktianchai Saekhow & Wutiporn Phromkunthong

  2. Department of Applied Science, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand

    Karun Thongprajukaew & Harit Sae-khoo

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  1. Suktianchai Saekhow
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  2. Karun Thongprajukaew
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  3. Wutiporn Phromkunthong
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Correspondence to Karun Thongprajukaew.

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Saekhow, S., Thongprajukaew, K., Phromkunthong, W. et al. Minimal water volume for intensively producing male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens Regan, 1910). Fish Physiol Biochem 44, 1075–1085 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-018-0495-z

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