Effect of feeding guppy fish fry (Poecilia reticulata) diets in the form of powder versus flakes

The effects of feeding guppy (Poecilia reticulata) fry a diet offered as either powder or flakes on their growth and survival were tested over a period of 8 weeks. The results show that the growth of both male and female fish was considerably enhanced when the diet was presented in the form of a finely ground powder compared with a flake form. Final average weights of fish given a diet containing the exact same ingredients (44.9% protein and 6.1% fat), from the same batch of raw materials in the powdered form were 280.0 ± 12.1 mg compared with 114.6 ± 19.9 mg for the diet given in the form of flakes. In a diet that had a higher fat level (45.1% protein and 10.6% fat), the difference in final weight attained was even more dramatic: 303.9 ± 16.7 mg for the powder-fed fish compared with 92.6 ± 12.5 mg for the flake-fed fish. The coefficient of variance in the fish fed a flake diet was significantly higher than that exhibited in the treatments fed the powder feed. The ability of the fish to consume the food in a rapid manner, preventing leaching of vital nutrients from the feed before being engulfed by the fish probably led to the better growth results exhibited by the fish given the powdered food.