Abstract

Lack of a formulated food for queen conch Strombus gigas is a bottleneck to its culture. Nutrient requirements for the conch, particularly of protein and energy, are unknown. The conch’s foot was analyze for amino acids content, and on this basis nine formulated feeds were design containing three levels of protein (20, 30 and 40%), each one with three levels of energy (12, 15 and 18 KJ/g feed). Chemical analyzes of proteins, lipids, fiber, humidity, ash and energy have been carried out to each feed. Experimental design consists of nine treatments in triplicate. There are 16 organisms (39.07 mm SL, 5.32 g weight) in each experimental unit. Conchs were acclimatized for a 21 days period. At 0, 21, 42, 63 and 84 days were register shell length and weight of each animal Animals feeding 36.5% protein diet achieved highest growth rate, 0.23 mm/d; weigth gain, 3.9 %/d and specific growth rate 1.7 %/d. Total final survival was 99.5%.

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