Optimum Feeding Rate and Frequency in Juvenile Korean Rockfish Sebastes schlegeli Fed a Commercial Diet

Two feeding trials were conducted to investigate the effects of feeding rate and frequency on growth performance and body composition of juvenile Korean rockfish Sebastes schlegeli reared at $15.0{\pm}0.3^{\circ}C$ . In the first trial, three replicate fish groups averaging $2.07{\pm}0.03g$ were fed a commercial diet with one of seven different daily feeding rates: 1.00%, 2.00%, 2.50%, 2.75%, 3.00%, 3.25%, and satiation (3.34%) based on body weight (BW). After four weeks of feeding, fish fed the 3% diet showed significantly higher weight gain (WG) and feed efficiency (FE) than fish that received the other feeding rates. In the second trial, the optimum feeding frequency was evaluated with three replicate fish groups averaging $2.04{\pm}0.03g$ . Fish were fed a commercial diet at 2.87% BW with six different daily feeding frequencies: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, or 9 meals. After four weeks of feeding, WG, specific growth rate, FE, and protein efficiency rate in fish fed 3 meals $d^{-1}$ were significantly higher than those of fish fed 7 or 9 meals $d^{-1}$ . In both feeding trials, proximate composition of the entire body changed depending on the feeding rate or frequency. A broken-line regression analysis based on weight gain suggested that the optimum daily feeding rate and frequency for juvenile Korean rockfish at $15^{\circ}C$ was 2.9% BW $d^{-1}$ and 2-3 meals $d^{-1}$ , respectively.