554 BAISHYA ET AL Environment & Ecology 3 (3) : 554—557, July—September 2012 Growth Performance of Snakeskin Gourami, Trichogaster pectoralis (Regan, 1910) Using Different Dietary Protein Levels SANGIPRAN BAISHYA 1 , B. PHUKAN 1 , A. RAJBONGSHI 2 AND R. BORDOLOI 1 1 College of Fisheries, Assam Agricultural University Raha 782103, Nagaon, Assam, India 2 NAIP Cell, Assam Agricultural University Jorhat 782013, Assam, India *E-mail : sangipran@gmail.com Abstract Growth and survival of juveniles of snakeskin gourami, Trichogaster pectoralis by using different levels of dietary protein was evaluated during the study. The aim of the study was to find the optimum dietary protein level for the growth and survival of juvenile of T. pectoralis by using semi-purified diet with protein levels of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50%. The juvenile fed with protein level of 40% showed the highest growth and survival indicating that the optimum level of dietary protein for juvenile of T. pectoralis is 40%. Key words : Protein, Juvenile, Semi-purified diet, Trichogaster pectoralis. Ornamental fish culture is a growing business all around the globe. India exported ornamental fishes worth 554 lakh during 2009-10 to South East Asian countries (45%), European Union (16.7%), Japan (11.9%), China (11.2%), USA (9.4%), Middle Eastern countries (3.8%) and other nations (2%) (1). The snakeskin gourami, T. pectoralis belongs to family Anabantidae, in which most of the members are ‘bubble nest builders’. This family is a suborder of Labyrinthici, which is characterized by the presence of a chamber above the gills for the retention of air for breathing (2). Healthy growth and survival of any ornamental fish species depends on the feed pro- vided and the utilization of this feed by the fish spe- cies. This paper demonstrates the significant growth and survival of juvenile of T. pectoralis on diets with various protein levels. The natural diet of T. pectora- lis is composed of different species of invertebrates ; little has been published concerning their nutrition with artificial diets. Methods The experiment on effect of different protein lev- els viz. 25% (T 1 ), 30% (T 2 ), 35% (T 3 ), 40% (T 4 ), 45% (T 5 ) and 50% (T 6 ) was carried out with six treatments. Feed was provided at the rate of 7% of the biomass (3). The glass tank containing fifteen liters of fresh- water was used to rear the juvenile for experimental duration of 30 days. The plastic containers were ar- ranged based on completely randomized design (CRD) with four replicates for each treatment. Juve- nile of snakeskin gourami (average length = 3.2±0.02 cm. average weight = 2.0 ± 0.02 g) were stocked in the experimental rearing tanks at the rate of one juvenile per liter. Feed containing varying protein levels viz. 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50% were prepared. The propor- tions of ingredients for test diets were determined by Hardy’s square method (4). Uneaten food was si- phoned out and nearly 40% of water from each con- tainer was exchanged daily. Water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, free car- bon dioxide, total alkalinity and total hardness were measured by following standard methods given in APHA (5) and Boyd (6). After rearing period of 30 days, juvenile from each replicate were counted, length were measured by using metallic and cali- brated foot rule having least count of 0.5 mm and weight of fry was measured by using the mono-pan electric (Sartorius, BS 224S ) balance having an accu- racy of 0.01 mg, maximum 220 g and specific growth rate (%) was calculated. Survival was also calculated at the end of the experiment. Data Analysis The growth parameters, such as length gain,