The Effect of Some Food Sources on the Production of Enchytraeus Buchholzi (Grindal)
Keywords:
biomass, food sources, Grindal worms (Enchytraeus buchholzi)Abstract
Grindal worms are an important food source in aquaculture and aquarism. They are obtained with a relatively low production cost and the possibility of contamination with different pathogens is avoided compared to harvesting from nature. The aim of the work is the use in the feed of Grindal worms of two recipes of wet feed based on milk 92% and wheat flour 8%, (Lots C1-C5) compared to milk 84%, egg 10% and flour 6% (Lots E1- E5) on the development of Grindal biomass grown on a substrate represented by ground moss in a volume of 400 cm3 with 84% humidity. Feeding and harvesting were performed once a day. The weighing was carried out with a precision of 0.01 g. Following the research, we found that groups E2-E5 achieved a significantly higher biomass production (p≤0.05) by 1.53 grams per day, compared to groups C2-C5, with the exception of group E1, where an insignificant increase was found (p ≥0.05) compared to C1. Feed conversion was superior in the experimental groups compared to the control groups by 10.2 %. The production of Grindal biomass per cm3 of substrate in groups E1-E5 was significantly higher (0.232 g, compared to control groups C1-C5, which had an average of 0.209 g/cm3).
References
Christensen, B., Glenner, H., Molecular phylogeny of Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta) indicates separate invasions of the terrestrial environment. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 48(3), 2010, 208-212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.2009.00558.x
Coates K.A., Phylogeny and origins of Enchytraeidae. Hydrobiologia 180: 17–33, 1989
Dózsa-Farkas, K., The description of three new species and some data to the enchytraeid fauna of the Baradla Cave, Hungary. (Biospeologica Hungarica, XXXIV). Opusc. zool., Bpest, 1970, 10 (2): 241–251.
Zhao, L., Xie, X., Chen, D., Ma, G., Sun, Y., Microscopic Observations on Form and Structure of the Worm Enchytraeus buchholzi (Clitellata: Enchytraeidae). BMC Zoology, 7(1), 2022, 31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40850-022-00123-y
Rota E. Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta) of western Anatolia: Taxonomy and faunistics. Bolletino di zoologia. 1994; 61(3):241–60.
Nielsen CO, Christensen B., The Enchytraeidae: critical revision and taxonomy of European species (Studies on Enchytraeidae VII). Natura Jutlandica. 1959; 8–9:93–4.
