Effects of feeding frequency using a commercial automatic feeder on growth, yield, and survival rate of Thai fairy shrimp (Branchinella thailandensis)

Abstract

This study aimed to develop the culture system for the Thai fairy shrimp (Branchinella thailandensis) using an automatic feeder, and to compare its efficiency with manual feeding in terms of growth performance, yield, survival rate, nutritional composition, and total carotenoid content. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design (CRD) with two treatments and four replicates per treatment. Treatment 1 involved manual feeding (3 times/day), whereas Treatment 2 utilized an automatic feeding system (5 times/day). Fairy shrimps were cultured in concrete ponds (2×3×0.6 m) and fed Chlorella sp. at a density of 1 × 10⁷ cells/mL, with a total feeding volume of 300 L/pond/day. Body weight and body length were measured every five days throughout a 15-day culture period. The results indicated that fairy shrimp in both treatments exhibited continuous growth over the experimental period. During the first 10 days, no significant differences in mean body weight were observed between treatments (p>0.05). However, at 15 days of age, B. thailandensis cultured using the automatic feeding system showed significantly higher growth performance, survival rate, and yield per liter than those fed manually (p<0.05). In contrast, no significant differences were detected between treatments in terms of nutritional composition or total carotenoid content (p>0.05). The fairy shrimp contained approximately 61–62% protein, 3–4% lipid, and total carotenoid levels ranging from 223 to 224 µg/g dry weight. These findings demonstrate that the use of an automatic feeder enhances the efficiency of Thai fairy shrimp culture by improving growth performance, production yield, and survival rate without adversely affecting nutritional quality. Therefore, this system can be effectively applied to the development of commercial-scale Thai fairy shrimp production by reducing/replacing labor requirements and increasing overall productivity.