Effect of different feeding rate on reproductive performance of Swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri)

Feeding fish is one of the most important factors in aquatic nutrition. Regarding the importance of nutrition in aquaculture, many studies have been done; However, few studies have been conducted on the effect of different feeding rates on reproductive activity of fish. This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of feeding rates on reproductive performance of the swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri). In this study, 180 fish pieces of about 2.5 months of swine tail (45 males and 135 females) were distributed in 15 aquariums with dimensions of 60 * 40 * 30 centimeters including 5 treatments and 3 replicates and distributed under the same conditions. Fish in different treatments with different percentages (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% based on body weight) Three times a day, they were fed with food (made by the Biomar company of France) for four months. Reproductive performance (time of sexual examination, production time of the first larvae and the number of larvae received) were evaluated. The results of the experiment showed that the production of the first larva was related to the treatment of 3% and the number of larvae produced in T3 treatment was significantly different than other treatments (P <0.05) and had the highest number of larvae. In addition, the lowest number of larvae was recorded in T1 treatment, however, there was no significant difference with T2 treatment (P <0.05).