Effect of two artificial wet diets agglutinated with gelatin on feed and growth performance of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) sub-adults

Acceptance and effect on growth of two artificial wet diets for common octopus sub-adults were studied. These artificial wet diets were compounded of frozen shrimp or squid, both agglutinated with commercial gelatin. The diet based on frozen squid (SQ) promoted higher growth and conversion efficiency than the diet based on frozen shrimp (SH); while these rearing parameters of the SQ diet were not significantly lower than the ones obtained with the control diet (frozen squid). Feeding results indicate that gelatin did not reduce the palatability of the SQ diet, compared to the control diet. In conclusion, the good results obtained with the SQ diet support the hypothesis that this kind of wet artificial diet (a natural diet plus an agglutinant) can possibly be a base paste for other prepared diets.