Prey ingestion and live food selectivity of marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata) using rice field prawn (Macrobrachium lanchesteri) as prey

Marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata), a carnivorous fish native to freshwater in Asia-Pacific region, is a high-valued species in many Asian countries. The present study consisting of three experiments was conducted to determine the appropriate density, size and ingestion time of marble goby fingerlings on rice field prawn (Macrobrachium lanchesteri) as prey. Results showed that the ingestion rate of marble goby fingerlings (0.26–1.43 g size) on prawns (9–12 mm in length) had an asymptotic pattern peaked at a predator to prey ratio of 1:20. Marble goby fingerlings did catch prawns during both daytime (07:00–17:00 h) and nighttime (17:00–07:00 h), but the ingestion peaked during nighttime period. The hourly ingestion rate during nighttime was significantly higher than that during daytime for the smaller-size marble goby fingerlings of 0.26–0.87 g, while there was no significant difference in the hourly ingestion between nighttime and daytime for the larger-size marble goby fingerlings of 1.43 g. The daily ingestion of marble goby fingerlings on prawns (mg consumed prawns/goby/day) increased significantly with increasing average weights (g) of marble goby fingerlings (Y = 27.6 + 47.8X, n = 30, r2 = 0.86, p < 0.05). Results also showed that the preferred prawn size of marble goby fingerlings of average weights of 0.26–4.18 g was small (9–12 mm) with positive electivity index of 0.19–0.33, and the shift from small- to medium-size (12–14 mm) prawns was slow. The present study has demonstrated the feasibility of using rice field prawns as live foods to nurse marble goby fingerlings.