Abstract:With the increasing price of kelp, sustainable food and suitable feeding strategy are becoming important in the abalone culture industry. In this experiment, Haliotis discus hannai Ino were sized into three groups, A (41.40±2.05mm), B (54.22±2.66mm) and C (63.17±2.52 mm) respectively, and fed with four dietary treatments. Energy budget of various stages were measured and calculated. The mixed-diet treatments showed more organic matter intake than groups fed on kelp alone, indicating that they could get more energy for metabolism. According to the energy budget equation, growth energy of group fed on mixed diet was significantly higher than that of the group fed on kelp alone(P＜0.05), especially in group 1 and group 2. Level of growth energy was high in all of the experimental groups, and the feeding methods were worthy to be used in the abalone culture industry.
