THE GROWTH AND SURVIVAL RATE OF SEA CUCUMBER, Apostichopus japonicus BY FEEDING FERMENTED FECAL SOLIDS  

The effects of fermented fecal solid diets on the growth and survival rate of sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus  were investigated at recirculation aquaculture system(RAS) during a 90 days experiment at temperature 16.5-17.5°C, salinity 32±0.5 psu, pH 7.9-8.2 and dissolved oxygen 5.2-7.1 mg/L. The aim was to determine the possibility of RAS fecal solid waste as renewable feed sources for A. japonicus. In this study, three (03) different feeds such as unfermented fecal solid (UF), fermented fecal solid (FF), and commercial feed (CF) were used. The results showed that all groups had 100% survival rate. In terms of growth, there was no significant different (P>0.05) between FF and CF but both were comparatively higher than UF. This study concluded that utilization of fecal solid as A. japonicus diet can be a breakthrough for RAS waste problem. The improvement of fecal solid utilization as A. japonicus renewable-diet source can be achieved through fermentation process.