Formulated diets for giant chilean frog calyptocephalella gayi tadpoles

Abstract

In this study, we conducted an experiment to evaluate the overall effect of novel diets on the growth, metamorphosis and survival of tadpoles of the endangered giant Chilean frog Calyptocephalella gayi (previously known as Caudiverbera caudiverbera) to evaluate the potential of this species for culture and repopulation purposes. Using fishmeal as the main protein source with a substitution of either scallop viscera or Spirulina meal, three treatments were formulated to contain similar amounts of protein and energy. The experiment was run for 75 days, after which the tadpoles showed no significant differences among treatments in terms of their growth or survival. This is the first study to report positive effects of different diets on the growth and survival of tadpoles of the giant Chilean frog. Therefore, it might be possible to extend the farming of Calyptocephalella gayi for human consumption and repopulation. Nevertheless, more efforts are needed to understand their nutritional requirements to formulate appropriate diets for this endangered frog.