Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) is an important culture species of the Mekong River delta, Vietnam. The production reached 1.1 million tons in 2014. Feed cost shares over 80% of total production cost. Reduction of feed cost is an issue, which has been concerned in striped catfish aquaculture. This paper review a series of the studies on the effects of mixed feeding schedule on feed utilization, growth and costs of striped catfish reared in tank and pond condition.

The first studied was conducted for fingerling sized fish (23-27 g/fish) in 500-L tank condition. The fish was fed for 90 days by manufactured pelleted feed with four mixed schedule feedings such as continuously feeding; feeding 7 days + starving 2 days (7:2); feeding 7 days + starving 3 days (7:3) and feeding 7 days + starving 4 days (7:4). The results showed that fish growth performance in treatments 7:2 and 7:3 were not significantly different compared to continuously feeding. The lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was found in fish fed 7:3. This result shows applicable in pond practice. The second study was conducted in six grow-out ponds (2,000-5,000 m²) with two mixed feeding schedules for 196-210 days including continuous feeding (control); feeding 3 days + starving 1 day (3:1); and feeding 7 days + starving 2 days (7:2). The growth and production of the fish feed 3:1 and 7:2 was better than the fish fed continuously; and the lowest FCR and the production cost were found in fish fed 7:2. The third study was the mass application of mixed feeding schedule in 10 ponds of 3,000-4,000 m² for 196 to 210 days. The continuously feeding was done in two ponds and feeding 7 days + starving 2 days (7:2) was done in eight ponds. The results showed that the application of 7:2 feeding schedule reduced the FCR from 0.15 to 0.3 equaling to the reduction of feeding cost from 1,875 to 3,750 VND/kg fish produced; and the average return on investment increased from 11.2% to 22.6%. In addition, the reduction of FCR contributes to the lower environmental impact from feed wastes. The results of these studies which have been conducted from pilot to farm scale provide concrete results for mass application, which will be a way to improve economic efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts.