Influence of Photoperiod on Growth of Green Sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus

Abstract

Four 6-week experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of photoperiod on growth (total length and weight), food consumption, and food conversion efficiency by green sunfish. Fish were held at constant temperatures in light-tight aquaria under four photoperiods (8-hr constant; 16-hr constant; variable, increasing from 8 to 16 hr; and variable, decreasing from 16 to 8 hr).Growth, food consumption, and food conversion efficiency were all influenced by photoperiod. Food consumption varied directly with the amount of light to which fish were exposed. Fish growth and food conversion efficiency were closely correlated and were generally highest in the increasing, lowest in the decreasing, and intermediate in the two constant photoperiods, but higher in the longer daylength. The results suggest that photoperiod influences growth through increasing conversion efficiency and also possibly through stimulating food consumption.Varying daylength exerts a greater influence on fish growth than a constant daylength. Increasing photoperiod stimulates growth and decreasing photoperiod inhibits growth. This result suggests that the lack of growth of warmwater fish in fall when water temperatures and average daylength correspond to those of spring is largely due to the influence of decreasing daylength.