The effect of fairy shrimp “branchoneta” (Dendrocephalus brasiliensis) as the initial diet of tambaqui postlarvae

Aline Da Cruz Daltro,Luan Lucas Leal Brandão,Moacyr Serafim-Junior,Nathália Byrro Gauthier,Carla Fernandes Macedo

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v43i1.53196

Aline Da Cruz Daltro, Luan Lucas Leal Brandão + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascianimsci.v43i1.53196

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Abstract

The effect of fairy shrimp “branchoneta” as the first exogenous feed for tambaqui postlarvae was evaluated. A hundred and eighty larvae were distributed in 12 aquariums, containing 1.5L of water and the stocking density was 10 larvae per liter. The trials lasted for 20 days and postlarvae were submitted to three diets (T1: Commercial feed, T2: branchoneta, and T3: Commercial feed with branchoneta), with a completely randomized design with four replicates for each treatment. During the trials, the water quality parameters were kept within ideal conditions for the species. The tambaqui postlarvae submitted to T2 and T3 showed better survival rates respectively. Regarding the postlarval development, larvae fed with only branchoneta had a better final weight (3.48 mg), daily weight gain (0.14 mg day-1), and the best specific growth rate (8.62%). The results also showed that the tambaqui postlarvae fed with only commercial feed developed less efficiently due to lower rates of survival and growth. The present study indicates that the branchoneta promoted greater development and survival rates of the tambaqui postlarvae and therefore, it presents good potential as a live food for the species.

Highlights

In fish farming systems the constant demand for food of favourable nutritional quality is considered one of the key problems in fish larviculture
At the end of the experiment, survival rate (SR), weight gain (WG), daily weight gain (DWG), and specific growth rate (SGR) of the larvae were calculated according to the following formulas described by Lombardi and Gomes (2008), respectively: Nf SR = Ni x 100 where: Nf is the final number of live individuals in the aquarium and Ni is the initial number of postlarvae in each treatment
The survival rate was 21.65% in the T1 fed with only commercial feed, 59.97% in the T2 fed with branchoneta and 58.32% for the T3 fed with branchoneta with commercial feed

Summary

Introduction

In fish farming systems the constant demand for food of favourable nutritional quality is considered one of the key problems in fish larviculture. Due to the potential of branchoneta as an alternative food source for many fish species, this study evaluated the effect of this crustacean as an initial diet for tambaqui postlarvae. The larval development was monitored during the experimental trials and the rates of survival, weight gain and specific growth were obtained.

Results

Conclusion