Seletividade alimentar de organismos-alimento por formas jovens de pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) e curimba Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1836)

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate the feeding selection of food organisms for two species of fish larvae (pacu and curimba) at different ages (6, 12, 19 and 26 days after eclosion), in the presence or absence of Pistia stratiotes. Four treatments were used (T1 = pacu + P. stratiotes; T2 = pacu; T3 = curimba + P. stratiotes; T4 = curimba) and four replications. Every seven days, 24 fish larvae of each species were collected, and kept without food for 24 hours. After being distributed in the aquariums with plankton, the larvae stayed for three hours, and were collected and prepared for analysis, along with the water samples. The digestive tract of the fish larvae were removed and analyzed under an optic microscope. Statistic differences in selective feeding of plankton organisms were reported for larvae of the same species, of different age groups and also among larvae of different species of the same age. There were no observed differences as for the presence or absence of P. stratiotes. The fish larvae of pacu and curimba selected similar organisms at six days old, with changes until the 26th day. As they developed, the pacu larvae began to select cladocerans and ostracods, and the curimba selected protozoans and algae.