Response
of juvenile pink shrimp, Farfantepenaeus paulensis, to natural food items and commercial pelleted diet
M.H. Silva Santos, R. Luvizotto
Santos, W. Wasielesky Jr., E.A. Santos
Abstract:
The employment of attractive and
stimulating foods in the diet is a practice that can optimize the production
of cultured species. Shrimp feed slowly, with an inevitable loss of food
nutrients to the environment. This situation can be minimized using foods
that are easily recognizable by the organisms and stimulate feeding. Under
laboratory conditions, the feeding behavior (perception and arrival times to
stimuli source) of juvenile pink shrimps Farfantepenaeus paulensis exposed
to alternative natural meal and commercial pelleted diet used thoroughly
during cultivation was determined. The following foods were tested: blue
crab abdomen (Callinectes
sapidus) (BCA), shrimp heads (Pleoticus muelleri and
Artemesia
longinaris) (SH), cutlass fish muscle (Trichiurus
lepturus) (CFM), white croaker head muscle (Micropogonias.furnieri)
(CHM), MR-35 commercial pelleted diet (Purina do Brasil Ltda.) (CPD). The
largest reduction in perception times was registered when SH was offered to
animals. The arrival times of shrimps to the different stimulatory sources
(food) did not differ significantly from each other (P >0.05). The
commercial pelleted diet, CPD, induced arrival responses comparable to
natural foods used in this work. The prominent performance of SH in F. paulensis
atractivity has also been verified for other crustacean species. The
growth rate and degradation for each food treatment are presently under
investigation. The possible use of raw low cost materials should be taken
into consideration by crustacean feed manufacturers and farmers in
elaboration of attractive diets.
(Laboratório de Zoofisiologia –
D.C.F., Fundaçao Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Av. Alfredo Huch, 475, CP 474, Rio Grande, RS –
Brasil, CEP 96201-900, e-mail : cabelo@octopus.furg.br)