Performance of juvenile tambaqui in cage, under different feed rates

Abstract

This study took place at the Federal University of Rondônia Foundation, at the Carlos Eduardo Matiaze Fish Farming Base, in Presidente Médici, state of Rondônia, Brazil, aiming to evaluate the performance of juvenile tambaqui fed with different feed rates in relation to body weight (BW), grown in cages. It was used 180 juvenile fishes, with mean initial weight of 0.033 kg ± 0.001 kg distributed in 20 cages with 1 m³  each arranged in a 1000 m²  (20 m x 50 m) hatchery and 1.64 m deep. The experimental design was randomized with five treatments in different feed rates (FR) and four replications (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% of BW). The parameters were body length (m), head length (m), body height (m), BW (kg), and feed conversion. It was also performed the sensory evaluation of baby fish. The best performance under the different feed rates provided daily was 6%; we observed greater productivity in relation of time at this rate. On the other hand, the sensorial analysis of tambaqui baby fish cultivated in cages at 10% feed rate was the favorite of consumers because of the soft and succulent characteristic of the meat.