Compensatory growth response of sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna (Lesueur, 1821) to starvation and refeeding

Abstract

Compensatory growth response and body composition of male sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna subjected to short-term starvation and subsequent feeding were studied for 54 days. Four feeding schedules were used in this study: C, Control (were fed to apparent satiation throughout the experiment); T1, Treatment 1 (3 days Starvation and 6 days refeeding); T2, Treatment 2 (6 days Starvation and 12 days refeeding); T3, Treatment 3 (9 days Starvation and 18 days refeeding). At the end of the experiment, the starved fish gained a body weight comparable to that of the control fish. There were no differences in condition factor, specific growth rate and weight gain between the starved and control fish at the end of the experiment. Daily feed intake was significantly higher in T3 than that in the control. Short-term starvation did not influence protein, lipid and ash contents. Moisture content of T2 and T3 fish were significantly higher than those of T1 and control fish. The results indicated that complete compensation occurred in the starved fish and that this species can tolerate to short term starvation without any significant effects on growth and feeding performance.

Keywords

• Catch-up growth, Body composition, Starvation, Hyperphagia, Ornamental fish