Management of the First Feeding of Dorada Brycon sinuensis with Two Species of Cladocerans

The management of the first feeding is a critical stage in the viability of the larvae and fingerling rearing. So far, the first feeding of the bryconids record the best results when fed with forage larvae; thus, the aim was to evaluate two species of cladocerans as live prey in the first feeding of dorada Brycon sinuensis and to evaluate their effects on the control of cannibalism. Larvae (1.2 +/- 0.15 mg and 5.9 +/- 0.4 mm initial weight and total length) were fed Moina minuta (Mm), Macrothrix elegans (Me) or a mixture (50:50) of cladocerans (Mix) at a rate of 20 prey mL(-1), once for 24 h. Another dorada larvae group were fed newly hatched larvae of Piaractus brachypomus (4.5 +/- 0.9 mm) as forage larvae (F-L) in a ratio of 2:1 (prey:predator). The larvae were stocked to 50 L-1 in aquaria with 5 L of useful volume (12 per treatment). The growth, survival, stress resistance, cannibalism mortality, and the number of prey in the gut contents were analyzed. Dorada larvae fed F-L showed higher growth, but those fed Mm showed the highest survival rate (76.1 +/- 6.6%) and the lowest cannibalism mortality (16.8 +/- 3.7%) (p < 0.05). The use of the cladocerans allowed high survival and stress resistance (95.3 +/- 2.4%), and M. minuta proved to be a suitable prey for cannibalism control in the management of the first feeding of dorada larvae.