Effect of temperature on food intake and digestion of Artemia in Lophiosilurus alexandri larvae

The objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of temperature on food intake and time for digestion in larvae of Lophiosilurus alexandri. An experiment was performed with four constant temperatures (23 degrees C, 26 degrees C, 29 degrees C, and 32 degrees C), four ages (8, 13, 18, and 23 days post-hatching (DPH)) and eight sampling times (5, 15, 30, 45, 60, 120, 180, and 300 minutes after feeding). The effect of temperature was more evident at 18 and 23 DPH. Due to the increase in age and temperature, there was a decrease in the time to reach the highest rate of digested nauplii. In addition, the larvae were estimated to ingest up to 0.30 +/- 0.10 MJ/larva at 32 degrees C in the first meal of the day. Temperatures of 29 degrees C and 32 degrees C provided the most satisfactory results for intake, digestion rate, and intake as percentage of live weight in one meal.