Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of water temperature and prey concentrations (Artemia nauplii) on the initial development of Lophiosilurus alexandri larvae. The experiment was conducted using a 4 x 2 factorial design, with four water temperatures (23, 26, 29 and 32 degrees C), two different initial prey concentrations (P-700 and P-1,P-300) and three replicates. Feeding was increased during the fifteen-day experiment. At the end of the experiment, the survival and condition factor were affected only by prey concentrations, with elevated numbers of Artemia nauplii leading to higher averages of these variables. The total length (TL) and specific growth rate were separately influenced by temperature and prey concentration, without interaction between them, and weight showed an interaction with these factors. In general, an increase of temperature (23 to 32 degrees C) improved the growth and nitrogen gain in L alexandri larvae. For TL, the optimal temperatures estimated were 31.4 and 31.0 degrees C for P-700 and P-1,P-300, respectively. Similar mean body weight larvae and nitrogen gain were observed at 23 degrees C for both levels of prey concentrations. For other temperatures, the P-1,P-300 level provided greater weight gain for L. alexandri. Therefore, it is suggested that temperatures between 29-32 degrees C combined with a higher level of prey concentration maximise the development and nitrogen gain in L. alexandri larvae. Moreover, this is the first result about nitrogen incorporation in neotropical fish larvae.