The present experiment was carried out to determine the different stages during ontogenesis of greater sensitivity to hormonal treatments of sex reversal of Nile tilapia larvae (Oreochromis niloticus) with 17 a-metiltestosterone (MT) by bath immersion in 2.0 mg of MT.L-1 for 36-h period. In the hormonal treatment, 3,000 Nile tilapia were allotted to 15 2 L- plastic containers (experimental units) as a complete randomized design, with five treatments and three replicates. The treatments consisted of the fish immersion at different ages: control (fishes immersed at 16 DAH [days after hatching] and without hormone), and 16, 20, 24, and 28 DAH. Final weight (FW), final length (FL), survival rate (SR) and sexual rate were the evaluated parameters. The masculinization results showed positive quadratic relationship between tilapia age and hormonal treatments, and this fact suggests that the best results were obtained at 23.30 DAH (73.02% of males). No treatment effect on FW, FL and SR was observed. The most sensible age to the masculinization of Nile tilapia by immersion baths was of 23.30 DAH.
androgen; chiclide; fish; hormonal solution; ontogenetic period; sex reversal
