The aim of this research was to assess how often food promotes better performance in tambaqui. We tested four food frequencies (two, four, six and eight times a day) at regular intervals. Tambaqui fingerlings with initial weight of 15.74±0.28g were stocked in 16 transparent glass tanks with a capacity of 70L of usable volume in a completely randomized design with four treatments and four replications. The feeding period was thirty days and a commercial diet containing 45% crude protein for omnivorous fish and a feeding rate of 6% of the total biomass of fish for each experimental unit was used. The average results of pH, temperature °C and electrical conductivity mS/cm for morning and afternoon were respectively 6.91 and 6.96; 25.85 and 27.69; 0.65 and 0.65. We evaluated the performance indices: weight gain, feed conversion, specific growth rate, survival, and also blood glucose. No significant differences were detected for the variables studied. It is recommended that the frequency of feeding be 2 times a day for tambaqui, mainly to minimize labor.
Colossoma macropomum; performance; alimentary handling; fish nutrition; native fish