Histological gender diagnosis and performance of Oreochromis niloticus testing diameters of crumble diet according to oral apparatus

The mouth size of Nile tilapia larvae and the effect of different diameters of crumble fish food over weight gain, total length, and survival of larvae after 30 and 60 days of feeding were studied. The method of gender diagnosis based on light microscopy at 35 days of age was also evaluated. The larval mouth measurement presented average values of 918.2±152.9μm at five days of age. Based on this information, three granule sizes were tested: 0.25, 0.35, and 0.50mm. At 30 and 60 days of feeding, 10% of larvae were measured, weighed, and counted to calculate the survival rate. It was verified that the crumble size did not affect the performance of Nile tilapia larvae when feeding was initiated five days after hatching. In relation to the histological gender diagnosis at 35 days of age, most of gonads were undifferentiated. Therefore, it is recommended that this analysis should be carried out according to the size of animals instead of their age.

fish; mouth; gonads; granule size; histology