The present study evaluated the effects of alternating food restriction and refeeding cycles on the growth of pacu, during the growout phase and the viability of this practice in the commercial production of the species. Juvenile fish were distributed in 3 tanks and submitted to different feeding strategies: group A (fed ad libitum daily), B (food restricted to 4 weeks and refed for 9 weeks) and C (food restricted to 6 weeks and refed for 7 weeks) totalizing 13 weeks per cycle (4 experimental cycles). At the end of each feeding cycle, 20 fish per treatment were sampled and the biometric data were registered. Values of weight, total length and condition factor (K) were submitted to ANOVA and the averages were compared by Duncan test. The results showed that the treatment C presented better results only in autumn/winter periods, promoting better growth, lower cost ration, lower food conversion and better partial net income. Otherwise, during the warmer periods of the year (spring/summer) other feeding strategies must be tested, utilizing shorter periods of food restriction. Regarding to the annual production, the treatment A showed higher biomass, although higher feeding costs. With the increase in the temperature, the growth of the fish from the other treatments was delayed.
economic analysis; food restriction and refeeding cycle; growth; feeding costs
