This experiment aimed to determine the effects of exogenous enzyme (porcine pancreatin) supplementation to microdiet on pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus growth, survival and changes on digestive tract morphology. Eight feeding programs were performed: Artemia nauplii feeding (AV), microdiet with enzymatic supplementation (DMP) or without supplementation (DM), weaning at the 5th day with supplemented (AV5DMP) or not supplemented diet (AV5DM) and weaning at the 10th day with supplemented diet (AV10DMP) or not supplemented diet (AV10DM). The experiment lasted 28 days. Larvae fed only alive prey during the whole period showed the highest mean weight values. The negative effect of Artemia suppression on larvae growth was noted on those which were weaned either on the 5th or 10th day of experiment. However, at the next growth evaluation, positive effects of enzyme supplementation were observed. After the 20th of experiment, the larvae fed exogenous enzyme supplemented diet showed higher mean weight values than larvae fed diet without supplementation. The most noticeable morphological changes between larvae that received the enzyme supplementation or not was observed for larvae weaned at the 5th day of experiment. The differences were on the amount of zymogen granules in the pancreas and intestine supranuclear inclusion. On the other hand, larvae weaned at the 10th of the experiment presented more advanced morphological differentiation, similarly to the larvae fed alive prey. The results of this experiment show positive effects of pancreatin supplementation on pacu larvae growth and survival.
enzymatic supplementation; inert diet; larvae feeding; pancreatin; weaning
