In order to determine the viability of new species for aquaculture, it is important to know the limiting factors for its production. The knowledge about postprandial oxygen consumption of fish is useful to estimate the time for returning to appetite and allows to estimate the proper feeding frequency. The objective of this research was to study the postprandial oxygen consumption of juvenile pompano Trachinotus marginatus. Oxygen consumption rate was determined at 24°C and 33‰ and fish (9.64±0.2g) were fed daily with 12% total of biomass NRD INVE diet (59% protein). Postprandial increase in oxygen consumption was observed 30min after feeding (1.06mgO2 g-1 h-1), and it returned to the routine metabolic rate (0.79mgO2 g-1 h-1) within the next 120min. According to these results, it seems appropriated to feed juvenile pompano 8 times per day, because every 2.5h the oxygen consumption rate declines to the unfed level, suggesting that the process of digestion and assimilation have already finished.
Carangidae; feeding; metabolism; marine fish culture
