Circadian Meal Timing in Relation to Lighting Schedule Optimizes Catfish Body Weight Gain

Abstract

Two groups of 4- to 5-month-old catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, were studied 2 years apart, in each case after standardization in light for 12 hours, alternating with darkness for 12 hours. The two studies involved 5 groups of 10 catfish each and 10 groups of 17 catfish each, respectively. In each study some fish were allowed access to food only during certain times in the circadian cycle: early dark, late dark, early light and late light for 45 or 50 days. On the average, in both studies, the catfish on restricted feeding schedules gained in body weight but more so when fed at certain times in the circadian cycle as compared to others. A circadian rhythm in weight response was demonstrated by a zero-amplitude test associated with the fit of a 24-hour cosine curve to the data (P less than 0.03). The acrophase (time of high values) for body weight gain occurred consistently either near the middle or in the second half of the daily dark span. That is, body weight gain in the presumably dark-active catfish seems to be maximal when food is made available in the middle or later part of the daily dark span. In catfish, as in human beings and mice, the timing of food intake can serve to optimize the utilization of ingested calories, by mechanisms yet to be elucidated.

The effects of feeding time and time-restricted feeding on the fattening traits of White Roman geese

“…Rats fed during the light phase gained less weight than those fed during the dark phase (Philippens et al, 1977). Body weight gain in presumably dark-active catfish appeared maximal when food was available in the middle or later part of the dark phase (Sundararaj et al, 1982). Catfish that were fed in the morning exhibited substantially higher body weight and less fat compared with catfish fed in the afternoon (Noeske-Hallin et al, 1985).…”

“…Pigs that were fed identical meals at 12-h intervals followed a clear diurnal biorhythm in protein anabolism, exhibiting a greater amino-acid utilization and lower plasma urea response in the morning compared with the evening (Koopmans et al, 2006). Feeding experiments have shown that meal time significantly affects the weight gain of black-headed buntings (Emberiza melanocephala; Kumar et al, 2001), mice (Nelson et al, 1975), rats (Philippens et al, 1977) and catfish (Sundararaj et al, 1982;Noeske-Hallin et al, 1985), although the optimal time varies among species. In this study, we compared the fattening traits of White Roman geese fed in the morning with those fed in the afternoon in Trial I, and compared the parameters between ad libitum and time-restricted feeding regimens in Trial II.…”

Consommation volontaire d'aliments en situation d'alternance de lumière et d'obscurité chezHeterobranchus longifilis

“…Chez Heterobranchus long$lis, qui possède un remarquable potentiel aquacole (Legendre, 1983(Legendre, , 1988, Kerdchuen et Legendre (1991), qui ont par ailleurs observé une plus grande activité locomotrice en période nocturne dans des situations d'élevage en étangs ou enclos, ont pu mettre en évidence une légère amélioration de la croissance et de l'indice de consommation chez les poissons nourris durant la nuit, par repas ou de façon continue, confirmant ainsi les observations de Hogendoorn (1981) chez Clarius guriepinus, et Sundararaj et al (1982) Le poids moyen des poissons est passé de 11,5 à 27,6 g, la croissance journalière s'établissant à 0,72, 0,77 et 0,64 g.jour-' pour les 3 périodes successives. L'indice de consommation a augmenté avec le temps, passant de 1 à 1,8, les différences étant significatives pour les périodes extrêmes ( p < 0,05).…”

“…Le silure africain Heterobranc1zu.r 1ongifili.s apparaît ainsi avoir un net comportement trophique nocturne tel que cela a été démontré chez les siluriformes, notamment ceux ayant fait l'objet d'études expérimentales, tels que Clarias gariepinu.~ (Hogendoorn, 198 1 ), Heteropneustes fissilis (Sundararaj et al, 1982), Hoplosternum littorale (Boujard et al, 1990(Boujard et al, , 1992. Ce comportement trophique nocturne n'est cependant pas strict car dans cette expérience 22 à 30 % de l'aliment sont consommés en phase d'éclairement.…”

PERFORMA PERTUMBUHAN KRABLET KEPITING BAKAU (Scylla olivacea) DENGAN FREKUENSI PEMBERIAN PAKAN BERBEDA PADA STADIA PENDEDERAN

“…Bolliet et al (2002) juga melaporkan bahwa ikan African catfish, Heterobranchus longifilis, yang diberi pakan pada waktu malam ternyata tumbuh lebih baik daripada yang diberi pakan pada siang hari. Hal yang sama juga terjadi pada ikan Indian catfish, Heteropneuster fossilis (Sundararaj et al, 1982). Ikan characin, Piarachus brachypomus yang diberi pakan secara kontinu pada waktu malam (pukul 20.30-08.30) tumbuh lebih baik daripada yang diberi pakan pada siang hari (pukul 08.30-20.30) (Baras et al, 1996).…”