Development, nutrition, and rearing practices of relevant catfish species (Siluriformes) at early stages

Abstract

Catfish (Siluriformes) are important species for aquaculture worldwide, with an annual production in 2018 of ca. 6 million t. This review focuses on reassessing larval development, first feeding, and early rearing practices of the most important farmed catfish species, along with some candidate species for aquaculture diversification: Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Pangasiidae), Clarias gariepinus (Clariidae), Ictalurus punctatus (Ictaluridae), Pseudoplatystoma spp. (Pimelodidae), Heteropneustes fossilis (Heteropneustidae), Rhamdia quelen (Heptapteridae), Ompok bimaculatus (Siluridae), and Lophiosilurus alexandri (Pseudopimelodidade). These species are initially reared indoors from one day to two weeks and are then transferred to fertilised outdoor ponds where they either feed on natural zooplankton or compound feeds. With the exception of C. gariepinus, I. punctatus, R. quelen and P. hypophthalmus, consistent and reliable fry production is a bottleneck that limits the expansion of farming of other species, such as Pseudoplatystoma spp., H. fossilis, O. bimaculatus, and L. alexandri. Rearing systems (extensive, semi‐extensive, intensive) and feeding protocols vary with species and geographical regions. Cannibalism and size heterogeneity are common, and these features create problems for larval and fry rearing of catfish species. Information about their nutritional requirements is required for the formulation of compound feeds that can guarantee high survival and good growth of catfish fries. However, such knowledge for most species is scarce, although some data are available for I. punctatus. Further genomic resources might allow fine‐tuning rearing success. This review describes some successes in this field, and also highlights gaps in knowledge to guide future research that can promote the development of catfish aquaculture.

Catfish as an Ecotoxicological Model for Assessment of Nanoparticle Toxicity Profiling

“…However, some fish species may be at the forefront due to their advantages in monitoring NP-induced oxidative stress processes in different cellular systems of teleost fish. One of these species, catfish (Siluriformes) is one of the important species worldwide in aquaculture, with an annual production of approximately 6 million tons in 2018 [52]. They live mainly in freshwater and are widely distributed in the tropics of Africa, South America, and Asia.…”

“…Catfish -Advances, Technology, Experiments low dissolved oxygen levels, efficient feed conversion, and ease of fillet processing, make them important in aquaculture [52,55].…”

Source diversity of Artemia enrichment boosts goldfish (Carassius auratus) performance, β-carotene content, pigmentation, immune-physiological and transcriptomic responses

“…During the fish larval rearing phases, live foods such as Artemia sp., Daphnia sp., Tubifex sp., and Moina sp. are routinely used 26 , 27 . It is hypothesized that the mobility, metabolic wastes, and chemical attractants of living food organisms facilitate fish larval feeding 27 – 29 .…”

Dietary administration of Bacillus subtilis , inulin and its synbiotic combination improves growth and mitigates stress in experimentally infected Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum

“…Catfish are very popular in freshwater aquaculture in Brazil, have prime meat with a small amount of spines and have great potential for cultivation, been the leading candidate for the development of fish farming in South America (Silva, Lima and Lundstedt, 2015; Valladão, Gallani and Pilarski, 2018; Gisbert et al, 2021). Among them, the Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum catfish is produced for consumption, and breeders are used for the production of intra and interspecific hybrids (Campos, 2010, Girsbert et al, 2021). Physiology and immunology studies of the species are still scarce.…”