The Effect of Live Food on the Coloration and Growth in Guppy Fish, <i>Poecilia reticulata</i>

Abstract

Colour production in fish is due mostly to food. In conditions of captivity, the type of food is restricted, while various types of food are used in aquaculture, from processed dry food to small aquatic animals. In this study, we used nauplii of Artemia franciscana, "water fleas" Moina wierzejski, micro-worm Panagrellus redivivus, and commercial flakes. We used Poecilia reticulata, which is one of the most traded fish in ornamental aquaculture and hypothesise that if the live food influences the coloration and growth of P. reticulata, there must be differences in the intensity of colour pattern and growth rate in fish fed with different living animals. Consistent with our prediction, females and males of P. reticulata were more colourful when they were fed on A. franciscana, P. redivivus and M. wierzejski than when they were fed commercial flakes. Females and males of P. reticulata fed with A. franciscana grew in less time than fish fed with P. redivivus, M. wierzejski, or commercial flakes. We conclude that live food is an excellent way to affect growth and coloration in fish.

Cladóceros presentes en ecosistemas acuáticos de Morelos, México, con posibilidad de uso como alimento vivo

“…ISSN online 2007-9621 Trejo-Albarrán, R., Gómez-Márquez, J. L., Granados Ramírez, J. G., Trujillo Jiménez, P., Castro Franco, R., Bustos Zagal, G., & Granjeno Colín, A. E. Cladóceros presentes en ecosistemas acuáticos de Morelos, México, con posibilidad de uso como alimento vivo | 1-18 Arce et al (2018), Ferrão-Filho et al (2003 De igual forma, se recomienda evaluar otros procesos de enriquecimiento y fuentes de ácidos grasos con el objetivo de lograr aumentar la tasa de crecimiento durante esta fase y consolidar el proceso de larvicultura. Atencio et al (2014) señalan que la mayor mortalidad larval en peces se presenta entre el segundo y cuarto día de inicio de la alimentación exógena.…”

KERAGAMAN GENETIK GUPPY (Poecilia reticulata) MENGGUNAKAN METODE RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA)

“…Penampilan warna pada ikan dipengaruhi oleh faktor genetik, lingkungan dan interaksi antara faktor genetik dan lingkungan (Uribe et al, 2018). Pola warna dikontrol oleh gen dan diturunkan dari induk kepada keturunannya (Laimeheriwa et al, 2019).…”

Performance of Co-Housed Neon Tetras (Paracheirodon innesi) and Glowlight Rasboras (Trigonostigma hengeli) Fed Commercial Flakes and Lyophilized Natural Food

“…In comparison, the majority of scientifically verified reports about aquarium fish nutrition also concern the application of natural food for larval stages [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], but there are mostly vague reports about diets for fish which already underwent larval metamorphosis [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. More attention has thus far been paid only to the Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], commonly known as the “betta”.…”

“…as a supplementary ingredient in formulated pellets for poecilid livebearers [ 32 , 33 ]. In addition, a highly diversified mixture of natural and artificial food proved to be the most preferable for the green swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii [ 27 ], while different live feed were shown to be an upgrade from commercial flakes when fed to the guppy, Poecilia reticulata [ 35 ]. Finally, nutritional studies on the model species, the zebrafish Danio rerio (Danionidae), have shown that intensive rearing with only Artemia sp.…”

“…All in all, these results generally point toward a presumption that natural food is highly desirable in the nutrition of aquarium fish, especially when used in addition to formulated feed. Unfortunately, apart from some of the aforementioned studies on the betta [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ] and zebrafish [ 45 , 47 , 48 , 51 ], most of the scientists cited above [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 46 , 49 , 50 ] did not use almost any analytical methodology other than standard growth parameters. Thus, they did not take into account that there are distinct internal biological features which distinguish the studied species, which may be of consequence during their co-housing in community tanks.…”