Food restriction in Nile tilapia juveniles (Oreochromis niloticus)

Aim of study: To evaluate if dietary restriction influence muscle and intestinal morphology as well as the production performance of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).Area of study: State University of Western Parana (Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Parana – Unioeste), Toledo Campus, Brazil.Material and methods: The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and five replicates. The treatments were: 7:0 (fed daily; control); 6:1 (fed 6 consecutive days followed by 1 day of fasting); 5:2 (fed 5 consecutive days followed by 2 days of fasting); and 1:1 (fed 1 day followed by 1 day of fasting). A commercial ration with 33.70% crude protein and 4.60% lipid was used, and fish were fed four times daily until apparent satiety for 60 days.Main results: The following parameters were found to have differences among treatments (p 0.05) among treatments. The cost of food and partial net revenue were higher in the 7:0 treatment compared to the experimental treatments.Research highlights: Dietary restriction for Nile tilapia in the juvenile phase negatively influences productive performance, centesimal composition, and muscle growth, which demonstrates that this practice is economically unfeasible for commercial production.