Ingestion Rate and Feeding Behavior of Guppy (Poecilia reticulata Peters) Larvae Fed on Nauplii of Artemia urmiana and Artemia franciscana

Artemia nauplii, despite their marine origin, have a good potential for application in the freshwater ornamental fish culture. In this study, Artemia urmiana and A. franciscana were used for feeding Guppy (Poecilia reticulata Peters) larvae. Newly hatched nauplii at three different densities of 3, 6, and 12 ind./ml as live feed were compared for measuring larval ingestion rate. Results showed that type and density of Artemia nauplii had significant effects on ingestion rate (P<0.05). The average ingestion rate in larvae which were maintained at 12 hours starvation (first set of experiment) were 36, 244, and 664 ind./larvae/day for A. urmiana, 160, 480, and 880 ind./larvae/day for A. fransiscana at densities of 3, 6, and 12 ind./ml, respectively. The average ingestion rate of guppy larvae with 24, 48 and 72 hours feeding preconditions (2nd, 3rd and 4th set of experiment) significantly (P<0.05) decreased. After starvation, the ingestion rate of guppy larvae fed A. urmiana ranged between 22-54, 86-102, and 148-188 ind./larvae/day, for A. franciscana 66-100, 100-260, and 200-224 ind./larvae/day at 3, 6, and 12 ind./ml, respectively. The use of suitable densities of 6 and 12 ind./ml from Artemia nauplii could increase efficiency of utilization and also improve guppy larvae production.