Name:     Teresa Cristina Ribeiro Dias-Koberstein	Profession: Fish Zoologist
Relationship:	Country:     Jaboticabal, Brazil
Centro de Aqüicultura, Universidade Estadual Paulista, SÃO PAULO STATE UNIVERSITY - UNESP AQUACULTURE CENTER - CAUNESP CENTRO DE AQÜICULTURA - UNESP Rodovia Carlos Tonanni, Km 5 14870-000 - Jaboticabal, SP., Brazil Comportamento alimentar de alevinos de pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus, Holmberg, 1887) por meio das observações do tempo de retorno do apetite e do tempo de saciação dos peixes em duas temperaturas de cultivo Teresa Cristina Ribeiro Dias-Koberstein1, Dalton José Carneiro2 e Elisabeth Criscuolo Urbinati3 1Centro de Aqüicultura, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Via Ac. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n°, 14884-900, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brasil. 2Departamento de Zootecnia, FCAV, Via Ac. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n°, 14884-900, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brasil. 3Departamento de Morfologia e Fisiologia Animal, FCAV/Unesp, Via Ac. Paulo Donato Castellane, s/n°, 14884-900, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brasil. *Autor para correspondência. e-mail: crisdias@caunesp.unesp.br ABSTRACT. The feed behavior of pacu figerling (Piaractus mesopotamicus, Holmberg, 1887), based on appetite revival and satiation of fish at two cultivate temperature. The present work assessed the effects of the temperature on the feed ingestion by pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) determining the feed behavior based on appetite revival and satiation. Ninety-six 160g pacus were placed in 150-liter experimental aquariums with continuous water flow and fed a commercial floating feed containing 28% crude protein. To determine the appetite revival time, for each aquarium, fish from all repetitions were fed at the zero time. Fish form each aquarium was reefed at intervals of 60 min. The way, fish from aquarium one were reefed one hour after initial feeding, those of the aquarium two, two hours after, and subsequently until 24 hours after, for each temperature tested. To determine the feeding ingestion and satiation time, in each of the six Acta Scientiarum. Animal Sciences Maringá, v. 26, n. 3, p. 339-344, 2004 84 Dias-Koberstein et al. observations, fish were fed several times until they no more search for food. Time was registered from the beginning to the end feeding. The satiation time was calculated in each aquarium through the mean of ingestion time. The statistical designs varied according to the characteristics of each trial. Fish were observed to feed better in the afternoons (6,53 and 3,97g for 23 and 27°C respectively), although time spent for the feed ingestion was similar to that spent in the mornings 8,18 and 7,84min for 23 and 27°C, respectively. The daily feed consumption was influenced by temperature, showing ingestion indexes of 2,29 and 2,97% of body weight per day at 23 and 27ºC, respectively. The two tested temperatures provided the same TRA (10,43g), evidenced by the greatest value observed for the food consumption after a 11:00h fast period.  Key-words: pacu, appetite revival, satiation time.