The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with the autochthonous probiotic bacteria Bacillus cereus on growth performance, haematological parameters and survival of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). Tambaqui fingerlings (0.94 ± 0.02 g) were fed for 120 days the following diets: basal (without probiotic) and three supplemented diets (4.2 × 10 4 , 3.9 × 10 6 and 3.3 × 10 8 CFU/ g). Growth performance and haematological parameters were evaluated every 30 days. Thereafter, fish were challenged against Aeromonas hydrophila and survival was evaluated. Probiotic B. cereus improved weight and length gains (p < 0.05), and increased neutrophils and thrombocyte counts (p < 0.05) in tambaqui supplemented with 3.9 × 10 6 CFU/g diet. Challenged fish fed unsupplemented diet presented the lowest survival rate (33.4%) while fish fed diets supplemented at 4.2 × 10 4 , 3.9 × 10 6 and 3.3 × 10 8 CFU/g B. cereus had 88.8%, 80.5% and 80.5% relative per cent survival respectively. These results demonstrated that B. cereus supplemented as probiotics to C. macropomum for 120 days improved physiological and haematological responses, leading to enhanced survival in this fish species. K E Y W O R D Samazon, bacterium, fish, haematology, nutrition, performance

The banded cichlid (Herus severus) is an Amazonian species with potential as ornamental fish, however basic handlings as quantity and feeding frequency as well as stocking density in larviculture are still unknown in order to allow the rational production of this species in captivity. Then the objective was to evaluate the amount of food, feeding frequency and stocking density during the larviculture of Herus severus. Therefore, two experiments were conducted: the first assessed the food concentration (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 Artemia larvae-1) and feed rate (2 or 4 meals day-1), and the second experiment evaluated different stocking densities (1, 5, 10, 15, 20 larvae L-1) with four replications each. Feeding of 250 nauplii larva day-1 distributed in four daily meals promoted the highest weight, length, specific growth rate, weight gain and survival. In the second experiment, reduction in growth was observed with increased in density due to lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen and elevated total ammonia from 5 larvae L-1. Thus, to promote the rational cultivation of the Banded cichlid larvae in captivity, the species should be reared at 5 larvae L-1 fed with 250nauplii distributed along 4 daily meals.

The study evaluated productive performance of larvae Nannostomus beckfordi submitted to feeding management (Experiment one) and different stock density (Experiment two) in captivity conditions. The first experiment evaluated feeding rate (100 and 200 nauplii of artemia larvae −1 day −1 ) and feeding frequency (2 and 4× per day). Second experiment evaluated different stock density (1, 5, 10, 20, 40 larvae per litre). At the end of 15 days, for both experiment, the survival and productive performance such as total length (TL), final weight (FW), specific development rate (SDR), specific growth rate (SGR), uniformity for weight (UW) uniformity for length (UL) and relative condition factor (Kr) was determined. For the main results, there is no significant difference to the rate and feeding frequency. The stock density has no significant difference for UW, Kr and survival. Nonetheless, a reduction in the TL, FW, SDR, SGR and FW with the increase in density (20 for 40 larvae per litre) was observed. Thus, for this species Nannostomus beckfordi during to initial stage using exogenous feeding, it is recommended 20 larvae per litre fed with 100 nauplii per larvae having two meals per day.

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This study evaluated the growth and survival of Betta splendens larvae exposed to different salt concentrations (NaCl 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 g L-1) and stocking densities (1, 5, 10 and 15 larvae L-1) during 20 days. A completely randomized design in a 5x4 factorial scheme with three replications was used, and the fish reared in static system. At the end of the experiment were evaluated the final weight, total length, group uniformity, specific growth rate and survival. Total larvae mortality was observed in treatments with 4, 6 and 8 g L-1, demonstrating the susceptibility of this specie for these concentrations. However, the salinized water with 2 g L-1 promotes longer larvae when fish were maintained in densities of 10 and 15 larvae L-1. Further, there were no interactions between the addition of salt and stocking density for the other parameters. However, beneficial effects of salinized water (2 g L-1) were observed as better growth performance and survival of larvae. Regarding the stocking density, apart from addition of salt, the larvae present best development at density of 5 larvae L-1. Therefore, the use of salinized water (2 g L-1) and stocking density of 5 larvae L-1 is recommended for the Betta splendens larviculture.