This study was designed to determine compensatory growth response of short-term starvation and refeeding cycles on Oreochromis mossambicus juveniles. A total of 360 juveniles were randomly divided into 12 tanks in triplicate groups. The control group (C) was fed three times a day to satiation. The feeding regimes of the other groups were designed as follows: 2 days deprivation /2 days refeeding (2DD2DRF), 2 days deprivation /3 days refeeding (2DD3DRF), and 2 days deprivation /4 days refeeding (2DD4DRF). After 60 days, only fish in 2DD4DRF group presented partial compensatory growth; no significant difference (P>0.05) was observed in the final weight (FW), and specific growth weight (SGR) compared to the control. Hepatosomatic index (HSI), viscerosomatic index (VSI), and condition factor (CF) was not affected by these feeding regimes. Furthermore, improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), and feed efficiency ratio (FER) were observed in 2DD4DRF fish, among groups. Feed intake (FI) was significantly lower (P<0.05) in starved fish compared to C. Meanwhile, muscle crude protein and lipid content in 2DD2DRF, and 2DD3DRF groups was significantly lower (P<0.05) compared to C and 2DD4DRF group. Compensatory growth response in 2DD4DRF presents possibilities for economic optimization in O. mossambicus production.

This study was designed to determine the effect of short-term starvation and refeeding cycles on growth performance, feed utilization, and muscle composition of hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus x O. niloticus). A total of 360 juveniles (5.53  0.38g) were randomly divided into 12 tanks in triplicate groups. The control group (C) was fed three times a day to satiation. The feeding regimes of the other groups were designed as follows: 2 days deprivation /2 days refeeding (2DD2DRF), 2 days deprivation /3 days refeeding (2DD3DRF), and 2 days deprivation / 4 days refeeding (2DD4DRF). Fish in 2DD4DRF group presented complete compensatory growth; no significant difference was observed in growth performance parameters compared to C. Hepatosomatic index, viscerosomatic index, and condition factor was not affected by these feeding regimes. Moreover, better feed conversion ratio, feed efficiency ratio, and protein efficiency ratio values were observed in feed deprived fish, with the best parameters observed in fish under 2DD4DRF feeding regime. Meanwhile, muscle crude protein and lipid content in 2DD2DRF and 2DD3DRF was significantly lower compared to C and 2DD4DRF group. The IJA appears exclusively as a peer-reviewed on-line open-access journal at http://www.siamb.org.il. To read papers free of charge, please register online at registration form. Sale of IJA papers is strictly forbidden.