Preferência alimentar e o efeito de abrigos naturais no cultivo do caranguejo vermelho Dilocarcinus pagei Stimpson, 1861

Abstract

The food preference of the red crab Dilocarcunus pagei Stimpson, 1861 was investigated for fish, fish fillet Chaetobranchus flavescens (Heckel, 1840), macrophytes Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms and Salvinia auriculata Alblet, In the laboratory, feeding trials were performed for 50 males and 50 females (adults and juveniles), performed individually, in 4 aquariums with a size of 30X42X30cm After a fasting of 48 hours were given simultaneously to the specimens: ration, fish fillet, leaf of E. crassipes and leaf of S. auriculata, during 24 hours, after this period the same foods were offered again during the same period, totalizing 48 hours of experiment, each food was standardized for size and weight, and the observations were performed every 8 hours in order to verify the sequence in which the foods were consumed. were removed before each new food supply and then dried in a greenhouse at 65º C. On the first day, the food with the highest preference was fish fillet, followed by the diet, leaf of E. crassipes and leaf of S. auriculata (F= 39.92; GL= 3; P<0.05), on the second day, the most preferred food was the feed, followed by fish fillet, E. crassipes leaf and S. auriculata leaf (F= 38.14, GL= 3; P<0.05). The diet was the most consumed food on the first day (F= 9.17, GL= 3, P<0.05), the same pattern was obtained on the second day of feeding (F= 21.26, GL= 3; P<0.05). The development phase affected the food preference, where the adults had a higher preference for the ration than the juveniles, on both days. No differences were found regarding sex, either for preference or for consumption. Our results suggest that food preference may be based on foods that provide greater energy gain, items that are the most viable for the development of this species in captivity.