Welfare and performance in Nile Tilapia juveniles: role of spontaneous choice behavior

Abstract

This project aims to evaluate the effect of diet composition based on animal choice for ingredients and nutrients on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) juveniles performance (growth and food efficiency), contrasting with traditional diet. This assumes that feeding management based on fish choice provides better welfare conditions. Three studies will be carried out. In the first study eight ingredients will be tested for fish acceptance and ingestion (fish meal, poultry offal meal, soybean meal, roasted whole soybean, cotton meal, sunflower integral, corn and wheat), offered separately. In the second, four diets will be provided simultaneously in four treatments to compare effect of stress on the choice (supposedly, stress increases energy cost that might affect preference for diets). This will give us a profile of ingredients and macronutrientes chosen for the Nile tilapia, which will be used to compose a diet. Considering that the fish might choose two diets, one for the low stress level and the other for the high stress, thus three treatments are expected in the next study. This choice-based diets will then be compared with the traditional one (based on nutritional requirements) in terms of effect on growth and feed efficiency. (AU)