Reversão sexual da tilápia do Nilo, Oreochromis niloticus (vr. Chitralada), em diferentes salinidades na presença da microalgas Spirulina platensis (Cyanophyta)

Abstract

The larva of the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, during the first days of life meets its meets their nutrition needs with the vitelline reserve, because neither the buccal cavity is open nor the intestinal tract is completely formed. After the consumption of the vitellus, the fish is already a post-larva and it s feeding becomes exogenous and mainly composed of microalgae and zooplankton. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis, in the performance of post-larvae (pl's) of the Nile tilapia submitted to different salinity levels during the period of sex reversal. In the first phase of the research, besides S. platensis , we also supplied, in all of the treatments, a microparticulate feed (50% of crude protein) containing the masculinizing hormone 17-α-metiltestost erone, with the intention of conducting the sex reversal of the fish. The experimental design was completely randomized and divided into three treatments with three replications per treatment. The fish were farmed in the salinity levels of 0, 15 and 25, and presented weights and final medium lengths of 1,547 ± 0,145 g and 4,753 ± 0,209 cm; 1,618 ± 0,154 g and 4,957 ± 0,131 cm and 1,580 ± 0,090 g and 4,844 ± 0,0 25 cm, respectively, after 28 days of farming, in which there was no statistical difference (α = 0,05). After that period, the fish of the salinity levels of 15 and 25 were acclimatized to 0 (zero) salinity level again and distributed into boxes of 1000 L in the density of 0,05 fish L-1 and farmed for 35 days. After that period, the rate of sex reversal, the growth in weight and length and the survival rate of the animals were evaluated. In that phase, we supplied only a feed of 35% of crude protein without hormone. At the end of that phase, the fish presented average weights and lengths of 11.923 g and 8.888 cm; 12.033 g and 9.716 cm and 12.604 g and 10.001 cm for the fish coming from the salinity levels of 0, 15 and 25, respectively. After the gonadal analysis, the rates of ix sex reversal did not present significant differences among the treatments, with an average of 97.3% of male individuals. The conduction of this work enabled us to conclude that the water salinity did not interfere with the growth in weight and length, the rate of sex reversal and the survival of the Nile tilapia (O. niloticus), during the sex reversal in the presence of the microseaweed Spirulina platensis.