Nutritional requirement of two Amazonian aquacultured fish species,Colossoma macropomum(Cuvier, 1816) andPiaractus brachypomus(Cuvier, 1818): a mini review

This short review will focus on the nutritional requirement of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) and pirapitinga (Piaractus brachypomus), two important aquacultured neotropical fishes for Latin American countries. Demonstrated is that despite the large number of studies on protein requirement for C. macropomum, most are inadequate. The principal difficulties with the various published papers are described. Using the nutritional ecology of the fish, some recommendations are presented to identify future research needs in the area. A focus on determining the nutrient requirement for P. brachypomus is featured since there are few studies regarding this species, as well as a focus on the differences in feeding plasticity with C. macropomum. Market and farming constraints and the nutritional ecology of these species in Latin America with special emphasis on Brazil, are also described.