Establishing a First-Feeding Protocol for the Larviculture of the Neotropical Catfish Pseudopimelodus atricaudus

The development of first-feeding protocols is a critical step in the domestication of native fish species for aquaculture. This study aimed to evaluate the first-feeding management of Pseudopimelodus atricaudus, a Neotropical catfish with aquaculture potential, using four prey types: Artemia nauplii (AN), decapsulated Artemia cysts (DC), wild zooplankton smaller than 400 µm (WZ < 400), and larger than 400 µm (WZ > 400). Larvae of P. atricaudus begin exogenous feeding at 30 h post-hatch (1.5 ± 0.02 mg and 5.2 ± 0.01 mm) and have a maximum mouth width of 611.4 ± 11.7 µm. Larvae fed WZ > 400 µm showed significantly higher growth (13.7 ± 0.2 mm, 94.6 ± 1.8 mg) and final survival (91.2 ± 2.2%) compared to the other treatments (p < 0.05), as well as a greater intestinal fold height (129.8 ± 8.4 µm, p < 0.05). No significant differences in hypoxia stress resistance were detected among treatments (p > 0.05). This study demonstrated that WZ > 400 µm is an appropriate prey for managing the first feeding of P. atricaudus.