Survival and Growth of Juvenile Marine Pejerrey, Odontesthes argentinensis, Reared at Different Temperatures.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of temperature on survival and growth of juvenile marine pejerrey, Odontesthes argentinensis. Juveniles were randomly distributed into plastic tanks (100 L) with 50 juveniles per tank. The growth experiment was carried out at four temperatures: 20, 23, 26, and 29 C with triplicate tanks for each treatment. Survival was not affected in the range of 20-26 C, but it was significantly reduced at 29 C. Pejerrey reared at 23 C showed significantly higher total length compared with the other treatments. Fish maintained at 29 C grew significantly slower than fish reared at all other temperatures, while weight of pejerrey reared at either 20 or 26 C did not differ after 28 d ( P > 0.05); they were both significantly smaller than fish kept at 23 C ( P < 0.05). Feed consumption increased significantly from 20 to 29 C. The relationships between specific growth rate and temperature, and feed conversion ratio and temperature were adequately fitted with a second-order polynomial equation. The results of this study show that juvenile pejerrey should be reared at around 23 C to maximize growth and food conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]