A laboratory investigation of the filtration and ingestion rates of the tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, feeding on two species of blue-green algae

Citation

Northcott ME, Beveridge MCM & Ross L (1991) A laboratory investigation of the filtration and ingestion rates of the tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, feeding on two species of blue-green algae. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 31 (1), pp. 75-85. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002160

Abstract
Quantitative aspects of the filter-feeding of the tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus, on two species of the blue-green algae -Anabaena cylindrica andMicrocystis aeruginosa - were investigated in the laboratory. The ingestion rate of 85 mm SLO. niloticus was best fitted using a linear regression over the range of biovolume concentrations studied (3 × 106 - 3 × 108 μm3 ml-1). The ingestion rate of 40 mm SL fish gave a curvilinear relationship and was best fitted using a logarithmic regression. For each size class of fish, ingestion rates were higher when fed the largerAnabaena thanMicrocystis. The results of ingestion and filtration rates are comparable to work on other aquatic suspension feeders and tend to substantiate a universality in the fundamental regulatory mechanism of filter feeding.

Keywords
Filter-feeding; Phytoplanktivory; Cichlid fish; Aquaculture

Journal
Environmental Biology of Fishes: Volume 31, Issue 1

People

Professor Lindsay Ross

Emeritus Professor, Institute of Aquaculture