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Digestion of an aquatic macrophyte by Tilapia zillii (Gervais)
Author(s) -
Buddington R. K.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1979.tb03628.x
Subject(s) - biology , macrophyte , digestion (alchemy) , tilapia , fish <actinopterygii> , aquatic plant , food science , cellulose , botany , fishery , biochemistry , ecology , chromatography , chemistry
The digestive efficiency of Tilapia zillii fed Najas guadalupensis was studied in the laboratory. Digestion was dependent on the ability of the fish to triturate the plant tissues. Based on a dietary reference, cellulose, the total digestibility of Najas was 29.3%. Digestive efficiency of the fish for non‐cellulose organic matter, protein and fat was 55.7%, 75.1% and 75.9%, respectively. Of the total caloric content of the plant, 45.4% was assimilated. An estimate was made of the amount of Najas necessary to satisfy the caloric expenditure of the fish.