Feeding behavior in juvenile snook, Centropomus undecimalis. I. Individual effect of some chemical substances

Abstract

This study was designed to analyze the influence of certain chemical substances on the feeding behavior of juvenile common snook. The following chemicals were tested: L-alanine, L-leucine, L-isoleucine, L-glutamic acid, glycine, L-proline, L-histidine, L-serine, L-lysine, L-arginine, inosine-5-triphosphate, and uridine. Feeding responses were studied in tanks containing one or two fish. The substances were placed in pellets made of agar, at a concentration of 0.01 M. The chemicals found to act as attractants were: uridine, L-isoleucine, and inosine with one fish; and those plus glycine, L-proline, L-arginine, L-leucine, and L-glutamic acid with two fish. The feeding responses were stronger with two fish, indicating that the number of fish had an influence on feeding behavior