EFEITO DA DENSIDADE DE LOTAÇÃO E DA RENOVAÇÃO DA ÁGUA NO DESENVOLVIMENTO DO PACU (piaractus Mesopotamicus)

The performance of juvenile pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus , held at three different stocking densities, 14, 28 and 42 fishes/ m³, and two levels of tanks water renovation, 1¹/2 and 3 h, with two replications, was tested in a 3 by 2 factorial design. A series of 12 concrete rectangular shaped tanks (4,0 m x 1,5 m x 0,8 m deep), installed outdoors was utilized. The result of this study suggests that stocking density has a marked effect on the growth of juvenile pacu. It was observed that an increase of treefold in density and decreased water flow were related to increased mortality. KEY-WORDS: Piaractus mesopotamicus ; fish; stocking density; water flow.