Effect of reward level on the number of food demands in yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata

ABSTRACT: The effect of reward level (amount of food received in response to one trigger actuation) on the self-feeding activity of juvenile yellowtails was examined. Three groups of 10 juvenile yellowtails (mean bodyweight, 65.6 g) were allocated randomly to three 200 L cylindrical tanks set in the experiment room. Each tank was illuminated by overhead fluorescent lamps with a light : dark photoperiod regimen of 12 h : 12 h (light 06.00–18.00 hours). A rod-type tactile switch was used to activate the self-feeding device. Three levels of reward were set up by installing a different number of identical feeders for each group: one feeder for the low-reward group, three feeders for the medium-reward group and five feeders for the high-reward group. Each feeder delivered 3–7 pellets per actuation. Yellowtails in all groups showed a clearly diurnal feeding pattern that was synchronized to the given photoperiod. Average number of feeder actuations per day was highest (219/day) in the low-reward group. Second highest was the medium-reward group (116/day), and last was the high-reward group (67/day). The resultant average feed intake per day was 27.1 g/day in the low-reward group, 31.5 g/day in the medium-reward group and 28.4 g/day in the high-reward group. Thus, yellowtails appear to have the ability to regulate the amount of feed delivered daily by increasing the number of food demands when the reward is low and decreasing the number of food demands when the reward is high.