Crecimiento y eficiencia alimentaria de la mojarra Cichlasoma heterospilum (Cichlidae: Perciformes) al sur del Golfo de México

Cichlasoma heterospilum, a potentially important species for aquaculture was studied in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The sex ratio was 1:1, and there were seasonal differences in abundance of mature individuals. Parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation were: K= 0.38 (year^-1), L_∞ = 26 cm (TL), W_∞ = 321 g, to= -0.249 years. This omnivore has a daily food consumption per unit biomass of Q/B = 4.05% of body weight, annual Q/B = 14.8%; however, gross efficiency of growth associated to food consumption can be assumed to be relatively low (= 0.1147) compared to other commercially important species. Aquaculture would require an increase in growth efficiency.