Is peak postprandial oxygen consumption positively related to growth rate and resting oxygen consumption in a sedentary catfish Silurus meridionalis?

The resting oxygen consumption , postprandial and post‐exercise peak oxygen consumption of 137 juvenile southern catfish Silurus meridionalis, weighing 18·5 ± 0·8 g (mean ±s.d.), were measured at 25° C to determine whether is positively related to postprandial and post‐exercise in sedentary S. meridionalis. In addition, postprandial metabolic response [i.e. the specific dynamic action (SDA)] after a satiating meal and the growth performance as a consequence of a 3 week feeding‐growth trail were measured in 40 S. meridionalis, weighing 14·3 ± 0·2 g, at 25° C to determine whether postprandial is positively related to growth rate. Postprandial was positively correlated with , while post‐exercise was not. Both postprandial and post‐exercise were positively correlated with factorial and absolute scope. There was no significant correlation between the growth rate and postprandial in S. meridionalis. It suggested that as a sit‐and‐wait forager with low , low post‐exercise and high postprandial , the expenditure of energy for maintenance in S. meridionalis may be more closely related to digestive processes than locomotor activities.