Cichlasoma dimerus is a neotropical cichlid that has been used as a biological model for neuroendocrinology studies. However, its culture is problematic in terms of larval feeding to allow having enough fry quantity and quality. Larviculture requires full knowledge about the digestive system and nutrition; therefore, this study was intended to assess the digestive enzymes' changes at different ages during the early ontogeny. Acid protease activity was detectable from the first day after hatching (dah), increasing to its maximum peaks on 9 dah. In contrast, alkaline proteases had low activity in the first days of life but reached their maximum activity on 17 dah. Chymotrypsin, L-aminopeptidase, and carboxypeptidase A activities increased at 6 dah, while trypsin activity was first detected on 13 dah and reached its maximum activity on 17 dah. Lipase and α-amylase activity were detectable at low levels in the first days of life, but the activity fluctuated and reaching its maximum activity at 21 dah. Alkaline phosphatase continued to oscillate and had two maximum activity peaks, the first at 6 dah and the second at 19 dah. Zymograms of alkaline proteases on day 6 dah six revealed four activity bands with molecular weights from 16.1 to 77.7 kDa. On 13 dah, two more activity bands of 24.4 and 121.9 kDa were detected, having a total of six proteases. The enzymatic activity analyzes indicate the digestive system shows the low activity of some enzymes in the first days after hatching, registering significant increases on 6 dah and the maximum peaks of activities around at 17 dah. Therefore, we recommend replacing live food with dry feed and only providing dry feed after day 17 dah.

二聚体慈鲷是一种新热带慈鲷，已被用作神经内分泌学研究的生物模型。然而，它的养殖在幼虫饲养方面存在问题，以确保有足够的鱼苗数量和质量。幼体养殖需要全面了解消化系统和营养；因此，本研究旨在评估个体发育早期不同年龄消化酶的变化。从孵化后的第一天 (dah) 就可检测到酸性蛋白酶活性，在 9 dah 时增加到其最大峰值。相比之下，碱性蛋白酶在生命的最初几天活性较低，但在 17 dah 时达到最大活性。胰凝乳蛋白酶、L-氨肽酶和羧肽酶 A 活性在 6 dah 时增加，而胰蛋白酶活性在 13 dah 时首次检测到，并在 17 dah 时达到其最大活性。脂肪酶和 α-淀粉酶活性在生命的最初几天以低水平检测到，但活性波动并在 21 dah 时达到其最大活性。碱性磷酸酶继续振荡并具有两个最大活性峰，第一个在 6 dah，第二个在 19 dah。第 6 天第 6 天碱性蛋白酶的酶谱显示四个活性条带，分子量从 16.1 到 77.7 kDa。在 13 dah，检测到另外两个 24.4 kDa 和 121.9 kDa 的活性条带，总共有 6 个蛋白酶。酶活性分析表明，消化系统在孵化后的前几天显示出一些酶的低活性，在 6 dah 显着增加，在 17 dah 左右达到最大活性峰值。因此，我们建议用干饲料代替活食，并且仅在第 17 天后才提供干饲料。