Abstract
Following feeding, the rate of oxygen consumption of fishes increases to a peak and then slowly declines to the pre‐feeding level. Many factors have been shown to influence the magnitude and duration of post‐prandial oxygen consumption and these include quantity and/or quality of ration and environmental temperature. The effects of the various factors are described and the phenomenon of the post‐prandial increase in metabolic rate of fish is discussed in relation to work with other species of animals.