Normal Protein (NP) and High Protein (HP) diets were provided to rainbow trout families from juvenile to maturity. Muscle protein concentration increased during growth and the protein to lipid (P/L) ratio was doubled at late stage with respect to the dietary P/L ratio. The HP-diet fish showed higher protein deposition in body and white muscle, and had lower condition factor due to protein deposition associated more with body length than body weight. Fish growth rates were decreased at maturation, and the HP-diet fish showed lower growth rate including the activity ratio of trypsin to chymotrypsin (T/C ratio) and feed efficiency. Trypsin and chymotrypsin specific activities were related to dietary protein levels, and the T/C ratio was related to intestinal weight and growth rate independent of the enzymes specific activity levels. The families with high growth capacity could double increase white muscle P/L ratio levels, compared to low and medium growth families, if they were fed on HP-diet. The digestive enzyme extracts from high growth families resulted in higher in vitro protein digestibility for all diets. The effect of dietary P/L ratio on digestion, skeletal growth (length) and the white muscle P/L ratio in fish with different growth capacities is illustrated.

The effect of a dietary phosphorus regime in freshwater on vertebra bone mineralization was assessed in diploid and triploid Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Fish were fed either a low phosphorus (LP) diet containing 10.5 g kg −1 total phosphorus or a normal phosphorus (NP) diet containing 17.4 g kg −1 total phosphorus from 3 to 65 g (day 126) in body weight. Two further groups were fed the NP diet from 3 g in body weight, but were then switched to the LP diet after 38 (10 g in body weight) or 77 (30 g in body weight) days. Growth, vertebral ash content (% ash) and radiologically detectable vertebra pathologies were assessed. Triploids were initially smaller than diploids, and again on day 77, but there was no ploidy effect on days 38 or 126. Vertebral ash content increased with increasing body size and those fish fed the NP diet had higher vertebral ash content than those groups fed the LP diet during the intervening time period, but this diet effect became less apparent as fish grew, with all groups having relatively equal vertebral ash content at termination. In general, triploids had lower vertebral ash content than diploids on day 38 and this was most evident in the group fed the LP diet. On day 77, those triploids fed the LP diet during the intervening time period had lower vertebral ash content than diploids. At termination on day 126, the triploids had the same vertebral ash content as diploids, irrespective of diet. There was a ploidy × diet interaction on vertebral deformities, with triploids having higher prevalences of fish with ≥1 deformed vertebra in all dietary groups except continuous NP. In conclusion, between days 0 and 77 (3-30 g body size), triploids required more dietary phosphorus than diploids in order to maintain similar vertebral ash content. A possible link between phosphorus feeding history and phosphorus demand is also discussed.