Effects of dietary LL-carnitine were studied in juvenile black sea bream (Sparus macrocephalus). The semipurified basal diet [crude protein 450 g kg )1 dry matter (DM); crude lipid 126 g kg )1 DM] was formulated to choose white fishmeal as the protein source and fish oil plus corn oil (1 : 1) as the lipid source. Six diets (control + diets 1-5) containing 0.1, 0.12, 0.16, 0.24, 0.39 and 1.1 g of L L-carnitine kg )1 diet were fed to triplicate groups of black sea bream (initial weight 13.10 ± 0.05 g) for 8 weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, growth performance, body composition and antioxidant status were determined. The results showed that relative growth rate (RGR) was significantly improved by the elevation of dietary L L-carnitine level from 0.1 to 0.24 g kg )1 , but decreased with further increment (P < 0.05). Lipid content decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the dorsal muscle whereas increased (P < 0.05) in the liver with the addition of dietary L L-carnitine. Dietary

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This study evaluated the effects of Aurantiochytrium spp. microalgae meal and oil as dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) sources on the growth, fatty acid composition and DHA retention of orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides. Dietary fish oil was replaced with microalgae meal or oil to provide an equal amount of DHA as a fish oil-containing basal diet. In total, three experimental diets were fed to triplicate groups of fish (initial wt: 8.48 AE 0.06 g) in a recirculating system for 8 weeks. The weight gain and feed efficiency of the fish did not differ significantly among the experimental diets. The fatty acid composition of the whole body of the fish generally reflected the composition of their diet. The concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid in the whole body was higher in the fish fed the fish meal control diet than in those fed the two experimental diets The fish fed the control diet and those fed the diet containing microalgae oil exhibited higher DHA concentrations than did the fish fed the diet containing microalgae meal. The whole-body DHA retention was the highest in the fish fed the diet with microalgae oil, followed by the fish fed the control diet. The lowest whole-body DHA retention was observed in the fish fed the diet containing microalgae meal. The results suggested that the oil from Aurantiochytrium spp. microalgae can be used as DHA source for the grouper. DHA utilization by the fish was higher when the diet was supplemented with microalgae oil than with dry microalgae meal.

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