Compensatory growth in sub-yearling Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii Brandt, 1869: Effects of starvation and refeeding on growth, feed utilization and body composition

Abstract

Summary The capacity of sub‐yearling Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii Brandt, 1869) (19.7 ± 0.8 g) to show compensatory growth was assessed for a 40‐day period for the effects of short‐term starvation and refeeding on growth, feeding performance and body composition. After acclimation, 25 experimental fish were randomly distributed among twelve 500‐L cylindrical fiberglass tanks with a flow‐through system. The fish were subjected to four different feeding regimes: control, which was fed four times daily to apparent satiation; T1: four periods of 2 days starvation alternating with 8 days re‐feeding; T2: two periods of 4 days starvation alternating with 16 days refeeding; T3: an 8 days starvation period followed by 32 days refeeding. At the end of the experiment, the deprived fish attained body weights comparable to those attained by the control fish. There were no differences in growth and feeding performances between the deprived and the control fish. Total protein and lipid contents of the control fish were significantly higher than that of T1 and T2 fish at the end of the experiment (P < 0.05). A significant difference in the energy content was observed between T2 and the control. Siberian sturgeon exhibited complete compensation, indicating a high ability of the deprived fish to grow sufficiently to fully compensate for weight loss during starvation. The results suggested that the feeding schedule involving starvation–refeeding cycles could be a promising feed management option for the culture of this species.

COMPENSATORY GROWTH OF Oreochromis niloticus SELECTED STRAIN FROM BOGOR, WEST JAVA

“…No significant difference in body weights and biomass was found bet-ween one-week deprived group and the group without feed deprivation. Similar effects of feed deprivation on growth and body composition were also reported in previous studies (Oh et al, 2007;Morshedi et al, 2013;Yengkokpam et al, 2014;Pang et al, 2016). The present study showed that tilapia were unable to compensate weight losses during two weeks of feed deprivation period, which resulted in significantly lower body weight and biomass compared to the other groups at the end of the experiment.…”

Impact of starvation on digestive enzymes activities and plasma metabolites in Siberian sturgeon ( Acipenser baerii , Brandt, 1869)

“…However, in the present study A. baerii juveniles were not able to fully compensate their weight during refeeding with any of the experimental diets assayed. Morshedi et al () reported that 8 days of starvation and 32 days of refeeding (4 times the period of hunger) completely compensates growth in A. baerii . Considering that in the present study fish were starved 2 weeks and refed up to 5 weeks, it is conceivable that a shorter period of starvation or a longer refeeding period could improve compensatory growth in A. baerii .…”

“…However, in the present study A. baerii juveniles were not able to fully compensate their weight during refeeding with any of the experimental diets assayed. Morshedi et al (2013) starved 2 weeks and refed up to 5 weeks, it is conceivable that a shorter period of starvation or a longer refeeding period could improve compensatory growth in A. baerii.…”

Compensatory growth, plasma hormones and metabolites in juvenile Siberian sturgeon ( Acipenser baerii , Brandt 1869) subjected to fasting and re‐feeding

“…In agreement with the present findings, long‐term fasting periods over 2 weeks prior to re‐feeding had significant negative impacts on growth performance and metabolite indices of Chinese sturgeon ( A. sinensis : Liu et al, ), Persian sturgeon ( A. persicus : Yarmohammadi et al, ; Yarmohammadi et al, ) and beluga ( H. huso : Falahatkar, ) with mean weights of 75, 180 and 197 g, respectively. In contrast, cyclical short‐term fasting periods for 2, 4 or 8 days followed by 8, 16 or 32 days of re‐feeding in 40 days (Morshedi et al, ) or 80 days (Morshedi et al, ) in sub‐yearling A. baerii , as well as 3 or 7 days fasting and then re‐feeding to 70 days in A. sinensis (Liu et al, ), provoked full CG. Furthermore, in the current study increasing fasting periods led to an increase in the CC for WG suggesting adaptability of A. baerii juveniles to feed‐deprivation conditions as also reported in whitefish ( Coregonus lavaretus : Känkänen & Pirhonen, ) and pikeperch ( Sander lucioperca : Mattila et al, ).…”