Effect of Dietary Proteins without Vitamin Premix Supplementation on the Growth and Body Composition of Juvenile Black Rockfish Sebastes schlegeli

Abstract

A feeding experiment was conducted to determine the nutritional value of various dietary protein sources without a vitamin premix supplementation in juvenile black rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli. Diets containing similar quantities of lipid and carbohydrate with 50% crude protein from fish meal (FM)/soybean meal (SBM)/corn gluten meal (CGM), FM only, casein/gelatin, high FM/low casein and low FM/high casein were fed to rockfish along with a commercial rockfish diet. The diet containing only 65.6% FM and the commercial rockfish diet produced significantly greater weight gain (WG) and feed efficiency (FE) than all other semipurified diets (SPDs); the economical diet with 52.8% FM, 10% SBM and 5% CGM produced lower WG than the diet containing FM and commercial rockfish diet, but FE and survival were similar both diets. Intermediate responses were observed for rockfish fed the SPD containing 32.8% FM and 27.4% casein, while SPDs containing 10% FM and 41.8% casein and 38.5% casein and 10% gelatin yielded the lowest WG and FE. Some differences in tissue indices and body composition of rockfish were induced by the diets containing various protein sources and levels without the vitamin premix supplementation.