Growth Response and Fatty Acid Composition of Channel Catfish Fry Fed Practical Diets Supplemented with Menhaden Fish Oil

Abstract

A 12-week feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the growth and compositional responses of channel catfish fry (Ictalurus punctatus) fed practical diets containing 7.6% fish meal supplemented with 0, 1.5, 3, or 6% menhaden fish oil. Weight gain significantly improved with increasing levels of supplemental menhaden oil up to 3% of diet; fish fed the diet containing 6% fish oil had depressed weight gain. Whole-body dry matter and lipid increased and protein decreased with increasing levels of menhaden oil. Ash content was not affected by dietary treatment. Fatty acid composition of polar lipids from whole-body tissue showed that supplementation of menhaden fish oil at a rate of 1.5% was sufficient to satisfy the essential fatty acid (EFA) requirement of young channel catfish based on the ratio of 20:3 n-9 to 22:6 n-3 fatty acids. Results from this study indicate that practical diets containing fish meal, but without supplemental fish oil, did not meet the n-3 EFA requirement of young channel catfish, and a source of n-3 fatty acids should be provided in practical diets to ensure EFA adequacy.

Increasing Fish Oil Levels in Commercial Diets Influences Hematological and Immunological Responses of Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

“…Although some earlier studies have shown increasing dietary HUFA levels improve growth and feed utilization efficiency (Santha and Gatlin 1991; Gatlin and Bai 1993), several other studies (Gatlin and Stickney 1982; Twibell and Wilson 2003; Lim et al 2006) reported no growth enhancement in channel catfish fed high dietary levels of 18:3n‐3 or n‐3 HUFAs. In the present study, channel catfish fed the commercial catfish diet (5.6% lipid) supplemented with fish oil at levels of 0, 3, 6, and 9% had similar growth, feed consumption, feed efficiency, and survival.…”

Growth Performance and Proximate and Fatty Acid Compositions of Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Fed for Different Duration with a Commercial Diet Supplemented with Various Levels of Menhaden Fish Oil

“…Results of a number of earlier studies with fish have shown improved growth and feed utilization efficiency with increasing dietary lipid up to certain levels (Williams and Robinson 1988; Santha and Gatlin 1991; Gatlin and Bai 1993; Chou and Shiau 1996; Twibell and Wilson 2003) and beyond which growth depression occurred (Williams and Robinson 1988; Santha and Gatlin 1991; Chou and Shiau 1996). In the present study, however, supplementation of menhaden fish oil at 0, 3, 6, and 9% to a commercial floating catfish diet containing 5.61% lipid had no significant effect on weight gain, FER, and PER.…”

Potential of meat meal to replace fish meal in extruded dry diets for barramundi,Lates calcarifer(Bloch). II. Organoleptic characteristics and fatty acid composition

“…Such supplementation, besides ensuring that the fish's requirement for essential omega‐3 fatty acids was met (Barlow, Williams, Rodgers, Agcopra & Hockings 1996; Boonyaratpalin 1997), would also have assisted in maintaining a desirable fish flavour in the flesh. There is abundant evidence showing that the composition of body lipid in cultured fish not only can be modified by diet but increasingly mimics that of the dietary lipid upon prolonged feeding (Watanabe 1982; Borlongan & Parazo 1991; Santha & Gatlin 1991; Morris, Haynes, Keeton, & Gatlin 1995). Adding menhaden oil to a purified diet fed to channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) was shown by Dupree, Gauglitz, Hall & Houle (1979) to increase the fishy flavour of the flesh and result in undesirable sensory scores at even the lowest fish oil addition of 50 g kg −1 .…”