Dietary manganese requirement for juvenile cobia,Rachycentron canadum L

A 10‐week feeding trial was conducted to estimate the optimum dietary manganese requirement for juvenile cobia, Rachycentron canadum L. The basal diet was formulated to contain 501 g kg^?1 crude protein from vitamin‐free casein, gelatin and fish protein concentrate. Manganese sulphate was added to the basal diet at 0 (control group), 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36 mg Mn kg^?1 diet providing 5.98, 7.23, 16.05, 23.87, 28.87 and 41.29 mg Mn kg^?1 diet, respectively. Each diet was randomly fed to three replicate groups of cobia for 10 weeks, and each tank was stocked with 30 fish (initial weight, 6.27 ± 0.03 g). The manganese concentration in rearing water was monitored during the feeding period and was < 0.01 mg L^?1. Dietary manganese level significantly influenced survival ratio (SR), specific growth ratio (SGR), feed efficiency ratio (FER) and the manganese concentrations in the whole body, vertebra and liver of cobia. When the dietary manganese level rose from 5.98 mg kg^?1 to 23.87 mg kg^?1, the superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC 1.15.1.1) activities in liver also increased (P < 0.05). But there was no significant change in SOD activities for the groups fed with diets containing manganese level higher than 23.87 mg kg^?1. On the basis of broken‐line regression of SGR, manganese concentration in whole body and vertebra the manganese requirements of juvenile cobia were 21.72 mg kg^?1, 22.38 mg kg^?1 and 24.93 mg kg^?1 diet in the form of manganese sulphate, respectively.     

Optimal dietary methionine requirement of juvenile Chinese sucker,Myxocyprinus asiaticus

A total of 630 juvenile Chinese sucker, with an average initial weight of 1.72 ± 0.05 g, were fed seven diets for 56 days to study the effect of dietary methionine levels on growth, feed utilization, body composition and haematological parameters on juvenile Chinese sucker. Diet 1 using fish meal as the sole protein source and diets 2–7 using fish meal and fermented soybean meal as intact protein sources supplemented with crystalline amino acids contained six levels of l ‐methionine ranging from 6.4 to 18.9 g kg^?1 of dry diet at a constant dietary cystine level of 3.7 g kg^?1. Each diet was randomly assigned to three aquaria. Results indicated that the highest weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio and protein productive value occurred at 13.9 g methionine kg^?1 diet among the methionine supplemented dietary groups, beyond which they showed declining tendency. The whole body and muscle protein contents of juvenile Chinese sucker were positively correlated with dietary methionine level, while muscle lipid content was negatively correlated with it. The total essential amino acids content of muscle was increased significantly with increasing dietary methionine level from 6.4 to 13.9 g kg^?1 (P < 0.05). Apparent digestibility coefficients of dietary protein were significantly affected by dietary treatments. Serum protein, cholesterol and triacylglycerol increased with increasing dietary methionine levels, but showed a relatively lower value for fish fed the 18.9 g methionine kg^?1 diet. Quadratic regression analysis of SGR against dietary methionine level indicated that optimal dietary methionine requirement for juvenile Chinese sucker was 14.1 g kg^?1 of the diet in the presence of 3.7 g kg^?1 cystine (corresponding to 32.0 g kg^?1 of dietary protein on a dry‐weight basis).     

The effect of dietary methionine concentrations on growth performance of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed diets with two different digestible energy levels

A growth trial was conducted to examine the effect of dietary digestible energy (DE) content on methionine (Met) utilization and requirement in juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Ten iso‐nitrogenous (288 g kg^?1 protein) practical diets, with two DE levels (10.9 MJ kg^?1; 12.4 MJ kg^?1) and five methionine supplementation levels (0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 g kg^?1), were hand‐fed twice daily to triplicate groups of Nile tilapia (initial body weight 8.95 ± 0.06 g) for 8 weeks. Weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) increased significantly with increasing dietary methionine concentration at the same DE content (P < 0.001). At the same dietary methionine level, WG and SGR of fish fed high‐DE diets were significantly higher than that of fish fed low‐DE diets (P = 0.0001), although no interaction was found between dietary DE and methionine supplementation. Based on quadratic regression analysis between dietary methionine concentration and weight gain, optimal methionine requirement for maximum growth, expressed as g Met required kg^?1 diet (low‐ versus high‐DE diets), increased as diet DE concentration increased (7.34 versus 9.90 g kg^?1 diet, respectively; with cysteine 4.70 g kg^?1 diet). The results indicated that diet DE content affects methionine utilization and requirement in juvenile Nile tilapia, fish fed high‐DE diets required more methionine for maximum growth.     

Dietary methionine requirement of juvenile blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) at a constant dietary cystine level

A 9‐week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the dietary methionine requirement of juvenile Megalobrama amblycephala at a constant dietary cystine level. Six semipurified diets were formulated to contain graded dietary methionine levels from 3.9 to 15.4 g kg^?1 in about 2.5 g kg^?1 increments in the presence of 2.2 g kg^?1 cystine. Results showed that specific growth rate (SGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) significantly increased with increasing dietary methionine levels from 3.9 to 12.4 g kg^?1 and thereafter kept stable. Maximum protein productive value (PPV), nitrogen retention efficiency (NRE) and liver weight were observed in 8.5 g methionine kg^?1 diet. Protein contents in whole fish body were positively correlated with dietary methionine level, while lipid contents were negatively correlated with it. Morphological index and hepatic glutamate‐pyruvate transaminase (GPT) activities were independent of dietary methionine levels. However, dietary methionine supplementation significantly improved haematological parameters, plasma methionine and total essential amino acid contents and hepatic glutamate‐oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) activities. Analysis of dose response using broken‐line regression on the basis of SGR and PPV versus dietary methionine level estimated the optimum dietary methionine requirements of juvenile M. amblycephala to be between 8.5 and 8.4 g kg^?1 of diet (25.0 and 24.7 g kg^?1 of protein) in the presence of 2.2 g kg^?1 cystine, respectively. Hence, the corresponding total sulphur amino acids requirements of this species were calculated to be 10.7 and 10.6 g kg^?1 of diet (31.5 and 31.2 g kg^?1 of dietary protein).     

A study on dietary l‐lysine requirement of juvenile yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to determine lysine requirement of juvenile yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) by feeding formulated diets containing crystalline l ‐lysine. Six isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets (405 g kg^?1 protein, 18 kJ g^?1 gloss energy) containing fish meal together with soybean protein concentrate as protein sources and fish oil together with soybean oil as lipid sources were formulated. Crystalline l ‐lysine was added into the six diets to acquire lysine concentrations of 17.3, 21.8, 26.0, 31.3, 35.5 and 41.9 g kg^?1 dry diets, respectively. Mixture of crystalline amino acid was supplemented to simulate the amino acid profile in muscle of yellow catfish. The results indicated that final body weight (FBW), weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency (FE) and protein efficiency (PE) increased with the increase in dietary lysine level from 17.3 to 31.3 g kg^?1 of diet and then decreased as the dietary lysine levels further increased. No significant difference in survival rate was found among all the dietary treatments. One‐slope, quadratic broken‐line analysis on the basis of SGR showed that the dietary l ‐lysine requirement of juvenile yellow catfish was 33.1 g kg^?1 of dry diet (83.2 g kg^?1 of dietary protein).     

Effect of dietary l‐methionine concentrations on growth performance,serum immune and antioxidative responses of juvenile Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect of dietary l ‐methionine supplementation on growth performance, serum immune and antioxidative responses of juvenile Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Six iso‐nitrogenous (282 g kg^?1 crude protein) diets were formulated to contain graded levels of methionine (0.32%, 0.54%, 0.75%, 0.93%, 1.14% and 1.33% of dry weight) at a constant dietary cysteine level of 0.83 g kg^?1. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 25 juvenile fish (2.3 ± 0.0 g), which were fed three times daily (8:30, 12:30 and 17:00 hours). The results showed that growth performance and feed utilization significantly improved when dietary methionine levels increased (P < 0.05). Using quadratic regression analysis of weight gain against dietary methionine levels indicated that, the optimal dietary methionine requirement for maximum growth of juvenile tilapia was 9.12 g kg^?1 of the dry diet in the presence of 0.83 g kg^?1 cystine. In addition, maximum C4 content and lysozyme activity were observed in fish fed 7.50 g kg^?1 methionine diet; maximum C3 content and superoxide dismutase activity were obtained in fish fed 9.30 g kg^?1 dietary methionine level. While there was no significant difference in serum glutathione peroxidase activity among all methionine supplemented treatments (P > 0.05). Methionine supplementation decreased malondialdehyde content in serum significantly (P < 0.05) when compared with the control diet, while there was no significant difference among supplemented treatments. These data suggested that l ‐methionine affected antioxidant status and promoted serum immune response in juvenile Nile tilapia, and at non‐stressed status, the requirement of dietary methionine in maintaining normal immunity and physiology is lower than that for maximum growth.     

Dietary choline requirement in slight methionine‐deficient diet for juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio)

A 10‐week feeding trial was conducted in a flow‐through system to determine dietary choline requirement for juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) (5.5 ± 0.1 g). Purified basal diet was formulated using vitamin‐free casein as protein source. Choline chloride was supplemented to the basal diet to formulate seven diets containing 76.1, 163, 356, 969, 1457, 2024 and 4400 mg kg^?1 choline. Dietary methionine was 0.58%, less than the requirement (0.69%). The results indicated that specific growth rate (SGR) was higher in the fish fed 2024 mg kg^?1 diet than the control group. Feeding rate and feed efficiency were not significantly affected. Protein productive value increased as dietary choline increased from 76.1 to 2024 mg kg^?1 diet and was lower in the fish fed the diet containing 4400 mg choline kg^?1 diet. Serum high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) and total cholesterol significantly increased with increasing dietary choline up to 1457 mg kg^?1, and no differences were found with further increase. Fish carcass fat contents decreased significantly with increased dietary choline. Hepatic lipid contents increased with dietary choline up to 1457 mg kg^?1 and then decreased. Quadric regression of SGR and plasma HDL‐C indicted dietary choline requirement was 2500 and 2667 mg kg^?1 diet, respectively.     

Effects of dietary manganese sources and levels on growth performance,relative manganese bioavailability,antioxidant activities and tissue mineral content of juvenile cobia (Rachycentron canadum L)

This study was conducted to compare the effects of manganese sulphate (Mn‐S), glycine manganese(Mn‐Gly) and manganese 2‐hydroxy‐4‐(methylthio)butyrate (Mn‐HMB) on juvenile cobia, Rachycentron canadum L. Treatments consisted of 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 mg supplemental Mn kg^?1 from Mn‐S, Mn‐Gly or Mn‐MHB. Growth performance, manganese status, antioxidant activities and tissue mineral content were analysed after a 70‐day feeding period. Specific growth rate (SGR) increased with feeding 6.29 to 12.65 mg Mn kg^?1 diet from the Mn‐S or 6.86 to 12.39 mg Mn kg^?1 from the Mn‐Gly or 6.50 to 8.33 mg Mn kg^?1 from the Mn‐HMB and then plateaued above these levels. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) show decreasing first and then increased trend. Survival rate (SR) were not affected by the dietary treatments (P > 0.05). Fish fed diets supplemented with manganese at levels of 4–32 mg Mn kg^?1 had obviously higher hepatic Mn‐SOD activity (P < 0.05); on the contrary, hepatic has lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content (P < 0.05) than fish fed the basal diet. The manganese concentrations of whole body and vertebrae increased with increasing dietary Mn levels from 2–32 mg Mn kg^?1 (independent on manganese sources). Dietary Mn supplementation did not significantly influence the copper concentrations of whole body and vertebrae, the zinc concentrations of whole body and liver. Analysis by the broken‐line regression of SGR indicated that the optimal dietary Mn requirements in juvenile cobia were 15.42, 11.22 and 10.50 mg Mn kg^?1 diet from Mn‐S, Mn‐Gly or Mn‐HMB respectively.     

Quantitative dietary lysine requirement of juvenile striped bass Morone saxatilis

Two feeding trials of 8 and 10 weeks each were conducted to quantify the dietary lysine requirement of juvenile striped bass, Morone saxatilis. Diets in both experiments contained approximately 420 g crude protein kg^–1 and 13.4 MJ digestible energy (DE) kg^?1. L ‐Lysine‐HCl was added to the basal diet to yield five and six treatments in the two experiments. Diets in the first experiment were determined to contain 9.2, 14.1, 14.6, 19.9 and 21.0 g available lysine kg^?1 on a dry‐matter basis. Diets in the second experiment were determined to contain 14.8, 18.1, 21.3, 24.5, 27.6 and 30.9 g available lysine kg^?1 on a dry‐matter basis. Weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and apparent nitrogen utilization (ANU) were significantly (P < 0.05) improved by increasing dietary lysine concentrations to approximately 20 g kg^?1 of diet. Least‐squares regression analysis of weight gain and SGR in the first experiment indicated a minimum dietary lysine requirement of 20.1 ± 2 g kg^?1 dry diet. Least‐squares regression analysis of the same criteria measured in the second experiment yielded the following estimates of dietary lysine requirements (g kg^?1 dry diet): 19.8 ± 2.3 for weight gain, 21.7 ± 1.5 for SGR, 23.7 ± 3.5 for FCR and 18.6 ± 1.3 for ANU. From these results the minimum recommended dietary lysine requirement for optimal growth of juvenile striped bass is approximately 21 g kg^?1 dry diet which equates to 49 g kg^?1 dietary protein or 1.57 mg kJ^?1 DE. Although higher than that reported for hybrid striped bass, this requirement level is similar to those reported for many other fish species.     

Evaluation of iron methionine and iron sulphate as dietary iron sources for juvenile cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

An 8‐week experiment was designed to determine the optimum dietary iron requirement of juvenile cobia Rachycentron canadum (mean initial weight, 15.89 ± 0.84 g) with iron sulphate (FeSO₄•7H₂O) and iron methionine (FeMet) as iron sources, using a semi‐purified diet based on casein and white fish meal as the protein sources. The basal diet was supplemented with 0, 30, 60, 120, 240 and 480 mg iron kg⁻¹ dry diet from either FeSO₄ or FeMet, respectively. Survival was not significantly affected by the all dietary treatment. Weight gain (WG), feed efficiency (FE), serum catalase activity (SCAT), and haemoglobin were significantly affected by any of the dietary treatments from both of two iron sources. Based on broken‐line regression analysis of WG, FE and SCAT, a minimum requirement for dietary iron was recommended to be 80.5–94.7 mg kg⁻¹ from FeSO₄ and 71.3–75.1 mg kg⁻¹ from FeMet. Iron supplement to the basal diet had no significant effect on haematocrit, erythrocyte count, iron concentration in whole body and fillet. Our experiment also showed that the bioavailability of FeMet and FeSO₄ to juvenile cobia was similar for WG and FE, and the relative bioavailability of FeMet and FeSO₄ to juvenile cobia was 275% for maximum SCAT.     

Dietary arginine requirement of juvenile swimming crab,Portunus trituberculatus

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to determine the optimal dietary arginine requirement for juvenile swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus. Six isonitrogenous and isolipidic experimental diets were formulated to contain graded arginine levels which ranged from 15.9 to 33.0 g kg^?1. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 60 juvenile swimming crabs (4.72 ± 0.12 g). The results indicated that dietary arginine had significant effects on weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), protein productive value, feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio. Weight gain and SGR significantly increased with the dietary arginine increasing from 15.9 to 27.4 g kg^?1, while with the further increasing from 27.4 to 33.0 g kg^?1, WG and SGR did not increase significantly. Maximum arginine, proline and total essential amino acid contents in muscle were observed in 27.4 g kg^?1 group diet. The swimming crab fed the diet with lower dietary arginine level showed higher AST and lower ALT in the serum. Crab fed with the lower dietary arginine level had significantly lower ALT in the serum than the other groups. Haemolymph indexes were significantly affected by the dietary arginine level except for the cholesterol concentration, and the highest values were all found in 27.4 g kg^?1 group diet. The two slope broken‐line model using SGR showed that the optimal dietary arginine requirement was 27.7 g kg^?1 of the dry matter (56.0 g kg^?1 dietary protein) for juvenile swimming crab.     

Dietary methionine requirement of juvenile Pseudobagrus ussuriensis

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to determine the optimum dietary methionine (Met) requirement of juvenile Pseudobagrus ussuriensis with an initial average weight of 0.60 g reared in indoor flow‐through and aerated aquaria. Six isonitrogenous (430 g kg^?1 protein) and isolipidic (50 g kg^?1 lipid) test diets were formulated to contain graded levels of crystalline L‐methionine (4.9, 9.0, 11.8, 14.2, 18.1 and 20.8 g kg^?1 dry diets, respectively) at a constant dietary cystine level of 2.5 g kg^?1 dry diets. Equal amino acid nitrogen was maintained by replacing methionine with non‐essential amino acid mixture. Fish were randomly allotted to 18 aquaria (1.0 × 0.5 × 0.8 m) with 50 fish to each glass aquarium. Fish were fed twice daily (08:00 and 16:00) to apparent satiation. No significant difference was observed in survival of fish (84.67–91.33%). Specific growth rate (SGR), weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein productive value (PPV) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were significantly affected by different dietary methionine levels (P < 0.05). WG, SGR PPV and PER increased, while FCR decreased with increasing dietary methionine level from 4.9 to 11.8 g kg^?1 (P < 0.05). However, with further increase from 11.8 to 20.8 g kg^?1, WG, SGR PPV and PER significantly decreased, FCR increased (P < 0.05). The whole body and muscle composition were affected by different dietary methionine levels (P < 0.05). Condition factor (CF) increased with increasing dietary methionine levels up to 11.8 g kg^?1 (P < 0.05) and after 11.8 g kg^?1 methionine diet, but not significant, declines were observed (P > 0.05). Hepatosomatic index (HSI) of the 4.9, 9.0, 11.8 and 14.2 g kg^?1 Met diets was significantly higher than that of fish fed diets 18.1 and 20.8 g kg^?1 Met diets (P < 0.05). Viscerosomatic index (VSI) of the 4.9, 9.0 and 11.8 g kg^?1 Met diets was significantly higher than that of fish fed diets 14.2, 18.1 and 20.8 g kg^?1 Met diets (P < 0.05). Quadratic regression analysis of WG and PER against dietary methionine levels indicated that the optimal dietary methionine requirement for maximum growth and feed utilization of juvenile Pseudobagrus ussuriensis was 14.3 and 14.1 g kg^?1 dry diet (35.3 and 34.8 g kg^?1 dietary protein), respectively, in the presence of 2.5 g kg^?1 dry diets cystine.     

Dietary ascorbic acid requirement of cobia,Rachycentron canadum Linneaus

A 10‐week feeding trial was conducted to determine the optimal requirement of cobia (Rachycentron canadum Linneaus) for dietary ascorbic acid (AA). Graded levels of L‐ascorbyl‐2‐polyphosphate (LAPP) were supplemented in basal diet to formulate six semi‐purified diets containing 2.70 (the control diet), 8.47, 28.3, 80.6, 241 and 733 mg AA equivalent kg^?1 diet, respectively. Each diet was randomly fed to triplicate groups of fish in flow‐through plastic tanks (300 L), and each tank was stocked with 25 fish with average initial weight of 4.59 ± 0.36 g. Observed deficiency signs included poor growth, higher mortality and lower feeding rate (FR) in the fish of the control group. Fish fed the control diet had significantly lower weight gain (WG), lower feed efficiency ratio (FER) and lower tissue AA concentrations in fish liver and muscle. With the increase of dietary AA, the survival, WG, FER, hepatic and muscular AA concentrations of cobia significantly increased and then levelled off. The dietary AA requirement of cobia was estimated to be 44.7 mg kg^?1 based on WG, 53.9 mg kg^?1 or 104 mg kg^?1 based on either hepatic or muscular AA concentration, respectively.     

Dietary l‐methionine requirement of juvenile black sea bream (Sparus macrocephalus) at a constant dietary cystine level

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to determine the effects of dietary methionine level on juvenile black sea bream Sparus macrocephalus. Fish (initial body weight: 14.21 ± 0.24 g) were reared in eighteen 350‐L indoors flow‐through circular fibreglass tanks (20 fish per tank). Isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets contained six levels of L‐methionine ranging from 7.5 to 23.5 g kg⁻¹ of dry diet in 3.0 g kg⁻¹ increments at a constant dietary cystine level of 3.1 g kg⁻¹. Growth performance and feed utilization were significantly influenced by dietary methionine levels (P < 0.05). Maximum weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio and protein productive value (PPV) occurred at 17.2 g methionine kg⁻¹ diet, beyond which they showed declining tendency. Protein contents in whole fish body and dorsal muscle were positively correlated with dietary methionine level, while muscle lipid content was negatively correlated with it. Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dietary nutrients were significantly affected by dietary treatments except for ADCs of crude lipid. Fish fed the grade level of methionine demonstrated a significant improvement in whole‐body methionine content, total essential amino acids (∑EAA), total non‐essential amino acids (∑NEAAs) and ∑EAA/∑NEAA ratio (P < 0.05). Regarding serum characteristics, significant differences were observed in total cholesterol, glucose and free methionine concentration (P > 0.05), while total protein level and triacylglycerol concentration kept relatively constant among treatments (P < 0.05). Analysis of dose response with second‐order polynomial regression on the basis of either SGR or PPV, the optimum dietary methionine requirements of juvenile black sea bream were estimated to be 17.1 g kg⁻¹ of diet (45.0 g kg⁻¹ methionine of protein) and 17.2 g kg⁻¹ of diet (45.3 g kg⁻¹ methionine of protein) in the presence of 3.1 g kg⁻¹ cystine, respectively.     

Dietary vitamin E could improve growth performance,lipid peroxidation and non‐specific immune responses for juvenile cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

An 8‐week feeding trial was conducted to establish the dietary vitamin E requirement of juvenile cobia. The basal diet was supplemented with 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 120 mg vitamin E kg^?1 as all‐rac‐α‐tocopheryl acetate. The results indicated that fish fed the diets supplemented vitamin E had significantly higher specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, feed efficiency and survival rate than those fed the basal diet. It was further observed that vitamin E concentrations in liver increased significantly when the dietary vitamin E level increased from 13.2 to 124 mg kg^?1. Fish fed the basal diet had significantly higher thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances concentrations in liver than those fed the diets supplemented vitamin E. Fish fed the diets supplemented with 45.7 and 61.2 mg kg^?1 vitamin E had significantly higher red blood cell and haemoglobin than those fed the basal diet, while fish fed the diets supplemented with 61.2 and 124 mg kg^?1 vitamin E had higher immunoglobulin concentration than those fish fed the basal diet. Lysozyme and superoxide dismutase were significantly influenced by the dietary vitamin E level. The dietary vitamin E requirement of juvenile cobia was established based on second‐order polynomial regression of weight gain and lysozyme to be 78 or 111 mg all‐rac‐α‐tocopheryl acetate kg^?1 diet, respectively.     

Comparative study on the effects of chelated or inorganic manganese in diets containing tricalcium phosphate and phytate on the growth performance and physiological responses of turbot Scophthalmus maximus

A growth trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of chelated (Mintrex^? Mn, Mn‐M) or inorganic (MnSO₄·H₂O, Mn‐S) manganese (Mn) on growth, feed utilization, tissue Mn deposition and liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in turbot Scophthalmus maximus. A semi‐purified basal diet was formulated to be deficient in Mn (3.7 mg kg^?1) and contained tricalcium phosphate and sodium phytate at levels of 20 and 5 g kg^?1, respectively. Ten other diets were made by adding five levels (5, 10, 20, 35 and 55 mg Mn kg^?1 diet) of either the Mn‐M or Mn‐S to the basal diet, respectively. The 11 experimental diets were fed to groups of turbot (mean initial weight: 4.6 g) for 8 weeks. Results showed that the specific growth rate (SGR), feed intake, whole body Mn/vertebra Mn concentration and Mn‐SOD activity in liver were significantly improved by Mn supplementation (P < 0.05). On the basis of SGR, vertebra Mn concentration or liver Mn‐SOD activity data, dietary Mn requirement was estimated to be 10.5, 46.3 or 12.9 mg kg^?1 for turbot fed Mn‐S, and the same was estimated to be 7.6, 43.0 or 22.5 mg kg^?1 for turbot fed Mn‐M, respectively. There was no significant difference in growth, feed intake, whole body Mn concentration or vertebra Mn concentration between the two dietary Mn sources (P > 0.05).     

Effects of dietary immunostimulant combination on the growth performance,non‐specific immunity and disease resistance of cobia,Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus)

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the immunostimulant combination (IC) containing β‐glucan, A3α‐peptidoglycan, vitamin C and vitamin E on the growth performance, non‐specific immunity and protection against Vibrio harveyi infection in cobia (Rachycentron canadum). Fish were fed diets containing six graded levels of IC (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 g kg^?1 diet) for 8 weeks. The results showed that the survival rate ranged from 81.1 to 84.4% with no significant difference among all the groups (P > 0.05) after the feeding experiment. Dietary IC significantly increased the specific growth rate (SGR), serum lysozyme, alternative complement pathway (ACH50) activity, phagocytosis percentage (PP) and respiratory burst activity of head kidney macrophages of cobia. Moreover, feeding of supplemented diets containing 3.0 g kg^?1 IC resulted in significantly lower mortality against the pathogens, V. harveyi compared with the control group. To elevate the growth and immune resistance ability of cobia, the optimal dose of dietary IC administration, determined by second‐order polynomial regression analysis was 3.43 and 2.71 g kg^?1 diet, respectively, on the basis of the SGR and mortality after challenge with V. harveyi.     

Effect of dietary vitamin C on the growth performance,antioxidant ability and innate immunity of juvenile yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco Richardson)

A 12‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary vitamin C on growth performance, antioxidant status and innate immune responses in juvenile yellow catfish, Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. Six isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets (44% crude protein and 7% lipid) were formulated to contain six graded dietary vitamin C (ascorbate‐2‐poly‐ phosphate, ROVIMIX^® STAY‐C^® 35) levels ranging from 1.9 to 316.0 mg kg^?1 diet. The results of present study indicated that fish fed the lowest vitamin C diet had lower weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) than those fed the diets supplemented vitamin C. WG and SGR did significantly increase with dietary vitamin C levels increasing from 1.9 to 156.5 mg kg^?1. However, no significant increase was observed with further dietary vitamin C levels increasing from 156.5 to 316 mg kg^?1. Survival, protein efficiency ratio and feed efficiency were not significantly affected by the dietary vitamin C levels. The activities of serum superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase significantly increased when dietary vitamin C levels increased from 1.9 to 156.5 mg kg^?1, fish fed the lowest vitamin C diet had higher serum malondialdehyde content than those fed the diets supplemented with vitamin C. Fish fed the diet containing 156.5 mg kg^?1 vitamin C had the highest lysozyme, total complement activity, phagocytosis index and respiratory burst of head kidney among all treatments. The challenge test with Aeromonas hydrophila indicated that lower cumulative survival was observed in fish fed the lowest vitamin C diet. Analysis by broken‐line regression of SGR and lysozyme activity indicated that the dietary vitamin C requirement of juvenile yellow catfish was estimated to be 114.5 and 102.5 mg kg^?1 diet, respectively.     

Effects of DL‐methionine supplementation on the success of fish meal replacement by plant proteins in practical diets for juvenile gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio)

A ten‐week feeding trail was conducted to investigate the effects of increasing DL‐methionine (Met) supplementation on the success of fish meal (FM) replacement with plant proteins in practical diets for juvenile gibel carp, Carassius auratus gibelio. Twelve isoenergetic diets were formulated including two 150 g kg^?1 FM diets (Diet 1—positive control 1 reflecting a commercial diet and Diet 2—positive control 2 reflecting a commercial diet but with balanced essential amino acid (EAA) profile) and ten 50 g kg^?1 FM diets (negative controls) supplemented with graded levels (0–3.0 g kg^?1) of DL‐Met (Diets 3–12). Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of gibel carp, near satiation four times daily for 10 weeks. Diet 2 with balanced EAA profile produced better final weight, specific growth rate (SGR) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) than the negative control diet containing no supplemental Met (Diet 3), but did not significantly differ from Diet 1. However, DL‐Met supplementation (0.5–3.0 g kg^?1) in the negative control diets (Diets 4–12) produced growth performances similar to those fed the positive control diets (Diets 1 and 2). Based on quadratic regression analysis, the optimal dietary Met level with 5.2 g kg^?1 of dietary cysteine (Cys) was found to be 7.1 g kg^?1 dry diet for SGR and FCR. The corresponding total sulphur amino acid requirements (Met + Cys) of this species were calculated to be 12.3 g kg^?1 dry diet for SGR and FCR. DL‐Met supplementation in 50 g kg^?1 FM diets showed a decreasing trend in plasma cholesterol contents (p < .05). No significant differences were observed in whole‐body composition, plasma protein, triglyceride and free EAA contents among dietary treatments, while plasma aspartate transaminase, albumin and ammonia contents were significantly influenced by dietary Met levels. Juvenile gibel carp grew equally well on 150 g kg^?1 FM diet or 50 g kg^?1 FM diets balanced for EAA profile with supplemental amino acids. The results of this study overall indicate that balancing dietary amino acid levels with DL‐Met supplementation is a key strategy in successfully reducing FM levels in the diets of gibel carp.     

Effect of dietary protein reduction with lysine and methionnine supplementation on growth performance,body composition and total ammonia nitrogen excretion of juvenile grass carp,Ctenopharyngodon idella

A 63‐day growth trial was undertaken to estimate the effects of supplemented lysine and methionine with different dietary protein levels on growth performance and feed utilization in Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Six plant‐based practical diets were prepared, and 32CP, 30CP and 28CP diets were formulated to contain 320 g kg^?1, 300 g kg^?1 and 280 g kg^?1 crude protein without lysine and methionine supplementation. In the supplementary group, lysine and methionine were added to formulate 32AA, 30AA and 28AA diets with 320 g kg^?1, 300 g kg^?1 and 280 g kg^?1 dietary crude protein, respectively, according to the whole body amino acid composition of Grass Carp. In the groups without lysine and methionine supplementation, weight gain (WG, %) and specific growth rate (SGR, % day^?1) of the fish fed 32CP diet were significantly higher than that of fish fed 30CP and 28CP diets, but no significant differences were found between 30CP‐ and 28CP‐diet treatments. WG and SGR of the fish fed 32AA and 30AA diets were significantly higher than that of fish fed 28AA diets, and the performance of grass carp was also significantly improved when fed diets with lysine and methionine supplementation (P < 0.05), and the interaction between dietary protein level and amino acid supplementation was noted between WG and SGR (P < 0.05). Feed intake (FI) was significantly increased with the increase in dietary protein level and the supplementation of lysine and methionine (P < 0.05), but feed conversion ratio (FCR) showed a significant decreasing trend (P < 0.05). Two days after total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentration test, the values of TAN discharged by the fish 8 h after feeding were 207.1, 187.5, 170.6, 157.3, 141.3 and 128.9 mg kg^?1 body weight for fish fed 32CP, 32AA, 30CP, 30AA, 28CP and 28AA diets, respectively. TAN excretion by grass carp was reduced in plant‐based practical diets with the increase in dietary protein level and the supplementation of lysine and methionine (P < 0.05). The results indicated that lysine and methionine supplementation to the plant protein sources‐based practical diets can improve growth performance and feed utilization of grass carp, and the dietary crude protein can be reduced from 320 g kg^?1 to 300 g kg^?1 through balancing amino acids profile. The positive effect was not observed at 280 g kg^?1 crude protein level.