Environment-induced gill disease of cultured rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Rainbow trout from eight North German freshwater culture facilities were investigated for chronic health damage resulting from captivity. The fishes were raised under a wide variety of conditions in net cages, circulation tanks, raceways, and earthen ponds.The most obvious non-contagious health problem was gill injury. Hyperplasia of the gill filaments, leading to lamellar fusion or the development of apical caps, as well as necrotic or advanced degenerative processes were observed. In addition, the gill filaments were frequently shortened, significantly reducing the functional surface of the organ.The lesions occurred in almost the same form in all of the culture units. It is likely that they are part of a syndrome induced by the environmental conditions typical of freshwater aquaculture facilities. These are characterized by an accumulation of nitrogenous excretion and decomposition products, extreme diurnal fluctuations in the concentration of dissolved gases, and intensive feeding involving the sudden addition of large amounts of artificial products. Under such conditions even small quantities of un-ionized ammonia can be toxic for epithelial tissues and disturb the normal elimination of protein metabolites across the gills. The pathological processes may be accelerated by secondary bacterial infections.     

The nutritional properties of co-dried fish silage in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) dry diets

Feed ingredients containing fish silage and liquefied fish made from ground, whole Pacific whiting and co-dried in a vacuum dryer with mixtures of soybean meal and feather meal to facilitate drying were prepared. An additional batch of fish silage was co-dried with the other dry ingredients in the diet formulation that was used, Abernathy diet S8-1. Fish meal, made by vacuum drying Pacific whiting, was used in the control diet. Co-dried fish meal was made by co-drying Pacific whiting with a soybean meal-feather meal mixture. Fish meal was entirely replaced by the co-dried products in the experimental diets, which were fed to rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) for 32 weeks. The best growth and food conversion values were obtained by feeding the fish meal control diet or the diet in which the fish meal was replaced with co-dried liquefied fish. No significant differences in final weights were found between trout fed diets containing co-dried fish meal or co-dried fish silage (fish products were 25% of the diet), but these fish were significantly smaller than fish fed the fish meal control or the co-dried liquefied fish diets. Reducing the fish silage to 12.5% or increasing it to 50% further reduced weight gains in the trout. Food conversion values, protein efficiency ratios, and net protein utilization values generally followed the same trends between diets as did the final weight values. Apparent digestibility coefficients for the co-dried products were lower than for the fish meal, possibly because they contained soybean meal-feather meal mixtures. Organoleptic properties of the fish were not affected by diet.     

Biochemical changes associated with overripening of the eggs of rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri Richardson

This study of the biochemical composition of mature unfertilised eggs of rainbow trout was undertaken to investigate normal intraspecific variation in egg composition between parent females, and to describe the biochemical changes which occur after ovulation during overripening in the parental abdominal cavity. The following aspects of egg composition were measured: wet and dry weight, chorion weight, free and bound lipid, protein phosphorus, lipid phosphorus, precipitable protein, calcium, and iron. All these were determined on single eggs, and six eggs were examined from each female. Ripe eggs, defined as those stripped within 3 days of ovulation, were obtained from 7 females. Overripe eggs, defined as those stripped 30 or more days after ovulation were obtained from 8 females. Results were expressed in absolute terms (mg or μg of component per egg) and relative terms (percentage of egg dry weight). In ripe eggs, there was significant variation between females in all these aspects of egg composition when expressed absolutely, and in all except lipid phosphorus when expressed relatively. In overripe eggs, there was significant variation in all these aspects between females when egg composition was expressed either absolutely or relatively. Comparison of ripe and overripe eggs showed that overripening was accompanied by the following significant changes expressed absolutely: increase in water content, free lipid, iron, calcium; decrease in bound lipid, precipitable protein, protein phosphorus, lipid phosphorus, total lipid and chorion weight; when expressed relatively there were increases in water content, free lipid, iron, calcium, total lipid and chorion weight, and decreases in bound lipid, precipitable protein, protein phosphorus and lipid phosphorus.     

Effects of biotin deficiency in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) fed diets of different lipid and carbohydrate content

The effects of variations in diet composition on biotin deficiency symptoms were studied in rainbow trout. Fish were fed one of six diets differing in lipid type, carbohydrate and biotin content. Fish given biotin-deficient diets gained less weight, and had inferior feed conversion ratios than the appropriate controls but did not suffer from anorexia nor were any pathological signs observed either by gross or microscopic analysis. Marked reduction in liver biotin concentration and activities of pyruvate carboxylase and acetyl CoA carboxylase, characteristic of biotin deficiency, were observed. Some less marked changes also occurred in the levels of other liver components and enzymes; these changes were influenced by diet composition as well as biotin intake. Hepatic lactate levels tended to increase in biotin deficiency when diets contained starch while the activities of citrate synthase and α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase decreased, but these changes were reversed when diets lacked starch. Consequently, some secondary effects of biotin deficiency are related to diet composition. In certain treatments, palmitic and oleic acids in muscle triglycerides of biotin-deficient trout were significantly lower than in control fish; but there was no evidence among muscle lipids of chain elongation of linolenic acid in trout given biotin-supplemented diets.     

A genetic analysis of egg,alevin and fry mortality in salmon (Salmo salar), sea trout (Salmo trutta) and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Heritability of mortality in eggs, alevins and fry were estimated using data from salmon, sea trout and rainbow trout. The highest value (average for all species and both estimation methods) based on the sire component was obtained for the eyed egg stage, h² = 0.08, followed by the alevin stage, h² = 0.05, while estimates for fry mortality did not differ significantly from zero.The maternal effect was rather large for uneyed eggs and eyed eggs, while it was low for alevin mortality. Maternal effects were also found to have a significant influence on the mortality of salmon fry. It was, however, not possible to separate maternal effects from tank effects.     

Effects of dietary zinc intake upon copper metabolism in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Purified diets with copper levels of 2.5 and 500 mg/kg and dietary zinc levels ranging from 34 to 1000 mg/kg were fed for 20 weeks to rainbow trout of mean initial weight 8 g. Growth and feed conversion were similar in all groups of fish and no gross pathologies were observed. Liver copper levels were greatest in trout given the high copper diets; increasing dietary zinc intake reduced these hepatic copper concentrations. Subcellular fractionation of the livers showed that in all groups of trout 70–80% of the hepatic copper was present in the nuclear and mitochondrial fractions. In contrast, the cytosol and microsomal fractions contained, on average, 73% of the liver zinc. Total liver superoxide dismutase activity was constant in all groups of fish. However, in trout fed the high copper diets the relative proportions of the copper-zinc and the manganese superoxide dismutase were correlated with the dietary zinc intake. Increasing dietary zinc reduced the activity of the manganese enzyme and increased that of the copper-zinc metalloenzyme.     

Accumulation of cobalt during embryonic development of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Rich.)

Studies on the accumulation of cobalt by fish eggs are described. γ-Energy measurement of ⁵⁷Co and atomic absorption with the flameless technique were used for the detection of the cobalt. The cobalt level of the eggs was found to be directly proportional to the cobalt content of the aquatic medium, and its uptake decreased with increasing calcium ion concentration in the water. The accumulation of bivalent cobalt ions was found to take place on the surface of the eggs, where they are reversibly bound by the binding force of chorion-mucopolysaccharide. The present study did not show any increase in cobalt content within the larvae that hatched from the eggs.     

Studies on cryopreservation of eggs from rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)

The effect of pre-freezing treatments as well as freezing of inseminated, not water-activated eggs from rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri, and coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, was investigated in relation to survival and further development.Effects above freezing temperatures included: the temperature at insemination, viability of inseminated and unactivated eggs after storage, suitability of an incubation medium and the tolerance of eggs to various levels of the cryoprotectant dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Freezing experiments included: investigating the action of DMSO (0, 1, 2 mole) and the tolerance of coho eggs to temperatures between ?4.6 to ?30°C. Insemination temperatures between 0.5°C and 9.8°C (coho eggs) as well as incubation in an artifical medium (1-0°C) for 80 min (rainbow trout eggs) and 170 min (coho eggs) did not influence subsequent fertility. Storage of inseminated and unactivated rainbow trout eggs for 135 min and beyond reduced egg fertility. DMSO at 2 and 4 mole was detrimental to coho eggs (1-0°C). One mole DMSO had no (coho) or reduced (rainbow trout) influence on egg fertility when it was added gradually.In the presence of 1 mole DMSO most eggs remained unfrozen (67–89%) when kept for 10 min in frozen artificial medium (?4.6%) and 27–32% subsequently reached the eyed stage (control = 100). Further cooling (0.3°C/min) to ?10°C was still tolerated (62% unfrozen, 22% eyed eggs) but not to ?20°C (6% unfrozen, no development) and ?30°C (no survival). Use of 2 mole DMSO did not improve the results.     

The growth of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) given diets containing chitin and its relationship to chitinolytic enzymes and chitin digestibility

The growth of rainbow trout fed diets containing 4, 10 and 25% chitin, over a 12-week period, was significantly depressed (P < 0.001) when compared with controls fed diets containing 25% starch. There was no difference in growth rate between control fish and those fed diets containing 10% N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc). Isotopically labelled amino sugars were shown to be oxidized when injected intraperitoneally into rainbow trout. Relatively high levels were found of chitinase activity in the stomachs and of chitobiase in the intestines. These enzyme activities were similar in all the trout, irrespective of the amount of chitin in their diets, except that chitobiase in the intestines of fish fed diets containing GlcNAc showed higher levels of activity than the controls (P < 0.05). Chitin was not significantly digested when fed at 10 and 30% of the diet but the apparent digestibility of pre-cooked starch was 50% when fed at either 15 or 25%, on the basis of the inert indicator (Cr₂O₃) method. Chitinase and chitobiase activities were not reduced in fish fed diets containing 10% chitin and an antibiotic (Tribrissen^®) although the alimentary microflora were completely eliminated. Enzyme activities were not enhanced when live chitinolytic bacteria (Vibrio alginolyticus) were incorporated into diets with 10% chitin; these bacteria were only recovered from the intestine. The evidence indicates an endogenous origin of chitinolytic enzymes in the trout gastro-intestinal tract. The presence of either antibiotic or bacteria in the diet had no effect on the digestibility of chitin.     

Optimization of treatment regimes for controlled sex differentiation and sterilization in wild rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Richardson) by oral administration of 17α-methyltestosterone

The oral administration of 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) to wild rainbow trout fry at concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 mg/kg diet for periods up to 120 days following swim-up produced male-female ratios substantially different from controls. 100% males were produced with low MT doses (1, 3 and 9 mg/kg diet) administered for 60 days. High proportions (79–90%) of sterile rainbow trout were obtained with greater doses of the steroid (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg diet) fed for 120 days. A paradoxical feminizing effect at high doses of MT (50 and 100 mg/kg diet) was observed irrespective of the length of the treatment. No dose-related mortality during the treatments was observed.     

Effects of dietary copper and copper: Zinc ratio on rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri

Purified diets with 15 and 150 mg supplemental copper/kg with dietary copper: zinc ratios of 1:1 and 1:4 were fed for 20 weeks to rainbow trout of mean initial weight 15 g. No gross pathologies were noted in any group of fish; growth and feed conversion were the same in all groups of trout. Plasma zinc levels were positively correlated with dietary zinc intake but dietary copper level had no effect on plasma copper. Hepatic levels of copper and zinc were also related to the dietary intake of the respective minerals. The dietary copper: zinc ratio caused some small changes in the plasma and hepatic levels of a few minerals, but no evidence was found to suggest any zinc—copper antagonism in rainbow trout. The activity of the copper, zinc metalloenzyme superoxide dismutase in liver was unaffected by dietary copper or zinc intake.     

Effects of feeding frequency on food intake,growth and body composition of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

The effects of feeding frequency on food intake, weight change and relative proportions of the major body components were investigated at 10°C in a strain of hatchery-reared rainbow trout. Feeding frequencies were from one meal every second day to six meals per day, within the range common to current piscicultural techniques. Fish were fed a dry, pelleted diet either to satiation at each meal, or in restricted total daily amounts based on a percentage of their wet body weight. All fish were forced to swim at a constant speed of approximately one body length per second to minimize variability in growth and body composition.Maximum daily food intake occurred with just two feedings to satiation per day. Growth closely paralleled food intake. Neither specific growth rate nor whole body levels of moisture, lipid or protein were affected significantly by differences in feeding frequency. A trend towards increased body fat with more frequent feeding was observed among fish fed to satiation at each meal; this was believed to be the result of a somewhat higher total food intake than among less frequently fed fish. Fish fed a restricted daily ration divided into a number of meals exhibited smaller differences in lipid content.The general lack of response to feeding frequency was attributed primarily to the low metabolic rate of trout and to the characteristically slow rate of food passage in the digestive tract.     

Genetic differences in lipid and dry matter content between strains of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and their hybrids

Observed phenotypic differences of lipid content between strains of rainbow trout and their hybrids cultured in small Canadian prairie lakes are related to differences in the size of fish and highly correlated with differences in growth rate. As a percent of dry matter mean lipid levels of different strains and their hybrids ranged from 32.5% to 45.9% in one experiment and from 11.6% to 24.3% in another. There were significant additive genetic differences in lipid content between strains, independent of differences in weight, and there also appeared to be significant non-additive × environment interactions.Phenotypic differences in percent dry matter were small compared to the differences in lipid content.     

Evaluation of krill (Euphausia superba) meal as a partial replacement for fish meal in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) diets

We studied partial replacement of fish meal (FM) by krill meal (KM) and how fluoride from KM enriched-muscles and bones of rainbow trout reared in freshwater affected these fish. Diets that replaced FM with KM at proportions of 0, 7, 15 and 30% (control, KM7, KM15, and KM30) were fed to groups of rainbow trout for 92 days and growth was observed. In fish fed KM7 and KM15, weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI) and specific growth rate (SGR) were unchanged compared with fish fed the control diet, but in fish fed KM30, WG, FI and SGR significantly decreased. After the experiment, fluoride concentration in dorsal muscles of each experimental group was below the detected limit (1 mg/kg), but in vertebral bones, the fluoride concentration increased with each increase in KM inclusion in the diets: 490 mg/kg (control), 755 mg/kg (KM7), 1100 mg/kg (KM15), and 2400 mg/kg (KM30). Tissue specimens of liver of each experimental group had no histopathological changes. Therefore, accumulation of fluoride in vertebral bones apparently adversely affected growth of the vertebral bones thus affecting the growth performance as shown by the decrease in WG, FI and SGR.     

Early recognition of metabolic disturbances in trout (Salmo gairdneri Rich.) stocks

A method is proposed for detecting metabolic disturbances or diseases in trout stocks before typical symptoms appear. The method involves determination of erythrocyte numbers, hemoglobin contents, and hematocrit readings for about 10 animals. The measured parameters are tested for independence. The results permit the stocks tested to be classified as “normal” or “not normal”.     

The influence of diet and fish density on apparent heat increment in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri

Rainbow trout were held in densities of 15, 35 or 50 fish per tank (2.48–8.27 kg m^?3) and fed one of six balanced diets varying in protein (34%, 48%, 58%) and lipid levels (7%, 23%). The elevation in oxygen consumption following feeding was attributed to apparent heat increment. Apparent heat increment tended to increase with dietary protein for each of the two lipid levels within each density of fish. A significant change in apparent heat increment relative to digestible energy was not demonstrable with dietary protein for each lipid level and fish density. When dietary lipid was high, the fraction of energy lost through apparent heat increment was improved and tended to decrease with dietary protein. Thus, a decrease in dietary protein with a concomitant increase in lipid provides for a more efficient utilization of dietary protein for growth. Apparent heat increment varied directly with rainbow trout density on the basis of equivalent weights and diets.     

The influence of changes in oxygen tension on the haematocrit value of blood samples from asphyxic rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Changes in haematocrit values were studied in vitro in blood samples of asphyxic rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) treated under reduced oxygen tension and with oxygen. The haematocrit value of blood kept under reduced oxygen tension increased by only about 5% during the first hour. When blood samples were oxygenated, their haematocrit value decreased by about 11% during the first hour. The MCHC value obtained for the blood directly after sampling showed that the cells were swollen in vivo. The causes of cellular swelling are discussed.     

Effect of hypervitaminosis a on the development of ascorbic acid deficiency in underyearling rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri R.)

The effect of hypervitaminosis A on the development of ascorbic acid deficiency was investigated in rainbow trout reared on a practical diet. Excess vitamin A (124 000 I.U./kg) in the diet, as retinyl-palmitate, did not appear to interact with ascorbic acid metabolism of the trout. This dietary level of vitamin A did not affect the occurrence of the ascorbic acid deficiency symptoms, lordosis and scoliosis. Vitamin A does not appear to be toxic to rainbow trout at the level of 124 000 I.U./kg of diet and it would appear that the development of lordosis and scoliosis was due in this case to ascorbic acid deficiency.     

Effects of sublethal concentrations of lignosulphonates on growth,intestinal flora and some digestive enzymes of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri)

Young rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were exposed to lignosulphonates (LS) at concentrations of 0, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1 280 and 1 920 ppm for 35 or 60 days. At concentrations of 160 ppm LS and higher the growth rates were slower. The higher concentrations had the most retarding effect on growth, but a clear general relationship between LS concentration and growth retardation was not observed.The bacterial flora in the digestive tract of the fish was examined. The predominant micro-organisms were flavobacteria, bacilli, streptococci and yeasts (Cryptococcus spp.), which were also isolated from the diet. There were about 10 000 viable aerobic and 1 000 anaerobic bacteria per gramme of intestinal contents. There was no significant difference in quantitative or qualitative composition of the intestinal flora of the different groups.The following groups of digestive enzymes were studied: proteinases, amylases, lipases and deoxyribonucleases. The activities of proteinases and nucleases were significantly impaired in fish exposed to concentrations of 1 280 ppm LS and higher, and those of amylases at concentrations of 320 ppm LS and higher. A possible connection between the reduced growth rates and depressed activities of the digestive enzymes is discussed, but no firm conclusion regarding the mechanism by which LS effects fish growth can be made on the basis of the present study.     

Sperm output in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) — Effect of age,timing and frequency of stripping and presence of females

An experiment was conducted to investigate the sperm production of rainbow trout. Eighty-four first-spawners were allocated randomly to three groups to be stripped at weekly, 2-weekly or 4-weekly intervals, respectively. Half of each group were exposed to females. The trial extended over two successive spawning seasons.First-season spawners were modest sperm producers. Depending on the collection frequency they produced mean stripped semen volumes of 1.17 to 1.48 ml containing 7.7 × 10⁹ to 16.8 × 10⁹ sperm. The corresponding means for the second spawning season were 3.54 to 4.59 ml and 22.2 to 35.4 × 10⁹. The spawning season extended from October to April. Production and motility increased from the beginning to mid-season, followed by a gradual decline. The effect of the presence of females was not very evident. With increased frequency of stripping, more sperm/male were obtained. Total semen volume and number of sperm/spawner obtained during the first season with weekly, 2-weekly or 4-weekly collection amounted to 24.6 ml and 160.9 × 10⁹ sperm, 13.4 ml and 135.8 × 10⁹ sperm and 8.9 ml and 101.1 × 10⁹ sperm, respectively. The corresponding values for the second season were 88.9 ml and 546.1 × 10⁹ sperm, 50.3 ml and 377.5 × 10⁹ sperm and 32.1 ml and 247.9 × 10⁹ sperm.From a practical point of view, weekly collection is feasible in second-season spawners, but a maximum of one stripping every 2 weeks appears appropriate for first-season spawners.