Comparative study on nutrient composition and quality evaluation in a new variety and wild‐typed ridgetail white prawn (Exopalaemon carinicauda)

Kesuhong No. 1 with high concentration of astaxanthin was a newly approved aquaculture variety of ridgetail white prawn (Exopalaemon carinicauda) in China, and the information on the nutrient composition and quality evaluation of this new variety is insufficient. Thus, the proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles were analysed and compared between the new variety and the wild‐typed prawn in the present study, for its better application of the new variety. It showed that there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) of the proximate composition, essential amino acid and saturated fatty acid (SFA) of muscle tissue between the wild‐typed prawn and the new variety. However, for the content of some delicious amino acids (Ala and Tyr), it was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in the wild‐typed prawn. Similarly, for some ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3 PUFA), such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapntemacnioc acid (EPA), it was also significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in the wild‐typed prawn. In addition, higher PUFA/SFA ratio and lower ω6/ω3 ratio also improved muscle quality in the new variety. Information obtained in the present study indicates a promising natural source of ω3 PUFA with high nutritional value, and has strong potential application value in this new variety of E. carinicauda.     

Effects of native medicinal herbs (Alternanthera sessilis,Eclipta alba and Cissus quadrangularis) on growth performance,digestive enzymes and biochemical constituents of the monsoon river prawn Macrobrachium malcolmsonii

The medicinal herbs such as Alternanthera sessilis, Eclipta alba and Cissus quadrangularis were used to assess the growth promoting ability, enhancement of muscle biochemical constituents and profiles of amino acid in the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium malcolmsonii. The herbal powders were separately incorporated with basal diet, and these diets were fed to M. malcolmsonii postlarvae for a period of 90 days. At the end of experiments, the survival of prawn significantly improved in herbal incorporated feed. In addition, the growth parameters, such as weight gain, specific growth rate and protein efficiency rate were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in herbal diets fed groups when compared with control. The activities of digestive enzyme, biochemical constituents, profile of amino acid, energy utilization parameters, concentrations of vitamin C and E were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated in experimental diets fed groups when compared with control. The profiles of essential amino acids were also found elevated in herbal incorporated diets fed PL. Among the three herbs tested, C. quadrangularis incorporated diet fed group showed better performance followed by the E. alba and A. sessilis. The present study suggests that these herbs can be incorporated in artificial feed formulations for Macrobrachium culture.     

Peruvian fish meal has comparative potential to enzyme-treated Chilean fish meal as protein source of diet for larvae and juvenile Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis

The present study aimed to evaluate suitable protein sources of formulated diet to replace prey fish. Regarding the test diet, the two dietary treatments (FM: Peruvian anchovy fish meal, and ETFM: enzyme-treated Chilean fish meal) were employed. Prey fish (PF; spangled emperor fish Lethrinus nebulosus) was used as a control. FM and ETFM diets are fed together with a limited amount of PF to Pacific bluefin tuna (PBT) larvae having an initial mean total length of 17.9 mm and body weight of 52.8 mg at 20 days post-hatching during the weaning period. Survival and growth were compared after 10 days of the feeding trial. Survival was significantly higher in the PF group than the FM and ETFM group. The PF group had significantly greater growth performance than the other groups. Between FM and ETFM groups, fish in the FM group showed significantly better growth than the ETFM group. Regarding the essential amino acids of the carcass, similar amino acid content was recorded in all treatments. However, carcass docosahexaenoic acid in the PF group was significantly higher than in the other groups. These results suggest that Peruvian anchovy meal without enzyme digestion can be used as the protein source in the formulated diet for juvenile PBT.

     

Growth performance and nutritional composition of Sepia pharaonis under artificial culturing conditions

This study investigated the growth performance and nutritional composition of scale artificially cultured cuttlefish Sepia pharaonis. Juveniles were cultured in an open‐culturing cement pool system for 120 days. The body weight increased from 10.21 ± 1.44 g to 570.71 ± 126.32 g from 50 days old to 170 days old, and the average growth rate was 4.67%. The proximate, amino acid and fatty acid compositions of S. pharaonis muscles were analysed every 40 days to compare the quality. The cultured S. pharaonis were rich in essential amino acids (EAAs), functional amino acids (FAAs), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which accounted for 32%, 46%, 28% and 54% (dry weight) respectively. Total amino acids (TAAs) and EAAs exhibited a clear distinction between ages, and significant differences were observed among the levels of individual amino acids, including Pro, Ala, Asp and Lys, which were significantly higher at 130–170 days old than at 50 days old (p < 0.05). Although the total saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and PUFAs were statistically similar between ages, C17:0, C22:6 n‐3 and PUFAs were higher at 130–170 days old than at 50 days old (p < 0.05). The results indicate that large‐scale artificial culture of S. pharaonis can be achieved under the conditions of a cement pool. This study also provides new information regarding the growth performance and nutritional composition of cultured S. pharaonis, which will contribute to the development of aquaculture practices for this species.     

Rhodopseudomonas palustris in effluent enhances the disease resistance,TOR and NF‐κB signalling pathway,intestinal microbiota and aquaculture water quality of Pelteobagrus vachelli

The use of traditional bait and medicament in freshwater aquaculture exacerbates environmental pollution and leads to frequent occurrence of diseases. Effluent collected after Rhodopseudomonas palustris‐mediated wastewater treatment could be reutilized as microbial feeds, medicament and aquaculture water to culture Pelteobagrus vachelli. Therefore, a novel integrated system of wastewater treatment using effluent containing R. palustris that improves yield, increases disease resistance and enhances the quality of aquaculture water for P. vachelli culture was proposed and investigated. P. vachelli can grow well in effluent containing R. palustris (ER). The survival rate, yield and whole‐body composition of the ER group were all increased compared to those of the control group (CK). The biochemical (B vitamin) and other substances in the effluent of R. palustris enhanced the activity of proteases, amylases, lipases, alkaline phosphatase (AKP), acid phosphatase (ACP), phagocytic, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) by up‐regulating the expression of AKP, ACP, SOD and CAT genes. Theoretical analysis showed that biochemical substances regulated the expression of these genes and enzyme activities as stimulus signal, component and active centre. Moreover, R. palustris and biochemical substances improved the target of rapamycin (TOR) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) signalling pathways and intestinal microbiota. Furthermore, R. palustris inhibited Aeromonas hydrophila, which increased resistance to fish diseases and promoted the growth of intestinal probiotics. Meanwhile, R. palustris in effluent also purified the quality of aquaculture water. Use of this technology simultaneously helped improve aquaculture water quality, reduce water pollution and wastewater discharge and increased the output and disease resistance of P. vachelli.     

Changes in activities and mRNA expression of lipoprotein lipase and fatty acid synthetase in large yellow croaker,Larimichthys crocea (Richardson), during fasting

Over‐winter fasting and man‐made food deprivation to increase meat quality are common in the process of large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) aquaculture. This study aimed to determine the changes in lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid synthetase (FAS) activities and mRNA expressions, and the relationships between these changes and fat content in large yellow croaker liver and muscle tissues during fasting. A total of 2933 bp LPL cDNA, including an open reading frame of 1533 bp encoding 510 amino acids, and a 1233 bp fragment of FAS cDNA coding 411 amino acids were cloned. Expressions of both genes were ubiquitous. During a 35‐day fasting period, the hepatosomatic index and fat content in muscle and liver were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). mRNA levels of LPL increased significantly during the fasting period except the first 3 days, and FAS mRNA levels decreased significantly in both muscle and liver (P < 0.05) although there were some fluctuations. Muscle and liver LPL activities were significantly higher following fasting for 7 days, decreased to the initial value following fasting for 14 days, and elevating significantly afterwards (P < 0.05). FAS activities in muscle and liver maintained a significantly decreasing trend during the short‐term fasting (P < 0.05) and kept obviously rising thereafter (P < 0.05). Activities and mRNA levels of both LPL and FAS were not always consistent, which implied that both pre‐translational and post‐translational regulations existed during fasting. Our results suggest that the reasonable fasting time is 21 days before harvesting when fat content decreased significantly.     

Dietary supplementation of red alga Pyropia spheroplasts on growth,feed utilization and body composition of sea cucumber,Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka)

A feeding experiment was conducted in a closed recirculating system to evaluate the effects of freeze‐dried spheroplasts prepared from Pyropia yezoensis (Ueda) on feed intake, growth and biochemical composition of sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka). Pyropea spheroplasts (PS) were prepared through enzymatic treatment to break down the complex mixture of polysaccharides cell walls that might be easier for growth energy partitioning. Sea cucumbers were fed‐formulated diets with 10 (Diet 1), 30 (Diet 2) and 50 g/kg (Diet 3) inclusion level of PS. A diet without PS was used as a control (Diet 4). The experiment was conducted for 6 weeks maintaining water temperature 15 ± 1°C, photoperiod 18:06 hours (D:L). Feed was supplied ad‐libitum at 16.00 h once in a day, and the remaining feed and faeces were removed in the next day. Results showed that the highest growth was observed in the 50 g/kg PS diet compared to other treatments. Total weight gain, mean weight gain, net yield, protein efficiency ratio (PER) and protein gain (%) were significantly higher in the 50 g/kg PS diet (p < .05). A significantly higher percentage of energy was allocated for growth in the 50 g/kg PS diet. The highest specific growth rate and feed conversion efficiency (p < .05) were observed in the higher percentage of PS diet. Both the growth performance and biochemical analysis showed that superior growth was observed with increasing levels of PS in the diet. We infer that PS can be used as a new, cheaper feed ingredient in the formulated diet of A. japonicus.     

Effects of dietary proline on swim bladder collagen synthesis and its possible regulation by the TGF‐β/Smad pathway in spotted drum,Nibea diacanthus

Swim bladder is an ideal source of collagen production in fish for improved human health. Proline (Pro) is the main proteinogenic amino acid needed for collagen production. However, the effects of Pro supplementation on the swim bladder collagen synthesis have rarely been evaluated in fish. We determined the effects of dietary Pro supplementation on swim bladder collagen synthesis and its possible signalling pathway in spotted drum, Nibea diacanthus. A total of 450 N. diacanthus (100 ± 3.05 g) were randomly assigned into six treatments and fed with diets supplemented with different levels of Pro (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 g/kg of dry diet, hereafter P0, P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5, respectively) for 8 weeks. At the end, we evaluated collagen synthesis in swim bladder and the expression of genes related to TGF‐β/Smad pathway in the fish. Dietary Pro levels increased significantly the contents of crude protein, total collagen (TC) and the levels of some amino acids in swim bladder than the control diet (p < .05). The optimum amount of dietary Pro inclusion in diets for swim bladder collagen synthesis in N. diacanthus was 7.6 and 7.5 g/kg based on crude protein and TC in swim bladder, respectively. Dietary Pro levels increased significantly the proline 4‐hydroxylase (P4H) content in fish serum, swim bladder, muscle and liver tissues than control (p < .05). The relative expression of collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1), alpha 2 (COL1A2) and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2 (Smad2) genes in liver and swim bladder initially increased significantly as the concentration of Pro and later decreased (p < .05). Similarly, the relative expression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β), P4Ha2 and P4Ha3 genes in the swim bladder increased significantly as dietary Pro levels increased (p < .05). Using K‐means clustering analysis, dietary proline partly promoted collagen accumulation in swim bladder through upregulation of Smad2 and TGF‐βRT genes. Taken together, Pro affected the collagen metabolism in swim bladder, probably by regulating the TGF‐β/Smad pathway, most likely via transient overexpression of Smad2 gene.     

Effect of different water biofloc contents on the growth and immune response of gibel carp cultured in zero water exchange and no feed addition system

This study evaluated the growth and immune response of gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) cultured under no feed addition biofloc technology (BFT) system at different total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations (10, 300, 600, 800 and 1,000 mg/L for group BF0‐NF, BF300‐NF, BF600‐NF, BF800‐NF and BF1000‐NF) for 30 days. The results demonstrated that bioflocs contained rich nutrients, and gibel carp eaten bioflocs showed higher weight gain, specific growth and survival. Digestive enzyme activities such as pepsin and amylase increased significantly in BF300/600/800/1000‐NF groups than those in BF0‐NF group. Antioxidant response including superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity in serum and skin mucus was also enhanced significantly (p < .05). In addition, six immune‐related genes were examined by RT‐qPCR. Compared with BF0‐NF group, expression levels of immune genes intelectin (ITLN), dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP 1), keratin 8 (KRT 8), myeloid‐specific‐peroxidase (MPO), c‐type lysozyme (c‐lys) and interleukin‐11 (IL‐11) were up‐regulated by 78.1‐, 23.9‐, 13.8‐, 138.8‐, 401.8‐ and 91.1‐fold, respectively. The highest expression values were observed at TSS of 600–800 mg/L. This study suggested that bioflocs can be uptaken by gibel carp as a food source, and have a potential to be used as a supplemental food for aquaculture.     

Effects of density on growth,body composition and antioxidant indicators of Perinereis aibuhitensis and total nitrogen in sediments

Perinereis aibuhitensis is a marine polychaete living in intertidal zones that has important economic values. The present study investigated the effects of density on growth, body component and indices of antioxidant status of P. aibuhitensis as well as content of total nitrogen in sediments. When density was above 600 ind/m², specific growth rate and protein efficiency ratio both decreased, suggesting that the optimal density ranged from 400 to 600 ind/m². Survivorship and content of crude protein of P. aibuhitensis significantly decreased at densities above 700 ind/m². At densities above 700 ind/m², activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) as well as contents of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) were significantly up‐regulated, suggesting oxidative stresses to clamworms, which might explain the reduced survivorship. Moreover, total nitrogen content in sediment per kilogram of P. aibuhitensis significantly increased at density above 600 ind/m², suggesting that high density resulted in the extra release of N to the environment, which might pollute the habitats and become toxic to clamworms.     

Effect of fungal fermentation on apparent digestibility coefficient for dry matter,crude protein and amino acids of various plant protein sources in Penaeus vannamei

Four commercial solvent‐extracted oilseed meals/cakes, viz. soybean meal (SBM), groundnut oil cake (GNC), rapeseed meal (RSM) and sunflower oil cake (SFC), were fermented with fungus Aspergillus niger, and its effect on apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) was studied in Penaeus vannamei. Reference diet and eight experimental diets containing 700 g/kg reference diet and 300 g/kg test ingredient with 5 g/kg chromic oxide were formulated. Each diet was randomly allotted to three tanks containing ten shrimps. Shrimps were adapted to the experimental diets for a week, and faeces were collected using Falcon tube from second week onwards. The ADC of all the ingredients significantly (p < .05) increased with fermentation and the increase being higher in SBM (78.46%–91.71%) for dry matter and in SFC (71.51%–87.02%) for protein. Analysis of variance showed that the ADC of both dry matter and protein significantly (p < .05) differed in treatments (p = <.001) and ingredients (p = <.001). The average ADC of ingredients was ranked as SBM > GNC > RSM > SFC. The most digestible essential amino acid (EAA) in fermented ingredients was methionine in SBM, arginine in GNC, valine in RSM and histidine in SFC. A better improvement in amino acid digestibility was observed in fermented SFC. Results indicated that P. vannamei efficiently digests fermented ingredients compared to unfermented ones.     

Effect of dietary Clostridium butyricum and different feeding patterns on growth performance,antioxidant and immune capacity in freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii)

An 8‐week study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different feeding patterns with dietary Clostridium butyricum supplementation on growth performance, antioxidant and non‐specific immune responses in freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (0.39 ± 0.001 g). There were four feeding methodologies: feeding basal diet continuously (P1); feeding diet with 500 mg/kg C. butyricum continuously (P2); feeding diet with 500 mg/kg C. butyricum 5 days after 2 days of basal diet (P3) and feeding diet with 500 mg/kg C. butyricum 2 days after 5 days of basal diet (P4). The results revealed that prawns in P3 had the highest weight gain rate (WGR) and lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) than the other groups. Haemolymph total protein levels and superoxide dismutase activity increased significantly in P2, P3 and P4 groups, while malondialdehyde content and anti‐superoxide anion levels decreased significantly compared to control. The mRNA expression of intestinal dorsal and Toll in P2 and P3 groups decreased significantly compared to control. Prawns in P3 exhibited improved growth performance, increased antioxidant capacity and enhanced immune function. We concluded that feeding diet with 500 mg/kg C. butyricum for 5 days after 2 days of basal diet was recommended for M. rosenbergii.     

Influence of hormonal induction and broodstock feeding on longfin yellowtail Seriola rivoliana maturation,spawning quality and egg biochemical composition

To optimize broodstock management for Seriola rivoliana, a survey over 5 years was performed to evaluate the effects of successive hormonal inductions with GnRHa or dietary regime on spawning quality. Running males and females with an oocyte diameter > 500 μm were injected with GnRHa. The spawning quality was compared among consecutive years and different moments along the spawning season. Besides, three different feeding regimes were tested. Spawning quality parameters were not significantly affected by time along the spawning season, whereas they were clearly influenced by diet. Particularly, broodfish fed the mackerel regime (M) showed a significantly higher number of eggs than other treatments. Besides, dietary protein content significantly improved broodstock fecundity of S. rivoliana. Moreover, hatching rates were also higher in broodfish fed mackerel and the dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels significantly increased this parameter. Despite polar lipids were not significantly affected, neutral lipids fatty acid composition of S. rivoliana eggs showed higher 18:2n‐6 in eggs, whereas ARA content was not affected. The results of this study denoted the high fecundity and good spawning quality of S. rivoliana broodfish and suggested the importance of high protein, energy and DHA levels in broodstock diets.     

Growth,food efficiency,and biochemical composition of juvenile spotted babylon <Emphasis Type="Italic">Babylonia areolata</Emphasis> (Link) fed on conventional trash fish and a formulated moist diet

A 120-day feeding trial was conducted to determine growth, feeding efficiency, and biochemical composition of juvenile spotted babylon Babylonia areolata (initial mean weight of 1.48 ± 0.06 g) fed on conventional trash fish and a formulated moist diet in a flow-through grow-out system. The snails readily accepted the formulated moist diet and showed good growth and survival during the trial. There were no significant differences in specific growth rate, feeding efficiency, and survival between the snails fed on trash fish or the formulated moist diet. At the end of the experiment, biochemical analysis of the snail flesh showed significant differences in flesh quality, with the snails fed on trash fish having a significantly higher crude protein compared to those fed on the formulated diet, but there was little difference in crude lipid content. Whole body tissue of snails fed on trash fish had significantly higher total amino acid, essential amino acid, and non-essential amino acid levels compared to those fed the formulated diet. This study showed that the formulated moist diet can be readily used for B. areolata growout for maximizing growth, survival, and feeding efficiency; however, further research is needed to improve the flesh quality particularly amino acid and fatty acid levels before its suitability for B. areolata is assured.     

Growth performance,muscle biochemical constituents,amino acid and fatty acid compositions of the giant freshwater prawn,Macrobrachium rosenbergii,fed with herb‐incorporated diet

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of herbs such as Ocimum sanctum, Phyllanthus amarus and Solanum trilobatum on the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, postlarvae (PL). These herbs were powdered and incorporated at 5% with the basal diet separately and in a combination. The M. rosenbergii was fed with these feeds for a period of 90 days. Results indicated that significant (P < 0.05) improvements were observed in the survival, nutritional indices (weight gain, specific growth rate and protein efficiency ratio), proximate muscle biochemical constituents (total protein, amino acid, carbohydrate and lipid), profiles of essential amino acids and fatty acids of prawns fed with herb‐incorporated feeds. Among these herbs supplemented, P. amarus produced significantly (P < 0.05) better performance followed by S. trilobatum and O. sanctum. However, prawns fed with these herbs combination showed an insignificant (P > 0.05) improvement in survival and growth performance when compared to individual supplementation. Hence, this study suggests that the herbs (O. sanctum, P. amarus and S. trilobatum) can be used as a supplementary feed for a sustainable development of freshwater prawn culture.     

Effects of replacing dietary fish oil and squid liver oil with vegetable oils on the growth,tissue fatty acid profile and total carotenoids of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii

A feeding trial was conducted to investigate the complete substitution of either fish oil (FO) or squid liver oil (SLO) with crude palm oil (CPO), canola oil (CO) sunflower oil (SFO) or linseed oil (LO), as the sole added lipid source in diets fed to triplicate groups of giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (initial weight = 0.42 ± 0.01 g) for 6 weeks. Prawns fed the CO or SLO diets showed significantly higher (P < 0.05) specific growth rate than those fed the FO or CPO diets. The feed conversion ratio of the prawns was significantly better when fed the CO diet, compared with the FO, CPO, SFO and LO diets. The muscle eicosapentaenoic acid content of prawns fed the vegetable oil (VO) diets were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from those fed the FO diet, although all VO‐based diets led to a significantly lower docosahexaenoic acid content compared with prawns fed the FO or SLO diet. The whole‐body total carotenoid content was significantly lower for prawns fed the SLO diet compared with prawns on the CO or CPO diets. The successful use of VO instead of marine‐based oils in prawn diets will likely reduce feeding costs associated with M. rosenbergii aquaculture.     

Effects of adding sucrose on Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) growth performance and water quality in a biofloc system

A 60‐day indoor growth trial was conducted to study the effects of biofloc on the growth performance of a Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798), water quality and biological indicators including biofloc volume, chlorophyll‐a, heterotrophic bacteria and Bacillus quantity. Two concentrations of sucrose (0 and 75%) were added daily to the P. monodon culture systems (2.94 ± 0.11 g), which were conducted indoors in fibre‐glass tanks (500 L). Results showed that the final body weight and weight gain of the adding 75% sucrose group were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that of the control, as well as significantly (P < 0.05) improved specific growth rates and survival rates, and reduced feed coefficient. Adding 75% sucrose promoted heterotrophic bacteria, Bacillus and phytoplankton reproduction, and significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the concentration of ammonia‐N (NH₄‐N), nitrite‐N (NO₂‐N) and nitrate‐N (NO₃‐N). The changes of water quality indicators in the two groups showed the similar trend at the end of the experiment, and the ammonia‐N, nitrite‐N, nitrate‐N and phosphate‐P concentrations in the 75% sucrose group were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the control group, Chlorophyll‐a concentrations peaked at 389.12 μg/L in the biofloc sucrose group at 18:00 h, and heterotrophic bacteria peaked 8 h after sucrose was added. The addition of sucrose also reduced the pH of the water. Our research showed that adding sucrose promoted biofloc formation and shortened the formation time; increased the number of heterotrophic bacteria and algae which might play a role in improving water quality by assimilating ammonia‐N and other harmful substances in the water; supplemented food for P monodon growth; and reduced the feed coefficient.     

A global view of hepatopancreas and intestinal reveals the potential influencing mechanism of aflatoxin B1 on nutrition and metabolism in Litopenaeus vannamei

The present study was to determine the time‐dependent alterations in growth performance, histomorphology, digestive enzymes activities and the genes expression related to target of rapamycin (TOR) signalling pathway involved in hepatopancreas and intestine of Litopenaeus vannamei at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 days after Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) challenge. The results manifested that AFB1 could induce a significant decrease in growth performance and visible variations of the hepatopancreas and intestine structures in shrimp. Meanwhile, the digestive enzymes activities and genes expression level were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group and showed a time‐dependent decrease (p < 0.05). The expression levels of tor and s6k were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group from days 6 to 24 and showed a tendency to increase first and then decrease as a whole (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, we analysed candidate pathways involved in hepatopancreas and intestine of shrimp in metabolic response to AFB1. The mainly disturbed pathways related to metabolism in hepatopancreas were involved in pyrimidine, glycosylphosphatidylinositol, glycosaminoglycan, vitamin and amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism, while the mainly disturbed metabolic pathways in intestine were glycosaminoglycan, vitamin and amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism.     

Effects of dietary fish oil replacement by various vegetable oils on growth performance,body composition and fatty acid profile of juvenile Malaysian mahseer,Tor tambroides

The current study was carried out to investigate the effects of replacing dietary fish oil with different vegetable oil sources and ratios on the growth performance and tissue fatty acid profiles of juvenile Tor tambroides. Three different vegetable oils (sunflower oil, linseed oil and palm oil) were used in two different substitution ratios (50% and 100%). A diet without replacement (100% fish oil) was used as a control. Triplicate groups of T. tambroides juveniles (5.0 ± 0.4 g) were fed the test diets for 9 weeks. The highest weight gain was observed in fish fed palm oil diets that, of course, were reared in aquaria. There was a significant effect (P < 0.05) of the percentage of fish oil replacement on the liver weight after controlling for the effect of fish weight (P < 0.05). The viscera weight significantly increased (P < 0.05) in fish on vegetable oil diets, and its highest amount observed among fish fed palm oil diets. Vegetable oil inclusion significantly reduced eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentrations in both muscle and liver of fish except for fish on 50% palm oil diet that had similar liver DHA content with those on control diet.     

Apparent digestibility coefficients of fungal fermented plant proteins in two different penaeid shrimps—A comparative study

Using the 70:30 replacement method and chromium as an inert marker, the digestibility of four fermented oilseed meals/cakes (soybean meal (FSBM), groundnut oil cake (FGNC), rapeseed meal (FRSM), and sunflower oil cake (FSFC)) were determined in Penaeus monodon and Penaeus indicus. Apparent dry matter digestibility (ADMD) of fermented ingredients was ranked as FSBM > FGNC > FRSM > FSFC. The critical variations in apparent protein digestibility (APD) in P. monodon (0.816%) and P. indicus (0.608%) were lower than the ADMD. Appaprent amino acid digestibility (AAD) was >90% in FSBM for both the species and was lower for other ingredients. Protein had a higher digestibility than total amino acids and was in the range of 0.69%–2.71% in P. monodon and 0.32%–2.75% in P. indicus. A correlation between the ADC of total amino acids and protein was found to be r = 0.8229 in P. indicus and r = 0.7447 in P. monodon. Data were further subjected to two way analysis of variance for assessing the digestibility variations between the species. It was observed that P. indicus had higher values of ADMD than P. monodon in FSBM (2.97%) and FRSM (1.22%) and the reverse was true in FGNC and FSFC. The APD was high in P. indicus for FSBM, FGNC and FRSM but not for FSFC. However, significant variations could be noticed in AAD between the species.