Effects of Dietary Carbohydrate: Lipid Ratio on Growth and Body Composition of Hybrid Striped Bass

A study was conducted to determine the ability of juvenile hybrid striped bass, Morone crysops ♀× M. saxatilis ♂ , to utilize dietary carbohydrate and lipid for energy. Four semipurified diets containing 35% crude protein were formulated to be isocaloric with various levels of dextrin and menhaden fish oil 50 the carbohydrate: lipid ratio (CHO:L) ranged from 2510 to 42:2.5. Diets were fed in triplicate to groups of hybrid striped bass initially averaging 1.5 g/fish in 38 L aquaria receiving a constant supply of hard (> 180 mg/L as CaCO₃) freshwater for a period of eight weeks. Weight gain, feed and protein efficiencies were similar among all dietary groups. Hepatosomatic index (liver weight × 100/body weight), muscle ratio (whole muscle weight × 100/body weight) and condition factor were also similar, while intraperitoneal fat (IPF) ratio (IPF weight × 100/ body weight) was significantly ( P × 0.05) increased as CHO:L decreased. Proximate composition of muscle did not show any effects of diet. However, dry matter and lipid of whole-body increased significantly as CHO:L decreased; conversely whole-body protein was significantly reduced. Moreover, liver glycogen significantly increased as CHO:L decreased. These data indicate hybrid striped bass are able to efficiently utilize carbohydrate for energy; and dietary lipid, which generally caused increased lipid deposition in various tissues, could be partially replaced with carbohydrate to improve fish quality and productivity.