Effects of replacing fish oil with canola oil on the growth performance,fatty acid composition and metabolic enzyme activity of juvenile yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845)

In this study, fish oil (FO) was replaced with canola oil (CO) in juvenile yellowtail diets to establish the optimal replacement levels that ensure adequate feed quality for aquaculture. Juvenile yellowtails (initial body weight: 104.7 g) were fed one of four diets for 10 weeks: 100% FO (FO group) or FO replacement with 25%, 50% or 100% CO (CO25, CO50 and CO100 groups respectively). Body weight, specific growth rate and feed efficiency were significantly affected by the replacement of FO with CO. The final body weight of the CO100 group was significantly lower than that of the FO (control) and CO50 groups. Furthermore, the CO50 group showed significantly higher feed efficiency than the FO group during the first 4 weeks (long photoperiod and high water temperature conditions). Increasing dietary CO increased serum glucose and triglyceride concentrations in a dose‐dependent manner. Regarding the proximate composition of fillet and liver, only crude protein in fillet was affected by the replacement of FO with CO. Fatty acid compositions of fillet and liver were correlated to the amount of CO in each diet. The activities of the metabolic enzymes phosphofructokinase and alanine aminotransferase were lowest in the CO25 and CO50 groups respectively. Thus, FO replacement with CO affected growth performance, serum components, fatty acid composition and the activity of metabolic enzymes. Overall, results obtained in the present study suggest that partial replacement (50%) of FO with CO is effective and might increase juvenile yellowtail growth under long photoperiod and/or high water temperature conditions.