Effects of Partial Replacement of Fish Meal Protein by Microalgae on Growth, Feed Intake, and Body Composition of Atlantic Cod

• Published in: North American Journal of Aquaculture
• Main Authors: Walker, Abigail B., Berlinsky, David L.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository 2011
• Subjects: Scientific Contribution Number 2445; Aquaculture and Fisheries; atlantic cod; Gadus morhua
• Online Access: https://scholars.unh.edu/nhaes/148; https://doi.org/10.1080/15222055.2010.549030; http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15222055.2010.549030#.Uk7JndKRDA0

A feeding trial was conducted with juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua (initial mean weight, 40.7 g) in which a combination of dried Nannochloropsis sp. and Isochrysis sp. replaced fish meal protein in isonitrogenous, isocaloric diets. Three experimental diets (55% protein, 16.5% fat; calculated gross energy = 5,328 kcal/kg) were formulated to replace 0, 15, or 30% of dietary fish meal protein. At the conclusion of the 84-d study, no differences in survival, feed conversion ratios, viscerosomatic indices, and n-3 and n-6 fatty acids in the muscle were found among the treatment groups. Feed intake and growth, which were proportional to the level of algal incorporation, were significantly reduced in the algae-fed fish and were probably due to palatability problems. Feed intake improved in the fish fed the diet with 15% fish meal protein replacement as the study progressed, but hepatosomatic indices indicate that those fed the diet with 30% replacement were approaching starvation.