Open AccessBeef tallow is suitable as a primary lipid source in juvenile Florida pompano feeds
Author(s) -
Rombenso A.N.,
Trushenski J.T.,
Schwarz M.H.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aquaculture nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1365-2095
pISSN - 1353-5773
DOI - 10.1111/anu.12502
Subject(s) - tallow , polyunsaturated fatty acid , fish oil , food science , biology , fatty acid , long chain , fish <actinopterygii> , zoology , biochemistry , chemistry , fishery , polymer science
Abstract It is assumed that Florida pompano have dietary EPA (20:5n‐3) and DHA (22:6n‐3) requirements. However, it is unclear whether both are equally important in meeting demand for n‐3 long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids ( LC ‐ PUFA s) or whether the requirement(s) can be influenced by other fatty acids. Accordingly, we assessed production performance and tissue composition of juvenile Florida pompano (41.0 ± 0.5 g) fed diets containing fish oil; beef tallow; or beef tallow partially or fully supplemented with EPA , DHA or both. After 8 weeks, no signs of fatty acid deficiency were observed. Although fish performance did not vary significantly among the dietary treatments, fish fed the DHA ‐supplemented feeds exhibited numerically superior growth than those fed the other diets. Fillets of fish fed the beef tallow‐based diets contained reduced levels of n‐3 fatty acids and LC ‐ PUFA s and elevated levels of MUFA s and n‐6 fatty acids, although dietary supplementation with EPA and/or DHA attenuated these effects somewhat. Our results suggest that beef tallow is suitable as a primary lipid source in Florida pompano feeds and n‐3 LC ‐ PUFA requirements may be met by as little as 4 g/kg EPA and 4 g/kg DHA . However, there may be value in supplementing tallow‐based diets with DHA to enhance tissue levels and possibly growth.