Cholesterolaemia and triacylglycerolaemia in farmed rainbow trout, O ncorhynchus mykiss

Physiological (reference) value intervals determined by the lower 2.5% and upper 97.5% quantiles were calculated for blood plasma cholesterol ( CHOL ) and triacylglycerol ( TGL ) in farmed rainbow trout, O ncorhynchus mykiss, in raceway culture. The fish were given dry pelleted diets that contained 37–47% crude protein and 7–14% crude fat and were kept at a stocking density of 50 kg m −3 in tanks provided with running freshwater at an ambient temperature of 3–16°C and dissolved oxygen, 8.4–11.5 mg L −1 . Blood was sampled between September and November at a photoperiod of 9:00–13:00 hours: 11:00–15:00 hours (light:dark). Cholesterol levels were significantly ( P  =   0.0001) greater in males (4.7–12.1 mmol L −1 , n  = 34, mean weight 406 ± 138 g) than immature females (3.2–9.7 mmol L −1 , n  = 386, mean weight 416 ± 147 g). Physiological range for TGL in immature females and males was 2.4–14.4 mmol L −1 ( n  = 249, mean weight 418 ± 149 g). The distribution and density of the quantiles in the tested reference group were made possible by the use of histograms, which showed normal distributions for CHOL in males and in females, but not for TGL , in which a sinistral asymmetry was found. Correlation and regression analyses indicated significant ( P  =   0.0000) dependence between the CHOL and total protein ( r 2  = 76.2%), CHOL and Fulton's condition factor ( r 2  = 43.3%) and CHOL and absolute weight of liver ( r 2  = 45.5%). Fluctuation in cholesterolaemia and triacylglycerolaemia, depending on nutrition and the aquaculture method is discussed below.