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Effects of dietary l ‐carnitine supplements on growth and body composition in beluga sturgeon ( Huso huso ) juveniles
Author(s) -
Mohseni M.,
Ozorio R. O. A.,
Pourkazemi M.,
Bai S. C.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied ichthyology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1439-0426
pISSN - 0175-8659
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2008.01121.x
Subject(s) - huso , beluga , biology , sturgeon , carnitine , zoology , feed conversion ratio , protein efficiency ratio , composition (language) , fish <actinopterygii> , body weight , fishery , endocrinology , linguistics , philosophy
Summary The effects of dietary l ‐carnitine on growth performance, whole body composition and feed utilization were studied in beluga, Huso huso . Fish were randomly allocated in 15 tanks (30 fish per tank) and triplicate groups were fed to satiety during 84 days one of five isonitrogenous (41% CP) and isoenergetic (20 MJ kg −1 ) diets, each differing in l ‐carnitine content [0 (control), 300, 600, 900 and 1200 mg kg −1 diet]. At the end of the trial, fish grew from 19‐ to 23‐fold in weight, from 8.4 g to a maximum of 191 g. Fish fed 300–600 mg l ‐carnitine had the highest specific growth rate (SGR, 3.69 and 3.72% day −1 ) and protein efficiency ratio (PER, 0.95 and 0.99), and the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR, 1.4 and 1.3) than the other groups (P < 0.0001). SGR, PER and FCR were the poorest for fish fed 1200 mg l ‐carnitine, while fish fed the unsupplemented and 900 mg l ‐carnitine supplemented diet showed intermediate performance. Body lipid concentration decreased significantly from 5.8 to 5.1% (P < 0.0001) with dietary l ‐carnitine supplementation increasing from 0 to 300 mg. Energy content was significantly lower in fish fed the 900 and 1200 mg l ‐carnitine diet (5.8 MJ kg −1 ), when compared with the other treatment groups (6.4–6.6 MJ kg −1 ). The results indicated that feeding sturgeon on diets supplemented with 300 mg l ‐carnitine kg −1 diet improved growth performance, and stimulated protein‐sparing effects from lipids.