Open AccessEFFECTS OF VITAMIN C AND SODIUM BENZOATE ON SURVIVAL, GROWTH AND SKELETAL DEFORMITIES OF INTENSIVELY CULTURED BULLFROG LARVAE Rana catesbeiana REARED AT TWO pH LEVELS
Author(s) -
Leibovitz Henry E.,
Culley Dudley D.,
Geaghan James P.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of the world mariculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0735-0147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1982.tb00042.x
Subject(s) - bullfrog , biology , larva , preservative , sodium benzoate , rana , oxytetracycline , vitamin , sodium , zoology , medicine , endocrinology , food science , biochemistry , botany , antibiotics , chemistry , organic chemistry
Previous experiments indicated nutritional deficiencies in the artificial diet of Rana catesbeiana larvae were responsible for up to 95% severe skeletal deformities in laboratory reared larvae. Radiographs showed the skeletal deformities occur in the calcified and cartilagenous skeletal structure. In this study three aspects of the larval diet and its preparation were modified and tested in feeding experiments at pH 6.5 to 6.9 and 7.5 to 8.3. Diets containing from 2% to 8% vitamin C were associated with a reduced incidence of scoliosis at both pH ranges, with greater reduction occurring at the high pH. Survival and growth were greater at the lower pH for larvae fed vitamin C supplemented diets. Lowering the temperature of the food mix to 40°C before adding vitamins to the diet did not reduce the occurrence of deformities. Oxytetracycline and sulfathiazole were replaced by sodium benzoate as a food preservative. There was no difference in survival, growth, or skeletal deformities in the larvae.