Effects of Dietary Chlorella ellipsoidea Supplementation on Growth, Blood Characteristics, and Whole‐Body Composition in Juvenile Japanese Flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

Abstract

AbstractThe study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary Chlorella powder (C) supplementation on growth performance, blood characteristics, and whole‐body composition in juvenile Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Four experimental diets were supplemented with C at 0, 1, 2 and 4% (C0, C1, C2, and C4) on a dry‐weight basis. Three replicate groups of fish averaging 1.13 ± 0.02 g (Mean ± SD) were randomly distributed in each aquarium and fed one of four experimental diets for 12 wk. After 12 wk of the feeding trial, fish fed C2 diet had higher weight gain (WG), feed efficiency (FE), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) than did fish fed C0 and C1 diets (P 0.05); however, there was no significant difference among fish fed C1 and C4 diets, and among fish fed C2 and C4 diets (P > 0.05). Fish fed C2 and C4 diets had a lower serum cholesterol level than did fish fed C0 and C1 diets (P 0.05). Fish fed C2 and C4 diets had a lower body fat than did fish fed C0 (P 0.05). These results indicate that dietary supplementation of 2%Chlorella powder in the commercial diets could improve growth, feed utilization, serum cholesterol level, and whole‐body fat contents in juvenile Japanese flounder.