Effects of different dietary lipid sources on growth performance, tissue fatty acid composition and serum lipid indices of juvenile Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii Brandt, 1869

Abstract

Summary The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of different dietary lipid sources on the growth performance, tissue fatty acid composition and serum lipids indices of juvenile Acipenser schrenckii. Seven experimental diets were formulated with 10% lipid originating from fish oil (FO), sunflower oil (SFO), tallow oil (TO), pork lard (PL), rapeseed oil (RO), corn oil (CO) and soybean oil (SBO), respectively. Triplicate groups of 20 Amur sturgeon [initial body weight (9.83 ± 0.19) g; means ± SD] were cultured in 405-L flow-through aquaria and assigned to the experimental diets for 8 weeks. Results showed that fish fed the SBO diet had the highest weight gain rate (611.29%), significantly higher than that of fish fed the FO (539.14%), CO (540.56%) or SFO (451.27%, the lowest) diet (P 0.05). Fish fed the PL diet had the highest moisture and lipid contents in muscle, while fish fed the TO diet had the highest protein content in muscle. In summary, the lipid sources used in this test (excepting SFO) can be deemed as suitable for Amur sturgeon, the effect of SBO being the best. SFO is not recommended as a supplement in the Amur sturgeon diet.