Evaluation of Practical Diets for Juvenile Lost River Suckers

Abstract

AbstractA 9‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate one custom formulation and six commercially available diets when fed to juveniles of the endangered Lost River Sucker Deltistes luxatus. The seven treatments included the following: two catfish Ictalurus spp. diets, a tilapia Oreochromis spp. diet, a shrimp diet, a general warmwater fish diet, a general fish diet, and a feed formulated at the Abernathy Fish Technology Center (Abernathy sucker diet). The general fish diet produced fish that were significantly larger than the fish fed the other diets. The Lost River Suckers fed the general fish diet or the Abernathy sucker diet averaged 99.0% survival for the duration of the trial, which was significantly higher than in Lost River Suckers fed all other diets except for one catfish diet. Spinal deformities were significantly less frequent in fish fed the general fish diet and the Abernathy sucker diet. Whole‐body proximate and fatty acid composition were affected by diet. Whole‐body fatty acid profiles generally mirrored the diet profiles. The general fish diet appears to be an effective diet for juvenile Lost River Suckers, although the Abernathy sucker diet should be considered for further development as it yielded high survival and no incidence of spinal deformity.