Feed training of giant trahira fingerlings fed diets containing different levels of vitamin C

Rodrigo Yutaka Dichoff Kasai,Céphora Maria Sabarense,Mateus Moraes Tavares,Daniel Abreu Vasconcelos Campelo,Jener Alexandre Sampaio Zuanon,Ana Lúcia Salaro

doi:10.1590/s1516-35982011000300001

Rodrigo Yutaka Dichoff Kasai, Céphora Maria Sabarense + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1516-35982011000300001

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Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate suplemenation of vitamin C during feed training of giant trahira fingerlings. An experiment was established in a complete random design with seven treatments (0.0, 17.5, 52.5, 87.5, 122.5, 175.0 and 350.0 mg vitamin C/kg diet) and four repetitions. Giant trahira fingerlings (2.8 ± 0.2 cm) were distributed in 6-L aquaria at the density of 6 fish/L. A basal diet was formulated with 44.0% of crude protein and vitamin C and bovine heart were added in it daily. After 20 days, biometry of fish for evaluation of weight and length gains, rates of survival and cannibalism and uniformity of final length and for macroscopic observations of clinical signs of deficiency or excess of vitamin was carried out. After biometry evaluation, ten fish from each tested diet were collected for analysis of the fatty acid profile which was compared to profile of fish at the same life stage fed forage fish collected from breeding fishponds. Data on growth performance and fatty acid profiles were submitted to analyses of polynomial regression and uniformity of the final length was evaluated by the Bartlett test. There was a significant difference only for uniformity in final length and fatty acid profile of the carcass. Supplementation with 52.5 mg vitamin C/kg diet provided a greater uniformity of the final length of the fish. Fish from breeding fishponds presented lower concentration of PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) and higher concentration of saturated fatty acids compared to fish trained to accept dry diets.

Highlights

The giant trahira (Hoplias lacerdae Ribeiro, 1908) is a carnivorous species with good adaptation to captive conditions, hardiness and high weight gain, which allows for captive breeding of this species
The experiment was conducted at the Laboratório de Nutrição de Peixes do Setor de Piscicultura do Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), Viçosa, over a period of 20 days using a randomized design with seven treatments (0.0, 17.5, 52.5, 87.5, 122.5, 175.0 and 350.0 mg vitamin C/kg diet) and four replications
The results for weight gain, length and survival and cannibalism rates of fish conditioned to accept dry diets supplemented with vitamin C showed no significant differences (Table 4) and were similar to those obtained by Luz et al (2002)

Summary

Introduction

The giant trahira (Hoplias lacerdae Ribeiro, 1908) is a carnivorous species with good adaptation to captive conditions, hardiness and high weight gain, which allows for captive breeding of this species. Among the nutrients used in diets to reduce the effects of stress on fish, vitamin C acts as an antioxidant eliminating free radicals (Lall and Lewis-McCrea, 2007), reducing stress and promoting comfort for the animal (Li & Lovell, 1985; Sakakura et al, 1998; Petric et al, 2003; Moraes et al, 2003; Wang et al, 2006). It participates in the synthesis of carnitine (Chien & Hwang, 2001), which is fundamental in the transport of long chain fatty acids into mitochondria, favoring the production of energy (Bilinski & Jonas, 1970). The supply of dietary vitamin C may regulate the activity of lysoenzymes and immunoglobulin concentrations in blood plasma, increasing the immune responses of the animal (Ren et al, 2008, Lim et al, 2010)

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