Requirement of red sea bream for dietary iron. II.

Abstract

In order to determine the amount of dietary iron required by red sea bream, Chrysophrys major, the effect of dietary iron on some biological and chemical characteristics of the blood were examined by using fish which received diets with different levels of iron over a 90-day feeding trial. The fish fed dietary iron levels lower than 15 mg/100 g showed lower values for mean corpuscular constants of blood and iron content and iron saturation index of blood serum, and higher values for total iron binding capacity and unsaturated iron binding capacity of blood serum than those found for the fish receiving higher dietary iron levels. From these results, it is concluded that the iron requirement of red sea bream is approximately 15 mg per 100 g diet.