Martinez-Palacios CA ; Harfush-Melendez M ; Chavez-Sanchez C ; Ross LG ;

Aquaculture Nutrition vol. 2 (1)   pp. 11-20, 1996

Cent. Investig. Aliment. y Desarrollo, Unidad Mazatlan en Acuicult. Ambiental, Sabalo Cerritos s/n, Estero del Yugo, C.P. B2010, A.P. 711, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Optimum dietary protein levels of young Cichlasoma urophthalmus (Gunther) of 0.3 g mean weight were determined at 28 degree C using two methods, a fixed feeding rate of 6% body weight per day and satiation feeding. In the fixed rate trials nine isoenergetic diets were formulated with protein levels ranging from 347 to 561 g kg super(-1) using brown fish meal (anchovy) as the only protein source. In the satiation feeding trials, ten diets were formulated based on brown fish meal (mackerel) ranging from 0 to 450g kg super(-1) protein. When fish were fed a fixed rate diet, the best absolute growth was obtained with diets between 435 and 560 g kg super(-1) protein. Broken-line analysis showed that, in terms of weight gain (%), the optimum protein level was about 453 g kg super(-1). When fish were fed to satiation, the best absolute growth was obtained with the 383 g kg super(-1) protein diet, and broken-line analysis suggested an optimum of about 325 g kg super(-1). The difference between the two results, using the two techniques, is very marked. The probable mechanism underlying these data is discussed

Fish culture ;  Nutritional requirements ;  Proteins ;  Feeding experiments ;  Cichlasoma urophthalmus ;