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RESEARCH PRODUCT

High dietary inclusion level of fresh herring impairs growth of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

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description

Abstract One-year old rainbow trout (initially 350–670 g) were fed for 15 weeks diets containing various amounts of water (23–67%). This was achieved by replacing fish meal with Baltic herring. The growth of rainbow trout, whether measured as wet weight, protein or energy, was impaired when 50–55% dietary water was fed. The fish compensated for increasing dietary water content by consuming more diet so that the dry matter intake of the diets with 23 and 67% water were equal. Partitioning of growth into protein and lipid as well as protein and energy retention efficiencies were unaffected by dietary water. It is suggested that there is a metabolic cost of consuming more food when compensating for high dietary water content.