Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus growth and expression of bile salt-dependent lipase in response to increasing dietary lipid supplementation.

Sciaenops ocellatus has a long history in aquaculture and many difficulties associated with its commercial culture have been addressed and successfully resolved; nevertheless, further research in lipid nutrition could address more comprehensive questions on the way these nutrients are utilized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate S. ocellatus growth and lipase gene expression in response to increasing dietary lipid supplementation. Four experimental diets were formulated to provide 3, 10, 16, or 23% lipid using menhaden fish oil. Twenty juveniles (mean initial weight 2.3 ± 0.1 g) were stocked per aquaria in a recirculating system; each diet was assigned to three aquaria and fed to fish for 6 weeks. At the end of the study, fish fed 3% of dietary lipid were significantly (P < 0.0001) smaller and showed significantly lower feed efficiency, condition factor, hepatosomatic index, and intraperitoneal fat than fish fed the other diets, but no differences were observed among fish fed 10, 16, or 23% lipid. A straight broken-line regression model for thermal growth coefficient provided an estimated value of 9.4% of dietary lipid as the optimal inclusion level. The bile salt-dependent lipase (BSDL) of red drum was 80.3 kDa. Relative gene expression of BSDL was significantly higher (P = 0.0007) in fish fed 10% lipid, with no differences among the other dietary treatments. Results provided could help monitor the metabolic status of farmed fish and contribute to optimize diet formulations based on maximum gene expression of BSDL for supplementation of dietary lipid.

Toxicity of cultured bullseye puffer fish Sphoeroides annulatus.

The toxin content in various life cycle stages of tank-cultivated bullseye puffer (Sphoeroides annulatus) were analyzed by mouse bioassay and ESI-MS spectrometry analysis. The presence of toxin content was determined in extracts of sperm, eggs, embryo, larvae, post-larvae, juvenile, pre-adult, and adult fish, as well as in food items used during the cultivation of the species. Our findings show that only the muscle of juveniles, the viscera of pre-adults, and muscle, liver, and gonad of adult specimens were slightly toxic (<1 mouse unit). Thus, cultivated S. annulatus, as occurs with other cultivated puffer fish species, does not represent a food safety risk to consumers. This is the first report of toxin analysis covering the complete life stages of a puffer fish under controlled conditions.

Expression and activity of trypsin and pepsin during larval development of the spotted rose snapper Lutjanus guttatus.

The present study aimed to describe and understand the development of the digestive system in spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus) larvae from hatching to 40 days post-hatch (dph). The mouth opened between 2 and 3 dph, at that moment the digestive tract was barely differentiated into the anterior and posterior intestine, although the liver and pancreas were already present. Gastric glands were observed until 20 dph, followed by the differentiation of the stomach between 20 and 25 dph. Trypsinogen expression and trypsin activity were detected at hatching, increasing concomitantly to larval development and the change in the type of food. Maximum levels of trypsinogen expression were observed at 25 dph, when animals were fed with Artemia nauplii, and maximum trypsin activity was detected at 35 dph, when larvae were fed with an artificial diet. On the other hand, pepsinogen gene expression was detected at 18 dph, two days before pepsin enzymatic activity and appearance of gastric glands. Maximum pepsin activity was also observed at 35 dph. These results suggest that in this species weaning could be initiated at an earlier age than is currently practiced (between 28 and 30 dph), since larvae of spotted rose snapper develop a functional stomach between days 20 and 25 post-hatch.

Nutrition and feeding research in the spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus) and bullseye puffer (Sphoeroides annulatus), new species for marine aquaculture.

The spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus) and bullseye puffer (Sphoeroides annulatus) are fish species from the tropical Eastern Pacific for which controlled production of larvae and juveniles has been accomplished in recent years. Diverse topics relating to their biology and aquaculture production are currently under study, in particular the nutrition and feeding aspects required to formulate practical feeds and rearing protocols. Improvements in larval growth and survival are possible by feeding live food organisms with natural or enhanced essential fatty acids content and highly digestible artificial microdiets. The ontogeny of the digestive tract and the expression and activity of digestive enzymes have been described for S. annulatus larvae. The effect of various protein and lipid levels on growth and feed utilization has been studied in juvenile and on-growing fish. Both species have carnivorous feeding habits and require high levels of protein in their diets, from 40% to 45% (dry weight) in spotted rose snapper and above 50% in bullseye puffer, with the younger stages requiring the highest protein levels. Encouraging results have been obtained in feeding experiments with different sources of dietary protein from animal and plant origin to evaluate their suitability as feed ingredients in practical diets. Optimization of fish culture practices through feeding management has also been investigated. Trials with various fish densities and feeding frequencies in intensive culture systems are providing information to improve feed utilization and growth in on-growing fish. Further research is underway to evaluate factors in broodstock nutrition which have an impact on egg and larval quality, and into the use of various commercially available oil sources in on-growing diets. In this paper, the results on nutrition and feeding research with both species are reviewed and research needs to support their commercial production in the region are discussed.