Abstract
A 3×2 factorial experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dietary protein and lipid levels on the growth and body composition of juvenile far eastern catfish. Six diets were formulated to contain three levels of protein (20%, 30% and 40%) and two levels of lipid (9% and 17%). Triplicate groups of fish (initial body weight of 7.6 g) were hand-fed to apparent satiation for 66 days. Final mean weight was improved with increasing dietary protein and lipid levels, and the highest final mean weight was observed in fish fed the 40/17 (% protein/% lipid) diet. No significant difference was observed in final mean weight for fish fed between 30/17 diet and 40/9 diet. Feed efficiency of fish fed the diets containing over 30% protein levels with 9% and 17% lipid levels were significantly higher than those of fish fed the 20% protein levels. Feed efficiency of fish fed the 30/17 diet was not significantly different from that of fish fed the 40/9 diet or 40/17 diet. Feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio of fish fed the 20% protein diets with 17% lipid level were significantly higher than those of fish fed 9% lipid diet. Daily feed intake of fish tended to decrease with increasing dietary protein and lipid levels. Moisture content of whole body in fish fed the 9% lipid diets was significantly higher than that of fish fed the 17% lipid diets at the same protein level, but the opposite trends were found for crude lipid content. Significant effects of dietary lipid were observed for most fatty acids, according to their relative values in the diets. The results of this study suggest that the protein requirement for maximum growth of juvenile far eastern catfish may be higher than 40%, and an increase of dietary lipid level from 9% to 17% can improve growth and feed utilization.