Substitution of krill meal for fish meal in feed for Russian sturgeon, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii

Abstract

Krill meal (KM) is a potential feed ingredient topartially replace fish meal (FM) in aquaculture. To better understand the efficacy of krill meal, a 200-day feeding trial was conducted with Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii). Four extruded diets in which KM replaced 0%, 10%, 20%, or 30% of FM in the formulation were fed to sturgeons (weight 481 g) for 200days. Growth of Russian sturgeon fed diets containing KM was as good, or even better, than fish fed a FM control diet. No differences were observed in terms of dorsal muscle composition between the fish fed diets which contained KM and those fed the FM control diet. Fluoride concentrations in the dorsal muscle, liver, and kidney, as well as swim bladder in all dietary groups were below a detectable limit. In the gills, skin, vertebral bone and dorsal scutes, the fluoride content from the KM groups progressively increased with dietary fluoride concentration. In conclusion, KM can be a partial substitute for FM in the diets of Russian sturgeon without affecting normal growth performance.