Substitution of Krill meal for Fish Meal in Feed for Russian Sturgeon, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii

Abstract

Krill meal (KM) is a potential feed ingredient that can replace fish meal (FM) in aquaculture. To better understand the efficacy of krill meal, a 200-day feeding trial was conducted with Russian sturgeons (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii). Four extruded diets in which KM replaced 0%, 10%, 20%, or 30% of FM in the formulation were fed to 481 g sturgeons for 200 d. Russian sturgeons that were fed diets containing KM grew as fast as or even better than fish fed with FM control diet. No differences were observed in terms of dorsal muscle composition in the fish fed with diets including KM and those fed with FM control diet. Meanwhile, the fluoride concentrations in the dorsal muscle, liver, and kidney, as well as swim bladder in all dietary groups were below 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 partially substitute for FM in the diets of Russian sturgeon without affecting normal growth performance.