Effects of two phosphorous sources in the diet on the growth performance, digestibility, and plasma physiological parameters of <em>Pelodiscus sinensis</em> juveniles

Abstract

Phosphorus is an essential mineral for aquatic animals to maintain the health of the skeletal system and many physiological functions. This study assessed the effects of two inorganic phosphorus sources on growth performance, apparent phosphorus digestibility, whole-body proximate composition, and physiological status in juvenile *Pelodiscus sinensis*. Two experimental diets were supplemented with 4% calcium phosphate monobasic (MCP) and 5.47% calcium phosphate dibasic (DCP), respectively, to obtain equal total dietary phosphorus (2.20%). 96 turtles (initial body weight: 5.40±0.03g) were randomly distributed into 12 tanks and fed the corresponding diets for 60d. Results showed that phosphorus sources have not significantly influenced the growth parameters, including the specific growth rate, feeding rate, and feed conversion ratio (*P*\>0.05). No significant differences were observed in the hepatosomatic index and whole-body proximate compositions between MCP and DCP groups (*P*\>0.05). The apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter and phosphorus in MCP group (53.22%) are slightly higher than that in DCP group (48.98%) but did not reach the statistically significant level (*P* \> 0.05). Turtles in MCP and DCP groups are the same in plasma physiological parameters and have equal alkaline phosphatase activities in plasma and liver (*P*\>0.05). In conclusion, calcium phosphate monobasic and calcium phosphate dibasic had the same biological phosphorus availability in diet for juvenile *Pelodiscus sinensis*.