Growth of European sea bass fingerlings (Dicentrarchus labrax) fed extruded diets containing varying levels of protein, lipid and carbohydrate

Sea bass fingerlings (2.78 g) were fed eight extruded diets for 90 days, in which part of the protein was replaced by lipid (Trial 1) or carbohydrate (Trial 2), so that crude protein (CP) varied between 40 and 55%, lipid from 6 to 18% and carbohydrate between 20 and 35%. The effect of protein level on growth and feed conversion was significant (P < 0.01). The best performance was obtained with 45% CP in both experiments, with relative weight gain of 539 vs. 416, 476 and 326% in Trial 1, and 536 vs. 376, 466 and 520% in Trial 2, for 40, 50 and 55% CP, respectively. The overall results suggest that the percentage of carbohydrate in sea bass diets should not exceed 30%, and that lipid content can vary between 12 and 14%. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.