Introduction
Siberian sturgeons are considered as one of the most prolific fish species. This is mainly because of its relatively rapid growth in maturity which, by producing caviar in shorter period of time, ensures sooner come back of investment. Among diverse factors affecting the feed efficiency, emulsifiers play an important role. In this study, Lipogest®, a synthetic emulsifier, was tried on Siberian sturgeons. Lipogest® is a bile salt-based emulsifiers and promotes formation of small size lipid droplets and aid fat digestion.
Materials and Methods
The current study was done on 750 Siberian sturgeons (mean weight 250±20 grams) on a period of 84 days. Fish were divided into five treatments (each in three replicates). Treatments consisted of 0 (control group), 0.5, 0.8, 1 and 1.5 g of Lipogest® per kg of basic diet (BEYZA 21®). To exclude the role of Lipogest®, the control group were fed on mere basic diet. On the last day of study fish were weighed under anesthesia and the results were analyzed by SPSS.
Results
According to this study, all treatments showed significant changes compared to control group. Control group showed the least feed efficiency. While group 1 and 1.5 g/kg Lipogest® showed the most which was 7% improvement in compare with control group). SGR and FCR was also affected by different dosages of the addetive. The results showed that both reached its best in 1 g/kg Lipogest® which was 6% and 1.5% respectively better than control group. Based on the results the difference between 0.6 and 0.7 of Lipogest® was not significant. So, the recommended dosage for adult Siberian sturgeon based on our results is 0.6 gram/kg of diet.
Conclusion
Lipogest® significantly increased the feed efficiency and SGR AND decreased FCR of Siberian sturgeons in the current study within suggested ranges (best at 1 g/kg of food). Since dose 1.5% did not significantly affect the feed efficiency, for economic purposes dose 1% may be more reasonable. This additive also has shown good results in carnivores fish such as rainbow trout and seabass and herbivores tilapia, with significant changes in growth performance in compare with control group.