Effects of Alternative Dietary Lipid Sources on Growth Performance and Fatty Acid Composition of Beluga Sturgeon, Huso huso, Juveniles

The main aim of this investigation was to determine the impact of a total dietary fish oil (FO) replacement by vegetable oils (soybean [SO] and canola [CO] oil) on the growth and fatty acid (FA) composition of juvenile Beluga sturgeon, Huso huso. Three practical-type diets with equal protein and lipid content were formulated using FO, SO, and CO. Each of the diets was fed to apparent satiation five times daily to H. huso (initial weight 206 ± 7.3 g) for 120 d. All groups grew equally well. Fish weight gain, condition factor, daily growth, feed intake, feed conversion, feed efficiency, protein efficiency, and survival were not affected by diet treatment. Fish lipid composition reflected the inclusion of vegetable oils and their respective FA compositions. Monounsaturated FA and polyunsaturated FA significantly increased in fish fed the CO and SO diets, respectively, but the ratio n− 3/n− 6 were significantly reduced by the inclusion of dietary vegetable oils (P < 0.05). This study suggests that FO can be replaced by SO and CO in H. huso diets under our test conditions with no significant effect on growth. However, longer assessments of these substitutions are warranted to ensure that these treatments do not have an adverse effect on fish health.