Ds. Dougall et al., DIETARY PHOSPHORUS REQUIREMENT OF JUVENILE STRIPED BASS MORONE-SAXATILIS, Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 27(1), 1996, pp. 82-91
Three experiments were performed in single-pass, flow-through systems
to determine the dietary phosphorus requirement of striped bass Morone
saxatilis. In Experiment 1, three semi-purified diets were formulated
to contain 0.20, 0.40, or 0.60% total phosphorus (entirely from anima
l protein) and were fed to striped bass having an average initial weig
ht of 321 g. After 14 wk of feeding, significant differences in bone a
nd scale mineralization were found among treatment groups. At a level
of 0.40% dietary phosphorus there was a significant improvement of ser
um calcium (Ca) and tissue mineralization. In Experiment 2, five diets
were formulated with graded levels of monopotassium phosphate to yiel
d total phosphorus Levels of 0.15 (no P supplementation), 0.35, 0.55,
0.75, and 0.95% and fed to juvenile striped bass initially weighing an
average of 7.9 g, After 6 wk, significant improvement in scale and ve
rtebral mineralization occurred when fish were fed diets containing at
least 0.55% phosphorus. Improvements were observed in growth, serum p
hosphorus, incidence of scoliosis, survival, and feed efficiency when
the diet contained at least 0.35% P. In Experiment 3, the dietary phos
phorus levels fed were 0.30, 0.38, 0.46, 0.54, and 0.62% total phospho
rus using graded levels of monopotassium phosphate. Diets were fed to
striped bass fingerlings initially weighing an average of 48 g. After
10 wk, significant improvement in scale, vertebral, and dorsal fin min
eralization was observed when dietary phosphorus was at least 0.46%. A
summary of the broken-line regression analyses of the data from these
experiments indicated that the average total dietary phosphorus level
required for optimal growth and mineralization of striped bass was 0.
58%.