SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF RUNTY FISH APPEARING IN SEED PRODUCTION OF RED-SEA BREAM

In order to get basic information about runty fish which eventually re sult in the seed production process of red sea bream, some biological and biochemical characteristics were compared with moderately-grown an d precocious-grown fish of the same lot and a similar growth stage. Ru nty fish were characterized by a low muscle ratio and viscerosomatic i ndex. Analytical results indicated that the runty fish lacked energy r eserves such as protein, lipid, and triglycerides. On the other hand, the protein/DNA value and RNA/DNA ratios of runty fish also were lower , compared to the other groups. Low energy storage and protein synthes is of runty fish could be partly explained in terms of low food intake under the pressure of size hierarchy.