Effects of Protein and Lipid Levels in Practical Diets on Growth and Body Composition of Tongue Sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis Gunther

A 9-wk feeding experiment was conducted to estimate the optimal dietary protein and lipid levels for tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis Gunther (initial average weight of 43.8 +/- 0.18g). Six practical test diets were formulated to contain three protein levels (45, 50, and 55%, respectively) at two lipid levels (12 and 16%, respectively) with P/E ratios ranging from 87.1 to 110.5mg protein/kcal. Each diet was randomly fed to triplicate groups of 20 fish per tank (1000L). The results showed that fish fed the diet with 55% protein and 12% lipid (P/E ratio of 110.5mg protein/kcal) had the highest thermal-unit growth coefficient (TGC), feed efficiency ratio, protein productive value, and energy retention. TGC was significantly increased with increasing dietary protein levels irrespective of dietary lipid levels (P<0.05). However, fish fed the diet with 16% lipid showed significant lower growth than fish fed the diet with 12% lipid. These results suggest that the diet containing 55% protein and 12% lipid with P/E of 110.5mg protein/kcal is optimal for tongue sole and the increase of dietary lipid level has no effective protein-sparing effect.