THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS DIETARY PROTEIN AND PROTEIN TO ENERGY LEVELS ON GROWTH AND FEED UTILIZATION OF SHARPSNOUT SEABREAM (Diplodus puntazzo)

摘要

Sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus puntazzo) is a eurithermal species belonging to the Sparidae family that has been long considered as a promising species for diversification in Mediterranean aquaculture (Caggiano et al. 1993). For a successful culture, knowledge on the precise nutritional requirements and suitable feeding practises is a key element in terms of achieving optimum growth rates and minimising feeding costs. However, dietary protein requirements of D. puntazzo are not clearly defined and usually sea bream commercial feeds are used on growing. It could be that a species with omnivorous feeding habits such as D. puntazzo (Sala and Ballesteros 1997) may have lower protein dependence. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the effect of various dietary protein levels on growth, feed utilization and body proximate composition of D. puntazzo.