Effects of Practical Diets Containing Different Seaweed Powders on the Growth and Body Composition of Juvenile Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

摘要

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of practical diets containing different seaweed powders on the growth and body composition of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Six experimental diets were formulated to contain 40% of the following seaweed powders: Sargassum thunbergii (ST), Undaria pinnatifida (UP), Ascophyllum nodosum (AN), Hizikia fusiformis (HF), fermented Laminaria japonica (FLJ), and fermented Hizikia fusiformis (FHF). Sea cucumbers (30 per tank; initial mean weight 0.4±0.01 g) in three replicates of six groups were fed one of the six experimental diets for 15 weeks. Survival in all groups was 83-93%, with no significant differences among the experimental groups. The specific growth rates of the sea cucumbers fed the ST and UP diets were significantly higher than those of sea cucumbers fed the HF, FLJ, and FHF diets, but did not significantly differ from those of sea cucumbers fed the AN diet. The results of this study suggest that S. thunbergii, U. pinnatifida, and A. nodosum could be useful sources of seaweed powder for practical diets of juvenile sea cucumber.