Dietary Optimum Phosphorus Level of Juvenile Korean Rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli)

A 10-week feeding experiment was conducted to determine the phosphorus requirement of juvenile Korean rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli). Three replicate groups of fish initially averaging 4.2g were fed the semipurified experimental diets containing graded levels of $NaH_2PO_4\;\cdot\;2H_2O$ to provide from $0.1\%$ to $1.32\%$ total phosphorus level in a flow-through seawater system. Korean rockfish muscle and casein were used as the protein sources of the basal diet. Weight gain, feed efficiency and protein retention of fish fed the $0.35\%$ phosphorus were higher than those of fish fed the $0.1\%$ phosphorus, although no significant improvements $(P>0.01)$ were observed above the level. Determined phosphorus requirement using the broken line model was found to be $0.3\%$ for weight gain. Moisture, protein and lipid contents of whole body and muscle were not affected by dietary phosphorus levels $(P>0.01)$. Lipid contents of liver in fish fed the $0.1\%$ phosphorus were lower than those in fish fed the $0.35\%$ and $1.32\%$ phosphorus $(P<0.01)$. Dietary phosphorus increased ash and phosphorus contents of the whole body, while those of bone were not affected $(P>0.01)$. The data obtained in this study indicate that a $0.3\%$ dietaryphosphorus level could be recommended for the optimum growth and efficient nutrient utilization of juvenile Korean rockfish.