Effects of Different Dietary Cadmium Levels on Growth and Tissue Cadmium Content in Juvenile Parrotfish, Oplegnathus fasciatus

This feeding trial was carried out to evaluate the effects of different dietary cadmium levels on growth and tissue cadmium content in juvenile parrotfish, Oplegnathus fasciatus, using cadmium chloride ($CdCl_2$) as the cadmium source. Fifteen fish averaging $5.5{\pm}0.06$ g (mean${\pm}$SD) were randomly distributed into each of twenty one rectangular fiber tanks of 30 L capacity. Each tank was then randomly assigned to one of three replicates of seven diets containing 0.30 ($C_0$), 21.0 ($C_{21}$), 40.7 ($C_{41}$), 83.5 ($C_{83}$), 162 ($C_{162}$), 1,387 ($C_{1,387}$) and 2,743 ($C_{2,743}$) mg cadmium/kg diet. At the end of sixteen weeks of feeding trial, weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR) and feed efficiency (FE) of fish fed $C_{21}$ were significantly higher than those of fish fed $C_{83}$, $C_{162}$, $C_{1,387}$ and $C_{2,743}$ (p<0.05). Weight gain, SGR and FE of fish fed $C_0$, $C_{21}$ and $C_{41}$ were significantly higher than those of fish fed $C_{162}$, $C_{1,387}$ and $C_{2,743}$. Protein efficiency ratio of fish fed $C_0$, $C_{21}$ and $C_{41}$ were significantly higher than those of fish fed $C_{1,387}$ and $C_{2,743}$. Average survival of fish fed $C_0$, $C_{21}$, $C_{41}$ and $C_{162}$ were significantly higher than that of fish fed $C_{2,743}$. Tissue cadmium concentrations increased with cadmium content of diets. Cadmium accumulated the most in liver, followed by gill and then muscle. Muscle, gill and liver cadmium concentrations of fish fed $C_0$, $C_{21}$, $C_{41}$ and $C_{83}$ were significantly lower than those of fish fed $C_{162}$, $C_{1,387}$ and $C_{2,743}$. Based on the ANOVA results of growth performance and tissue cadmium concentrations the safe dietary cadmium level could be lower than 40.7 mg Cd/kg diet while the toxic level could be higher than 162 mg Cd/kg diet.