• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2011

This study determined the effects of the dietary moisture level and feeding rate on the growth and gastric evacuation of young olive flounder. Four experimental diets with different moisture levels (9%, 21%, 30%, and 40%) were prepared through the addition of water to the commercial extruded pellet. Three replicate groups of fish (initial weight: $106{\pm}1.4\;g$) were fed diets containing 9%, 21%, 30%, and 40% moisture to satiation or a moisture level of 9% and 30% at a restricted feeding rate (95% of satiation) for 15 weeks. The mean water temperature was $22{\pm}1.6^{\circ}C$ during the feeding trial. Gastric evacuation rates were determined post-feeding. The dietary moisture levels did not significantly affect weight gain, but the weight of the fish receiving 9% and 30% moisture diets to 95% satiation were significantly lower than those of the fish fed 9-40% moisture diets to 100% satiation (P<0.05). The feed efficiency, protein efficiency ratio, viscerosomatic index, and survival were not significantly affected by the dietary moisture levels and feeding rates. The daily feed intake of the fish fed to 100% satiation did not significantly differ among the treatment groups. The stomach contents that peaked within 3 h of feeding gradually decreased, and the stomachs of fish were completely evacuated within 18 h. The contents of the intestine peaked at 3-12 h post-feeding, and then declined with the intestine being mostly evacuated at 30 h. The moisture of the stomach contents reached approximately 70% within 3 h post-feeding and gradually increased to approximately 75% within 12 h. No considerable differences were observed in the gastric evacuation and moisture levels of the stomach contents in the fish fed the different diets. The results of this study suggest that the gastric evacuation of olive flounder was not affected by the dietary moisture level and that the addition of water into the diet displayed no beneficial effects on the growth of young olive flounder.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.832-839
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• 2014

To evaluate the digestive characteristics and bioavailability of dietary soybean meal (SBM), the post-prandial changes in the gastric contents of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were determined for 24 h after feeding of SBM diets. A curve estimation of regression diagnostics using a comparison of the adjusted $r^2$ and probability was performed to test the tendency of the post-prandial changes and gave a quadratic polynomial (exponential) regression for all experimental groups. The gastric evacuations rates (GER) for higher-SBM groups were slower than those for lower-SBM groups. The estimated GER (digestion time) for 75% gastric content for fish fed a 70% SBM diet was 1.63 times longer than that for fish fed the control diet. Despite the fact that the pH values in the gastric contents rose from 4.05 at 0 h to 5.12-5.38 at 1 h after feeding, then dropped to 4.57-4.83 at 9 h, with no significant differences among experimental groups, the gastric moisture contents increased significantly in the higher-SBM groups. This is most likely due to an increase in digestive juices in the higher-SBM groups, rather than water introduced externally. The percentage of soluble nitrogen in the gastric contents of fish fed the higher-SBM diets was higher than that in the fish fed the control diet, and the SBRs (stomach weight/body weight${\times}100$) in the higher-SBM groups (diets 4, 5, 6 and 7) were also significantly higher than the SBR of the control group (P<0.05). This may indicate that the protein in SBM can be digested slowly due to physiological digestive adaptation in rainbow trout.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.184-189
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• 2008

Tryptic enzyme activities in the digestive glands (hepatopancreas) and digestive tracts of Pacific white shrimps Litopenaeus vannamei were assayed at three water temperature regimes. At $26^{\circ}C$, trypsin activity in the hepatopancreas was 200% higher than at $23^{\circ}C$ and 300% higher than at $20^{\circ}C$. The highest foregut trypsin activity levels showed no significant difference in the temperature regimes, but the time between peaks in foreguts and midguts shortened at higher temperature. In the midgut, the level of enzyme activity was highest at $26^{\circ}C$ regardless of the amount of ingested feed. The ratio of foregut and/or midgut dry weight to the body wet weight indicated feed movement through the digestive track directly and gave accurate account about the feeding mechanism. Maximum feed ingestion in the foregut was equivalent to 0.6% of the body weight (wet weight) at $23^{\circ}C$, 0.4% of the body weight at $20^{\circ}C$, and 0.5% of the body weight at $26^{\circ}C$. In view of the temperatures chosen for this study, although maximum ingestion was observed at $23^{\circ}C$, the shrimps showed highest enzyme activity, but lowest feed retention time at $26^{\circ}C$ and lowest enzyme activity, but highest retention time at $20^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2006

The tryptic enzyme activities from hepatopancreas, foregut, midgut and feces were examined to optimize the feeding method in whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. The highest tryptic enzyme activity was found in hepatopancreas. The enzyme activities of hepatopancreas were 4 times higher than those of foregut per mg dry weight at 30 minutes feeding. Post feeding period, the activities of hepatopancreas increased continuously up to 30 hours after feeding. Trypsin activities of foregut showed about 3 times higher than did those of midgut. Average activity of foregut reached the pick with $303{\pm}68\;(mean{\pm}SE)$ nmol/mg/min at two hours after feeding and kept the activity up to 4 hours after feeding and thereafter the activity decreased. Average tryptic enzyme activity of midgut increased to $96{\pm}26nmol/mg/min$ up to two hours after feeding and it decreased to $52{\pm}17nmol/mg/min$ at five hours after feeding eventhough the gastric evacuation rate was still 50% by then. Foregut clearance occurred in 30 minutes after feeding and midgut weight increased up to 2 hours after feeding. Also we found that the maximal food ingestion in foregut was equivalent to the average 0.3% of its body weight by 30 minutes after feeding. Up to 5 hours after feeding, the weight ratio of midgut to body weight reduced, but still the weight ratio of foregut to body weight kept the similarity until then. These indicated that the tryptic enzyme activity and the clearance rate are different among the digestive organs and between forgot and midgut during the post feeding period in whiteleg shrimp.