EFFECTS OF WATER EXCHANGE AND FEED QUALITY ON CARCASS COMPOSITION, RATIO, COLOR AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF STRIPED CATFISH (PANGASIANODON HYPOPHTHALMUS)

01 November 2021

The technological aspect in fish farming becomes an essential factor associated with meat quality. The present work aimed to investigate the effects of water exchange and protein content on carcass composition, ratio, color and growth performance of striped catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus. The experiment was arranged according to a 2 × 2 factorial design: water exchange at 0 and 100% day-1 (treatments W0 and W100, respectively) and feed protein at 16 and 32% (treatments P16 and P32, respectively). The results showed that the water quality fitted the requirement for fish growth: the plankton abundance in W0 was higher than in the treatment W100. The protein content of the flesh was significantly higher in treatment P32 than in treatment P16. Conversely, the fat content of the flesh was significantly higher in treatment P16 than in treatment P32. All the treatments revealed a significant effect on the carcass ratio, in which the highest weight was found in both treatments, P32 and W100. The highest yellowness (b*) score of the fillet was found in treatments P16 and W0. In addition, the redness (a*) value was found higher in treatment P32 than in treatment P16. The protein levels had a significant difference in the weight gain and SGR of the fish, while the water exchange did not significantly affect them. The survival rate did not significantly differ among treatments, while the FCR in treatment P32 was lower than in treatment P16. The water exchange could be applied to improve the P. hypophthalmus meat quality by inducing a color improvement.

Key Words: aquaculture system, carcass ratio, color fillet, protein level.

http://bioflux.com.ro/docs/2021.2376-2384.pdf