Effect of dietary vitamin C on growth and development of gilt-head seabream (Sparus aurata) fingerlings

Abstract

Growing healthy fish with high survival is essential for the sustainable development of aquaculture. Furthermore, improved growth rate and feed conversion ratio have been proven to minimize space water and feed requirement. All kind of vitamins, but more specifically Vitamin C is key nutritional element in promoting optimal survival and performance. However, an exogenous source is required in fish’s diet as many teleost fish lack the ability of vitamin C synthesis. In this study gilthead seabream fingerlings were fed a fish meal-based diet supplemented with different amounts of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) of 0, 500 and 2000 mg/kg, for 5 weeks. Although there were no significant differences between growth rates of each group by the end of the experiment, the feed consumption was significantly higher for fish fed vitamin C free diet. During the 5-week experiment a more rapid growth was observed in fish with vitamin C free diet. However, towards the end of the experiment, fish fed 2000 mg/kg of dietary Vitamin C had the highest growth rate as it decreased for fish with 0 and 500 mg/kg of dietary Vitamin C. Lastly, feed conversion ratio, by the end of the experiment, was higher for the group A, although not statistical difference was observed between groups.