Growth Responses of Young Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) to Different Diets and Planes of Nutrition

Abstract

The growth rate and food conversion efficiency of yearling sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) (26 ± 2 g) was determined for Halver's test diet, Clark's Chinook mash, Abernathy pellets, frozen marine zooplankton, and sockeye mash, using a number of planes of nutrition. The maximum growth rates at 15 C varied from 3.1% dry body wt/day (Halver's) to 1.5%/day (marine zooplankton) with corresponding gross conversion efficiencies of 48 and 10%. Maintenance rations were determined, mostly by extrapolation, and used to evaluate the net conversion efficiency for each diet. The highest was 74% net conversion on Halver's test diet. Although major differences in growth response existed between the five diets, it was concluded that the various moist diets based on fish meal, used in these and earlier experiments, were not significantly different from each other when on the same plane of nutrition.