Digestive Response of Rainbow Trout, Salmo gairdneri, to Pellet Diets
Quantitative data are presented for three laboratory experiments concerning rate of gastric evacuation of pellets (fed in gelatin capsules) and pellet components. Rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, acclimated to a constant water temperature of 15 C were killed 12 hr after consuming an experimental meal. Subtraction of amount of dry matter remaining at autopsy from dry matter consumed yielded amount of food digested or evacuated or both, from the stomach per unit time.Meals of encapsulated pellet were evacuated from the stomach more rapidly (65.8% decrease in 12 hr) than encapsulated corn oil (42.6%), gelatin (50.8%), a combination of corn oil and gelatin (47.3%), saturated fat (28.8%), or methyl cellulose (50.3%).Groups of fish consuming five capsules equal to approximately 0.65 % of their body weight evacuated 35.9, 45.1, 64.2, 95.5, and 100% at intervals after killing from 6 to 36 hr, respectively. Similar groups consuming seven capsules equal to approximately 1.0% of their body weight evacuated 23.7, 57.9, 70.5, and 86.6% at intervals after killing from 4 to 20 hr, respectively.Ten groups of trout consuming amounts of dry matter equal to 0.24, 0.40, 0.74, 1.11, 1.31, 1.19, 1.59, 1.56, 1.91, and 2.26% of their body weight evacuated 90.7, 81.3, 64.2, 57.9, 56.6, 52.5, 53.4, 51.3, 58.7, and 50.0% in 12 hr, respectively. Gastric motility remains relatively constant once food has entered the stomach. However, when larger meals are fed a greater quantity is evacuated per unit time. This could only be accomplished by changes in volume of gastric contents pumped per peristaltic stroke or number of strokes per unit time.