This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of bacterial infection (Aeromonas salmonicida) and chronic hypoxia on mortality, feed intake, and apparent digestibility of each of two diets in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The diets were isonitrogenous (gross basis); one was based mainly on animal protein and the other on vegetal protein. In each of two separate and successive experiments, where the first served as a control for the second, fish were immersed on day 0 (d0) in either a sterile phosphate buffer solution (first experiment) or a suspension of A. salmonicida (second experiment). Thereafter, the fish were either exposed on d2 for 12 days to hypoxic conditions (60% of water oxygen saturation) or maintained under normal conditions. Feed intake was measured daily, while apparent digestibility coefficients for gross energy, dry matter, and crude protein were measured on d0, d2, d5, d9, d11, and d14. Among all infected fish, feed intakes were reduced (P < 0.05), regardless of the source of dietary protein or the degree of water oxygenation. Also, regardless of infection, the feed intakes of hypoxic fish that were fed the vegetal protein based diet were significantly less than those of fish that were fed the animal protein based diet. This response, however, was transitory, since normal levels of feed intake in the former fish were found by d3. The apparent digestibility coefficients for all parameters were unaltered by hypoxia (P > 0.05), but they were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) by A. salmonicida infection, especially during the critical period of infection (d5 and d9).
Use of Worm meal as Animal Protein Source in Fish Feed