Effect of Diets Supplemented with Soybean, Flaxseed, or Menhaden Fish Oil on the Growth, Feed Utilization, Immune Status, and Sensory Properties of Channel Catfish in a Recirculating System at 22°C

Abstract

Channel catfish feed intake and growth decline with temperature, but different dietary lipids might sustain performance during cool weather. Catfish at a suboptimal temperature (22°C) were fed 32% protein commercial floating pellets supplemented with 2% soybean oil (SBO), menhaden oil (MFO), or flaxseed oil (FLX). After 12 weeks, fish were counted and weighed, then health assays and proximate and fatty acid analysis of fillets were conducted. Weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and survival were similar among treatments, indicating limited potential of different lipids to improve growth at low temperatures. However, the favorable feed conversion ratios (FCRs; ≤1.6) indicated that feeding at 22°C was worthwhile to maintain good condition of catfish. Across diets, the unsaturated fatty acids in muscle lipids increased. The FLX and MFO both increased the n-3 HUFA in the fillet, but FLX was less effective. Unfortunately, both FLX and MFO reduced sensory properties of the fillet relative to the SBO control.

Keywords:

• Channel catfish
• menhaden fish oil
• soybean oil
• flaxseed oil
• non-specific immune function
• sensory evaluation

Acknowledgments

We thank the Arkansas Catfish Promotion Board for partial support of this study. We thank Omega Protein for contributing fish oil and Bioriginal Food and Science Corporation for contributing flaxseed oil. Andrew Goodwin, David Heikes, and Alf Haukenes reviewed the manuscript.