Evaluation of the effect of feeding Artemia enriched with iodine replacement of fish meal with gammarus meal and its effects on growth and body composition of juvenile Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii (Brandt, 1869)

This study aimed to determine the effects of replacement fish meal by different levels of gammarus meal on growth performance and body composition of juvenile Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii). We distributed 245 Siberian sturgeon juveniles (initial body weight: 14.24±0.15 g) in five treatments and three replications. The experimental diets were replaced by 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% gammarus meal. During the 9-week feeding period, the fish were fed with the experimental diets to apparent satiation four times daily. According to the results, there were no significant differences in the protein and fat efficiency ratios, visceral index and survival rate (P>0.05). The fish that received 10% and 20% treatments had a significantly greater mean final weight, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, body weight increase, final length, condition factor, specific growth rate, food intake and hepatosomatic index compared with the other treatments (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in whole body among the groups (P>0.05). The results of this study indicated that a diet with 20% gammarus meal could be used in Siberian sturgeon feed.