Sistema de Información sobre Alimentos y Recursos Fertilizantes para la Acuicultura
 

Striped catfish - Nutritional requirements

The study of the nutritional requirements of the family Pangasiidae, which are especially popular cultured species in Viet Nam, was started in 1997 and currently continues. Generally, studies on the nutritional requirements of striped catfish are limited and very scattered. The most recent research has focused on the protein, lipid and carbohydrate requirements, with studies on feed ingredient utilization (digestibility) and amino acid requirements having been conducted primarily for fingerlings.

The protein requirement for maximum growth is 38.5 percent for striped catfish of around 2 g, and the appropriate protein level needed for optimum growth and economical efficiency is 29–33 percent (Tran, Duong and Nguyen, 2004). The bigger fingerlings (5–6 g) require a lower protein diet of about 32.2 percent with an energy content of 20 KJ/g (Le, Pham and Huynh, 2000). There is an inverse relationship between fish size and protein requirement. According to Glencross et al. (2010), who used a modeling approach to estimate the protein requirement of striped catfish at different sizes, fish of from 5–50 g require 34–36 percent protein in the diet, 50–100 g fish require 32–34 percent, 100–300 g fish require 30–32 percent, 300–500 g fish need 28–30 percent and fish over 500 g require 24–26 percent protein.

As with other species, striped catfish requires 20 amino acids, of which are ten essential and ten are non-essential amino acids. According to Tran et al. (2010b), the dietary lysine and methionine requirements of striped catfish are 2.03 g/kg dry diet (5.35 percent) and 10.1 g/kg dry diet (2.67 percent), respectively (Table 4). These studies were based on the amino acid profile of striped catfish fillets (Table 5).

The lipid requirement of striped catfish (~2 g) is around 8.5 percent, with balancing between animal oil and plant oil in diets (unpublished data). The fatty acid composition (percent of total fatty acids by peak area) of striped catfish fillets is presented in Table 6 (Ho and Paul, 2009). However, to date there has not been any research on the fatty acid requirement in striped catfish diet. The optimal carbohydrate level in striped catfish diet is 20 percent (Le, Moreau and Lazard, 2000). According to Tran, Duong and Nguyen (2004), striped catfish weighing 2 g can use up to 30–45 percent carbohydrate in their diet.

The vitamin and mineral requirements of striped catfish have not yet been reported. Addition of vitamins and minerals into formulated feed is mostly based on the vitamin and mineral requirements of similar species, especially that of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus).