Effects of deprivation and compensatory growth feed on growth and feeding performance, body composition, blood parameters and structure of liver and intestine tissues in juvenile Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii)

The effect of long term starvation and refeeding on growth and feeding performances, body composition, blood parameters and structure of liver and intestine tissue in Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) with an average initial size of 34.51±0.5g was studied for a period of 49 days. The fish were exposed to 3 different feeding regimes; control: fed four times daily to apparent satiation; T1: 2 weeks’ starvation & 4 weeks refeeding; T2: 3 weeks’ starvation & 4 weeks refeeding. Biometry and samples for the analyses of body composition and blood parameters were collected at the end of the starvation and the refeeding. The results of this study showed that significant differences were observed in final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, total consumed food, daily feed intake, protein effecincy ratio and food conversion ratio varied significantly (P > 0/05) between the control and treatment 1 (T1) with treatment 2 (T2) at the end of the experiment. Also, length of villi in the control group was significantly higher (P< 0.05) than the fish starved for 2 and 3 weeks. The results of microscopy investigations indicated that most pathological signs such as hyperemia, necrosis, fatty degeneration and bile stagnation in the liver of Siberian sturgeon in the deprived fish were observed when compared to the control fish. Overall, it can be concluded that juvenile Siberian sturgeon could resist long term starvation periods for 2 weeks.