Effects of dietary magnesium supplementation on the growth performance, body composition, and immune indices of juvenile Persian sturgeon, Acipnser persicus

The present experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different levels of dietary magnesium on growth performance, proximate composition, and immune response of juvenile Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus. Fish were fed with six different rations including T1: 32, T2: 185, T3: 380, T4: 592, T5: 790, and T6: 935 mg kg-1 Mg in diet for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, samples were collected for estimating the proximate composition and immunological parameters. Results of the present study showed that dietary Mg level significantly influences on growth performance and proximate body composition. Body weight, BWI, and DG were increased by up to 592 mg kg-1 dietary Mg, while decreased by its higher levels. The significant increase in lysozyme activity (by 790 mg kg-1 of dietary Mg) and immunoglobulin (by 935 mg kg-1) were observed in fish fed with different levels of magnesium supplementation compared to control group, which may be due to immune enhancement. The dietary Mg level of 592 mg kg-1 was suitable for Persian sturgeon based on the growth performance.