Effects of Dietary Enzymes on the Larval Performance of the Red Sea Bream (Pagrus major)

In order to study the effect of exogenous dietary enzymes on the larval performance of red sea bream, 6 diets with 3 levels of Pancreatin (0, 0.05 and 0.1 % of the diet) and 2 levels of dietary crystalline amino acids (4 and 14 % of the diet) were fed to red sea bream larvae. Larvae fed diets with 0.1 % Pancreatin had the highest specific growth rate. The survival was better for larvae fed diets with intact protein than for larvae fed diets with crystalline amino acids. The supplementation of Pancreatin to diets with intact proteins increased larval performance. However, diets with crystalline amino acids did not benefit from Pancreatin supplementation. For larval diets with high levels of intact proteins, supplementation of the diets with 0.05 % Pancreatin is recommended, while its use is discouraged for larval diets with high levels of free amino acids.