Effects of Taurine Supplementation on the Growth Performance of Juvenile Rock Bream Oplegnathus fasciatus

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary taurine supplementation on the growth performance of juvenile rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus. Triplicate groups of 25 fish averaging <TEX>$2.72{\pm}0.04$</TEX> g (<TEX>$mean{\pm}SD$</TEX>) were fed one of six experimental diets prepared by adding taurine at 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 3.0% (Control, <TEX>$Tau_{0.25}$</TEX>, <TEX>$Tau_{0.5}$</TEX>, <TEX>$Tau_{1.0}$</TEX>, <TEX>$Tau_{1.5}$</TEX> and <TEX>$Tau_{3.0}$</TEX>, respectively). At the end of the feeding trial, the weight gain, specific growth rate and protein efficiency ratio of fish fed the <TEX>$Tau_{0.5}$</TEX>, <TEX>$Tau_{1.0}$</TEX> and <TEX>$Tau_{1.5}$</TEX> diets were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those of fish fed the Control and <TEX>$Tau_{0.25}$</TEX> diets. The feed efficiency of fish fed the <TEX>$Tau_{0.5}$</TEX> diet was significantly higher than that of fish fed the Control, <TEX>$Tau_{0.25}$</TEX> and <TEX>$Tau_{3.0}$</TEX> diets. Fish fed the <TEX>$Tau_{1.0}$</TEX> diet had higher whole-body crude protein content than fish fed the Control diet, while the crude lipid content of fish fed the <TEX>$Tau_{1.5}$</TEX> and <TEX>$Tau_{3.0}$</TEX> diets was significantly lower than that of fish fed the Control and <TEX>$Tau_{0.25}$</TEX> diets. An ANOVA suggested that the optimum level of dietary taurine supplementation to improve growth and reduce the body lipid contents of juvenile rock bream, O. fasciatus, was 0.5%, while a broken line analysis of weight gain indicated a level of 0.62%.