Digestive enzymes in fish larvae and juveniles—implications and applications to formulated diets

Microflora isolated from fish intestines have been described for a limited number of salmonid fish species. The size of the microbial population of salmonids appears to vary within different regions of the gastrointestinal tract. The genera present in the gastrointestinal tract seem to be those which can survive and multiply in the intestinal tract. The predominant bacteria isolated from the salmonid gut are aerobes or facultative anaerobes. Few investigations have evaluated obligate anaerobes in the digestive tract of salmonids, and these studies have suggested that the population levels of obligate anaerobes are lower than those of facultative anaerobes. The bacterial genera isolated from fish intestines vary with salinity, antibiotics, chromic oxide, diet and dietary components such as linoleic acid, and display day-to-day fluctuations. Acinelobacter spp., Enterobacter spp. and Pseu-domonas spp. are regarded as autochthonous in Oncorhynchus species, while Aeromonas spp., Flavobacterium spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Lactobacillus spp. are suggested as autochthonous in Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus(L.).

Intestinal microflora of salmonids: a review

VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, veteran status, national origin, disability, or political affiliation. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. J. David Barrett, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; Lorenza W. Lyons, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State, Petersburg. VT/028/0402//420256 Introduction

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Understanding Fish Nutrition, Feeds, and Feeding

Food uptake follows rules defined by feeding behaviour that determines the kind and quantity of food ingested by fish larvae as well as how live prey and food particles are detected, captured and ingested. Feeding success depends on the progressive development of anatomical characteristics and physiological functions and on the availability of suitable food items throughout larval development. The fish larval stages present eco-morpho-physiological features very different from adults and differ from one species to another. The organoleptic properties, dimensions, detectability, movements characteristics and buoyancy of food items are all crucial features that should be considered, but is often ignored, in feeding regimes. Ontogenetic changes in digestive function lead to limitations in the ability to process certain feedstuffs. There is still a lack of knowledge about the digestion and absorption of various nutrients and about the ontogeny of basic physiological mechanisms in fish larvae, including how they are affected by genetic, dietary and environmental factors. The neural and hormonal regulation of the digestive process and of appetite is critical for optimizing digestion. These processes are still poorly described in fish larvae and attempts to develop optimal feeding regimes are often still on a ‘trial and error’ basis. A holistic understanding of feeding ecology and digestive functions is important for designing diets for fish larvae and the adaptation of rearing conditions to meet requirements for the best presentation of prey and microdiets, and their optimal ingestion, digestion and absorption. More research that targets gaps in our knowledge should advance larval rearing.

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Feeding behaviour and digestive physiology in larval fish: current knowledge, and gaps and bottlenecks in research

Prospects in larval fish dietetics

The morphological and physiological development of the intestine, stomach, liver and pancreas of the African catfish, Clarius guriepinus (Burchell 1822), was investigated from hatching until 9 days after the start of exogenous feeding by histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical procedures. During the yolk sac period, lasting 48 hours at 30 C, the digestive system develops from a rather undifferentiated system into a distinct liver and pancreas and a segmented intestine (parts I to III). Insulin and glucagon producing cells were clearly found in the endocrine pancreatic islets from 14 hours after hatching onwards, while at the start of exogenous feeding, the exocrine pancreas showed an intense zymogen colouration. Exogenous feeding started three days after fertilization, i.e., 48 hours after hatching. At that moment, the rearing temperature was lowered to 27.5 C. The first day of feeding was referred to as day zero, changing into day 1 when the first 24 hours of feeding were completed. From the start of exogenous feeding onwards, aminopeptidase, non-specific esterase and ATP-ase were detected in the digestive system. Morphologically, the stomach was completed at day 4 of exogenous feeding. Gastric acid secretion started on day 4 and lead to a pH below 3.3 in the stomach on day 5. During the first four days of exogenous feeding, C-t-gastrin immunopositive cells were found throughout the gut, including the gastric epithelium. After day 4, the C-t-gastrin cells were only detected in the anterior intestine. The completeness of the stomach development was also marked by the appearance of non-specific esterase activity in the stomach epithelial cells on day 5. All data together clearly indicate that in Clarius gariepinus, the ontogeny of a functional digestive system has been completed on day 5 after the start of exogenous feeding, marking thereby the end of the larval period.

Eljallil Spazier

Papers

The development of a functional digestive system in the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell).