The optimum dietary essential amino acid pattern for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), to maximize nitrogen retention and minimize nitrogen excretion

The optimum dietary essential amino acid (EAA) pattern for a given animal species is considered to be that EAA pattern which results in maximum nitrogen (N) retention for protein growth and minimum N excretion. In a series of two 8-week experiments, we investigated the optimum dietary EAA pattern for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Experimental diets were fed to quadruplicate tanks of fish, using the equalized satiation feeding method. In the first experiment, we used the amino acid deletion method to arrive at an estimate of optimum dietary EAA pattern for rainbow trout. There were 11 dietary treatments: 1 diet with a control EAA pattern, and 10 other diets with 40% deletions of a single EAA from the control pattern. Based on N utilization data, an estimate of optimum dietary EAA pattern for rainbow trout was made. In the second experiment, we compared this dietary EAA pattern with three other estimates of optimum dietary EAA pattern for rainbow trout, based on 1) amino acid composition of rainbow trout whole-body protein, 2) EAA requirements for rainbow trout published by the National Research Council, and 3) EAA requirements for rainbow trout based on nonlinear regression analysis. Response variables included growth rate, feed efficiency ratio and N retention and excretion. The EAA pattern associated with EAA requirements as published by the National Research Council was found to result in the highest mean N retention and lowest mean N excretion, and so was considered the best estimate of optimum EAA pattern of those compared.