The effect of dietary coconut oil on reproductive traits and egg fatty acid composition in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Two hundred and twenty rainbow trouts (IBW: 700 g) were randomly allotted to four tanks, with a male/female ratio of 0.56. Fish were fed for 168 d with four experimental diets containing herring oil, cod liver oil and coconut oil with the following inclusion rates: diet A: 12-1-0% respectively; diet B: 6-1-6%; diet C: 0-1-12%; diet D: 0-0-13%. Irrespective of the dietary treatment, weight gains of broodstocks were high (> 3 g/d) and FCR below 2. No significant difference was observed concerning the total amount of eggs spawn, egg average weight (82.5 mg/egg) and lipid content (5.4 mg/egg). However, the fatty acid profile of eggs was significantly affected by the dietary treatments. The content of unsaturated fatty acids, particularly the n-3 fatty acid series (EPA and DHA) significantly decreased with increasing levels of coconut oil in the diet.