Growth, body composition and nutrient retention efficiency of growing sea-ass (Dicentrarchus labrax,L.)fe dfish oil or fatty acid Ca salts

Two hundred and forty sea bass (114.2 +- 14.4 g, mean +- SD) were randomly distributed among 12 fiberglass tanksand fed four experimental diets (on an equivalent gross energy and crude protein basis) for 86 days according to a 2x2 factorial design : two lipid sources (herring oil (FO) vs fatty acids Ca salts of herring oil (FAS) at two lipid levels (3.8 % vs 7.8 % ether extract (EE) with three replicates for each treatment. Protein and organic matter digestibility did not differ ammong treatments, while cride fat digestibility was slightly higher for for diet FAS38. Final weight, specific growth rate , daily weight gain , daily fat gain and protein efficiency ratio were not affected by lipid sourc or lipid level, while feed efficiency was significantly better for the diet containing FAS of fish oil at the lower content.