Effects of tank diameter and water depth on growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immune response of Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis in recirculating aquaculture system

Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis, is one of the endangered aquatic species and have been successfully bred and artificially produced in China. To analyze the role of aquaculture habitat conditions in growth of Chinese sturgeon, the growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immune responses of Chinese sturgeons under different tanks in the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) were investigated. The fish (avg.wt. 2.83 +/- 0.24 kg [SD]) were divided into two groups, one group were reared under three different water depths of tank (0.6, 1, 1.4 m) and the other group were under three different diameters of tank (2.5, 3.8, 7.5 m), which were named low-depth (LD), medium-depth (MD), high-depth (HD), small-diameter (SS), medium-diameter (MS) and large-diameter (LS), respectively. The results showed that at a depth of 0.6 m, the specific growth rate (SGR), weight gain rate (WG), serum glutathione peroxidase (GPX), alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and lysozyme (LZM) activities of Chinese sturgeons were significantly lower than those of other treatments (p < .05), while the food conversion ratio and malondialdehyde (MDA) showed a significant increased in this treatment (p < .05). In additional, when the fish in 2.5 m diameter tank treatment, the SGR, WG and the serum GPX, AKP, LZM indicator were significantly lower than the rest of the treatment (p < .05), while the serum MDA were significantly higher than the other treatment (p < .05). These results suggested that tank diameter and water depth had an influence on growth and therefore should be considered in RAS systems for Chinese sturgeon.

Automated summary

The study found that tank diameter and water depth have a significant influence on the growth performance and immune responses of Chinese sturgeon.