Use of Dietary Salt to Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) for Increasing Seawater Adaptability

One 30-day feeding trial was conducted to examine the effects of dietary salt on seawater adaptability of rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) fed three experimental diets containing 0% (control), 4% and 8% salt. The experimetal period included 30 days of feeding trial in freshwater, 3 days of the step by step seawater acclimation with-out feeding diets, and 21 more days of seawater adaptation period (not with all experimental fish) with feeding the basal diet. Growth rates from triplicate groups were determined fur 30 days of feeding trial. Blood samples were taken at the begining and at the end of feeding trial, and 3 times (on 1st, 4th and 8th day) of the seawater adaptation period. Daily survival rates of duplicate groups from three experimetal treatments were recorded for 21 days of the seawater adaptation period. Total average initial and final fish weight were . Feed efficiency of fish fed diets containing 4% and 8% salt were significantly better than those of fish fed the control diet. Average cumulative survival rates were 72, 80 and 88% from the control, 4% and 8% salt diets, respectively. Pulse rate per minutes decreased with dietary salt level. Serum concentrations of fish fed 4% and 8% salt diets were significantly higher than those of fish fed the control diet (P