Total lipid in the broodstock diet did not affect fatty acid composition and quality of eggs of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.)

Abstract

To determine whether an increase in the quantity of lipids ingested by sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) broodstock could improve egg quality, three year-old sea bass were fed three different diets: a natural diet (Control group), and two artificial diets containing 10% or 17% of total lipids. In two consecutive reproductive seasons, the spawning results, the lipid classes and the fatty acid composition of the eggs were studied. No differences in the absolute content of lipids or in the percentage of different lipid classes were observed between the eggs from the three groups. Both experimental groups fed with the artificial diets produced eggs of poor quality, with low percentages of buoyancy and hatching. Those observed in the eggs from the Control Group were significantly higher (p> 0.01) than those of the experimental groups. The higher hatching rate of the eggs from the Control Group was associated with higher DHA:EPA and AA:EPA ratios. The data obtained showed that the fatty acid composition of the eggs was affected by the fatty acid composition of the diets but not by the total quantity of lipids administered to the broodstock.