NUTRITIONAL ENERGETICS

1. PRESENTED TO:
Dr. Ashutosh D Deo
Senior Scientist, FNBP
RELATION BETWEEN FEEDING AND
REPRODUCTION IN FISH
ICAR-CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF FISHERIES EDUCATION
Deemed to be University (ICAR)
(University under Sec. 3 of UGC Act 1956)
Panch Marg, Off Yari Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai – 400 061
NUTRITIONAL ENERGETICS
FNT-504
A Seminar on
PRESENTED BY:
Tanmoy kr Manna
Reg. No- FNT-MA8-05

2. 2
INTRODUCTION
1
FEED
QUANTITY
An improvement in broodstock nutrition and feeding has shown to improve not only the
reproductive performance of breeders but also the quality of gametes and fry production
while food restriction can affect spawning success (Izquierdo et al., 2001)
Latin
producere
(“lead or bring forth”)
re
(“again”)
REPRODUCTION
Semen
Ova or egg
Zygote Embryo Larvae
FEED
QUALIITY
RATION
SIZE
FEEDING
FREQUENCY
These 4 factors are given by Sampath and Pandian, 1984;
James et al., 1993; Jobling, 1998.

3. DIETARY NUTRIENT REQUIREMENT FOR GAMETE
QUALITY & REPRODUCTION IN FISH
2
NUTRIENTS
PROTEINS
LIPIDS
CARBOHYD
RATES
VITAMINS
MINERALS
MACRO MICRO
CAROTENOID PIGMENTS
OTHER

4. 4
LPDIC
Increase maturation time, and reduce reproductive performance,
oocyte maturation & ovulation, number of eggs produced and egg
viability often by altering GnRH
HPDIHe
Reduce reproductive performance, fertilization and
hatching rates
DIETARY NUTRIENT REQUIREMENT FOR GAMETE
QUALITY & REPRODUCTION IN FISH
3
In rainbow trout, diets with 10% lipids and a low level of proteins
(30%) produced gametes of better quality (Watanabe et al. 1984b)
Incorporation of tryptophan (0.1%) in the diets of male Plecoglossus
altivelis produced an early start of the spermiation period (Akiyama et al.,
1996)
P
R
O
T
E
I
N
S LPDIC= low protein diet in carnivores HPDIHe= high protein diet in herbivores
25-30% protein
optimum for
best spawning

5. CONT……………..
4
 Stored lipids are mobilized during gametogenesis, transferred to the ovaries, incorporated as
nutritive material in the egg/yolk, serving as the main source of food for the future embryo
 Supplementation of male sea bass diets with EPA & DHA prolonged the spermiation period,
increased sperm density and the volume of semen produced (Asturiano et al., 2001)
 EPA & DHA incorporation upto 1.6% increases fecundity in Gilthead Seabream
(Fernández-Palacios et al., 1995)
 Impact in Nile Tilapia reproductive performance : Soybean oil (n-6 HUFA) > Cod liver oil
(n-3 HUFA) (Watanabe, 1982)
 Impact of Low lipid & FA in carp, European sea bass, flounder etc : reproductive capacity
and larval survival
 Excess dietary lipid has been reported to cause inadequate protein intake and suppress growth
L
I
P
I
D
S

6. C
A
R
B
O
H
Y
D
R
A
T
E
S 5
CONT……………..
 Overall, fish do not appear to have a specific dietary requirement for
carbohydrates for reproduction.
 Consequently, in most cases, very low CHO levels do not
compromise reproductive performance in fish, but can be affected as
CHO levels increase.

7. 6
CONT……………..
VITAMIN
E
Increases
 the quality of gonads &
GSI
 fecundity,
 egg quality & viability,
 embryonic development,
 percentage of fertilization,
 hatching and survival of
larvae in both
herbivorous/omnivorous
(e.g. carp, ayu) and
carnivorous (e.g.
seabream, salmon).
SUFFICIENT IN
FEED
Resulting in
 immature gonads,
 low fecundity and
fertility,
 reductions in hatching
rates and,
 Reduction in fry
survival.
INSUFFICIENT IN
FEED
 In male fish, Vitamin E, together with vitamin
C, plays an important protective role for
spermatozoa during spermatogenesis until
fertilization, reducing the risk of peroxidation of
the lipids, which is detrimental to sperm motility
(Ciereszko & Dabrowski, 1995).
IF

8. 7
CONT……………..
VITAMIN
C
Improves
 ovarian development,
 steroidogenesis,
 vitellogenesis and
 embryogenesis
 egg quality and growth
SUFFICIENT IN
FEED
Decreases
 Reproductive
performance of
females,
 reducing egg numbers,
 restricting hatchability,
Increases
 both the number of
deformed larvae and
their mortality
INSUFFICIENT IN
FEED
It was reported that a deficiency of Vitamin C in the
diet reduced the concentration and motility of
spermatozoa during and after the spawning period in
males [Sandnes et al. (1984), Sandnes (1991),
Dabrowski & Bloom (1994), Dabrowski &
Ciereszko (2001) and Izquierdo et al. (2001)]
IF

9. 8
CONT……………..
VITAMIN
A
Increases
 gonadal development,
 fertility rate,
 fecundity,
 egg size,
 egg quality etc
OPTIMAL
INCLUSION IN
FEED
Resulting in
 induce mortality at
embryonic stages
HIGH LEVEL
INCLUSION IN
FEED
 Most of vitamin A is stored in the liver and
increased concentrations have been observed
during gonad maturation, suggesting higher
requirements of vitamin A during
gametogenesis.
IF

10. 9
CONT……………..
VITAMIN
B-complex
There is little information available on the effects of
vitamins B on fish reproduction.
 Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is important in the
synthesis of steroid hormones, and;
 Vitamin B9 (folic acid) has a role in hatchability of
eggs.

11. 10
CONT……………..
MINERALS
Phosphorus deficient can
induce -
 low female fecundity,
 their eggs and larvae
having low hatchability
rates and
 high rates of deformities.
 Watanabe (1984)
observed that a
phosphorus deficiency
lowered fecundity but
nevertheless had no
marked effects on the
proximate composition
of eggs.
PHOSPHORUS
 Important for activation
of eggs, which occurs
when eggs come into
contact with water and
harden, a process which
is calcium dependent
CALCIUM
 Micromineral deficiencies in diets apparently
do not affect growth or reproductive processes
but may have a negative effect if fish are
exposed for extended periods of time.
TWO MOST
IMPORTANT

12. 11
CONT……………..
CAROTENOID
PIGMENTS
 It is important for normal development
of fish embryo and larvae.
 The addition of purified astaxanthin
to brood-stock diets for Red seabream
was found to clearly improve the
percentage of buoyant and hatched
eggs, as well as the percentage of
normal larvae (Watanabe and Kiron,
1995).

13. VARIATIONS IN REPRODUCTIVE CAPACITY IN
RELATION TO MATURITY WITH FEEDING
12
Figure 1: Length of body and size of testes in
relation to age at maturity in Lebistes
(_____ = body length; ------ = testis size)
Svardson,1943

14. EFFECT OF FEEDING ON FECUNDITY AND
SPAWNING
13
Some
general facts
 Variation in the amount of food consumed results in the
variations in fecundity observed in fish populations (Bagenal,
1967).
 In female fish it was noticed that
∝ ∝
 Once the breeding season has started, food supply might affect
both the fecundity per spawning and the number of spawning
 In case of iteroparous species of fish, when the food
availability is very low, reproduction may delays due to
support gamete development and spawning activities.
High rate of food
consumption before
the breeding season
High body
size
High fecundity
per spawning

15. 14
CONT……………..
Effect of ration
size
RATIONS
HIGH
RATIONS
LOW
RATIONS
FECUNDITY
QUALITY OF EGGS &
SPERMS
SPAWNING INTERVAL
 Female on low rations stops their spawning activity once their weight
has declined to 70-80% of their initial body weight

16. 15
CONT……………..
Effect of feeding
on egg size
 Food level had no effect on the size of the eggs, whether
size was expressed as wet or dry weight per egg.
 In Brook Trout it was found that a dry egg weight of
14.81g consisted of 870 eggs in the fully-fed fish but only
793 in the poorly-fed fish, and this difference is highly
significant. This means that the fully-fed fish contained
smaller eggs (by dry weight) than the starved fish
(Bagenal,1969a)

17.  Reduced fecundity
 Reduced spawning success
 Reduced quantities of yolk has been seen in the haddock
 Reductions in oocyte recruitment have been reported to occur in brown trout
and winter flounder
 Follicular atresia may be prevalent in rainbow trout, brook trout and the
guppy
 Cause an inhibition of gonadal maturation in several fish species, including
goldfish (Sasayama and Takahashi, 1972), European seabass (Cerda´ et al.,
1994a) and male Atlantic salmon (Berglund, 1995)
 Reduced plasma estradiol levels in female seabass
16
CONT……………..
Effect of
starvation or
restricted
feeding

18. EFFECT OF FEEDING ON FECUNDITY AND
SPAWNING
17
FOOD LEVEL
Size of female at
maturity
No. of mature
females
No. of males with
territories
Inter-spawning
interval
No. of eggs per
spawning
No. of
spawning
Eggs production
Recruitment of young ones
Wootton,
1973
Figure 2: A preliminary block diagram of the possible effects of food level on
recruitment to a stickleback population
(+, positive correlation; -, negative correlation)
On
Stickleback
fish

19. CONCLUSION
18
 Appropriate feeding in fish has a positive response in the maturation of gonads , production
of gametes, fecundity, egg size and egg quality, spawning activity, reproductive behavior
and finally recruitment of young ones
 The increase in gonad weight and GSI largely depends upon quality of feed
 Both major and minor nutrients influencing the reproductive activity in fish
 In some fishes, it was observed, when the food availability is very low, they may not
reproduce each year
 Feed restriction does not influences egg size
 Fish on the highest food level spawned at shorter intervals than fish at the lower levels
 Although it is difficult to generalize the effects of feeding on reproduction, it appears,
overall, that quantity and quality of food is crucial for a successful reproductive cycle of
fish

20. REFERENCES
19
Bagenal, T. B. (1969). The relationship between food supply and fecundity in brown trout Salmo
trutta L. Journal of Fish Biology, 1(2), 167-182.
Camargo, A. C. S., & Urbinati, E. C. (2008). Influence of food restriction on the reproduction and
larval performance of matrinxã, Brycon amazonicus (Spix and Agassiz, 1829). Brazilian J
ournal of Biology, 68(4), 869-873.
Hislop, J. R. G., Robb, A. P., & Gauld, J. A. (1978). Observations on effects of feeding level on
growth and reproduction in haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L.) in captivity. Journal
of Fish Biology, 13(1), 85-98.
Izquierdo, M. S., Fernandez-Palacios, H., & Tacon, A. G. J. (2001). Effect of broodstock nutrition on
reproductive performance of fish. Aquaculture, 197(1-4), 25-42.
Jobling, M. (1995). Fish bioenergetics. Oceanographic Literature Review, 9(42), 785.

21. REFERENCES
20
Luquet, P., & Watanabe, T. (1986). Interaction “nutrition-reproduction” in fish. Fish Physiology
and Biochemistry, 2(1-4), 121-129.
Mishra, A., & Singh, U. P. (2002). Effect of feeding on spawning of common carp. Indian J.
Fish, 49(3), 275-278.
Ridelman, J. M., Hardy, R. W., & Brannon, E. L. (1984). The effect of short-term starvation on
ovarian development and egg viability in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri).Aquaculture,
37(2),133-140.
Scott, D. P. (1962). Effect of food quantity on fecundity of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri. Journal
of the Fisheries Board of Canada, 19(4), 715-731
Valdebenito, I. I., Gallegos, P. C., & Effer, B. R. (2015). Gamete quality in fish: evaluation
parameters and determining factors. Zygote, 23(2), 177-197.

22. REFERENCES
21
Volkoff, H., & London, S. (2018). Nutrition and reproduction in fish. Encyclopedia of
Reproduction, 743-748.
Woodhead, A. D. (1960). Nutrition and reproductive capacity in fish. Proceedings of the
Nutrition Society, 19(1), 23-28.
Wootton, R. J. (1973). The effect of size of food ration on egg production in the female three‐
spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L. Journal of Fish Biology, 5(1), 89-96.
Wootton, R. J. (1985). Energetics of reproduction. In Fish energetics (pp. 231-254). Springer,
Dordrecht.

23. Thanks for
hearing
RESPECTED
SIR
SHIV