Evaluation of 36%‐Protein Diets with or without Animal Protein for Rearing Tank‐Hatched Golden Shiner Fry in Ponds

The objective of this study was to determine whether fry of golden shiners Notemigonus crysoleucas reared in ponds differed with respect to growth, survival, feed conversion, total yield, condition, and response to low dissolved oxygen when fed a practical diet of 36% protein from animal and plant sources (five ponds) versus a diet of only plant sources (six ponds). Newly hatched fry (1 mg) were stocked at 2.5 × 106/ha in 12 fertilized ponds (0.04 ha each). Fish were fed twice daily at a rate of 8.0–15.9 kg/ha for 12 weeks. Chlorophyll a was not different between diets, indicating that natural food production in ponds was similar between treatments. Between-treatment differences in average individual weight (0.56–0.59 g), relative weight (114.4– 115.6), Fulton's condition index (K = 0.88), total yield (40.8–45.6 kg), feed conversion (0.85– 0.95), and survival (75.9–79.2%) were not significant. Postharvest survival of fish exposed to low dissolved oxygen at 20°C in a laboratory test was not affect...