Dietary fatty acid profiling in plant protein‐rich diets affects the reproductive performance, egg fatty acid profile and haematological parameters in female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Abstract

The influence of dietary fish oil (FO) substitution with blends of vegetal oils (VO: canola, linseed, olive, sunflower, corn and coconut oils) in plant protein‐rich diets on reproductive performance and fatty acid dynamics of embryos was evaluated in female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) brooders (1.8 ± 0.1 kg). Four diets were formulated in which 20% (FO80/VO20), 50% (FO50/VO50), 75% (FO25/VO75) and 100% (VO100) of FO were replaced by mixture of VO. The above‐mentioned diets were administered for a short period prior to spawning (3 months). Fish fed the VO100 had the lowest fertilization rate (81.3 ± 2.3), whereas brooders fed the FO80/VO20 diet had the lowest survival rates at eyed embryo stage (83.7 ± 1.6%) and hatching rate (79.9 ± 3.1%). The fatty acid dynamics of embryos were not only affected by embryonic developmental stages, but also they were influenced by the dietary fatty acid profile. Our study confirmed that using blends of different VO sources and FM residual fat in the FO25/VO75 for the short‐term period prior to spawning seemed to be a good strategy in terms of successful reproduction for sparing high levels of FM and FO in diet of O. mykiss brooders.