The use of ractopamine as a growth promoter for hungarian carp was evaluated in an experiment with a duration of 56 days, accomplished in 12 net cages of lower volume using 360 fish with initial weight of 18.64±1.25g. Three amounts of ractopamine, 7, 14 and 21ppm/kg, plus control diet were tested. The mean weight, total length, height, specific growth rate and condition factor were evaluated. Body composition, tissue deposition and fish plasmatic glucose were also analyzed. No significant effect of ractopamine addition was observed on the characteristics evaluated. A higher glucose concentration of 61.67mg/dL was observed in fish fed without the addition of ractopamine to the diet. The ractopamine inclusion in diets promotes higher body fat levels in fish and does not affect the amount of protein. The conclusion is that the addition of ractopamine in the diet is not efficient for hungarian carp juveniles.
carp; aditives; nutrient partitioning; net cages
