To determine dietary protein and energy retention of juvenile largemouth bass one thousand, three hundred and fifty feed-conditioned fish (average weight 14.46 ± 0.81 g) were stocked in 60-L cages set up in 1,000 L containers, and fed for 64 days with a dry, extruded feed containing varying levels of crude protein - CP (34, 38, 42, 46, 50 and 54%) and energy (3,600 to 4,100 kcal kg-1 feed, with increases of 125 kcal kg-1). The trial was set up in a totally randomized 6 x 5 factorial design (n=3). Data on weight gain, daily feed consumption, hepatosomatic index, viscerosomatic index, nutrient protein, energy retention, liver glycogen and visceral fat were evaluated. There were no interaction effects (P > 0.05) between feed energy and protein levels in respect to all evaluated parameters. Best performance was attained with levels of 42% CP and 3,850 kcal kg-1 in the diets, a condition which resulted in higher levels of liver glycogen (P < 0.0442) and higher hepatosomatic indexes (P < 0.0001) usually when diets presented less than 30% starch. Higher levels of dietary lipid induced significant increases in whole body lipids considering dietary energy (P < 0.0001), and this also induced higher deposition of visceral fat for pooled means of dietary protein (P < 0.0001) and energy (P < 0.0021) contents. These results will help understanding the nutritional energetics of carnivorous fish, increasing the feasibility of their intensive production.
Micropterus salmoides; protein; energy; glycogen; lipid