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Effects of sustained swimming exercise on growth and body composition responses of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), and hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis)

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Abstract  

Exercise has been shown to increase growth of many salmonid species. However, limited research has evaluated exercise on warmwater species. The present study was conducted to evaluate with tilapia, red drum (RD), and hybrid striped bass (HSB), the effects of swimming (exercising) in a constant slow current of approximately one body length/s (1bl/s) compared to not being forced to swim in a static culture system. Concurrent trials were conducted with 22 advanced juvenile male Nile tilapia (Wt0 97.9 ± 2.4 g), 38 juvenile red drum (Wt0 74.9 ± 4.4 g), and 20 juvenile HSB (Wt0 78.0 ± 3.2 g). Equal numbers of fish of each species were pit tagged and randomly assigned to two tanks, one operated static (control) and the other with current (exercised), which were all part of the same recirculating aquaculture system. Fish were fed to satiation twice daily a commercial diet and individually weighed every 2 weeks through 7 weeks. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) enhancements of weight gain were observed for exercised tilapia and RD vs static (control) treatments. Reduced growth was observed in exercised HSB, possibly due to consistently skittish feeding behavior. Hepatosomatic index was lower in all exercised fish, though not significantly so for RD and tilapia. Significant reductions also were detected in liver glycogen of exercised tilapia and RD. Results from this study indicate that continuous exercise beneficially affected aspects of tilapia and red drum growth and altered their body composition.

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The data that support the findings of the present article are available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The assistance provided by students and staff of the Texas A&M University Fish Nutrition Laboratory during this study is gratefully acknowledged.

Funding

Financial support for this research was provided by the Texas A&M AgriLife Research. At the time of this study, Alton Burns was an Office of Graduate and Professional Studies Diversity Graduate Fellow at Texas A&M University.

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  1. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University System, College Station, College Station, TX, 77843-2258, USA

    Alton Burns & Delbert M. Gatlin III

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  1. Alton Burns
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  2. Delbert M. Gatlin III
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AB designed and executed all experiments described in this manuscript with the input and consent of DG. Both AB and DG read and reviewed all drafts of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Delbert M. Gatlin III.

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Burns, A., Gatlin, D.M. Effects of sustained swimming exercise on growth and body composition responses of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), and hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis). Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 1401–1411 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01129-6

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