Nutrient Requirements Of Indian Major Carp

The Indian major carp species, which include the catla (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita), and
mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala), are widely cultured in the country’s 5.4 million ha of freshwater
ponds, tanks, lakes, and reservoirs, usually in polyculture. The highest production reported in
polyculture has been 17 mt/ha/year. Adequate attention to the dietary nutrient requirements of
the carp helped farmers reach that mark.

Protein and Amino Acids

The optimal protein requirements of carp are affected by the nutritional value of the dietary
protein and level of non-protein energy in the carp diet. When sufficient energy sources such as
lipids and carbohydrates are available in the diet, most of the ingested protein goes to protein
synthesis. Adult Indian major carp require 30% dietary protein for proper growth and survival,
while fry and fingerlings require 40 and 35% dietary protein, respectively.
Indian major carp, like other fish, do not have an absolute requirement for protein, but need a
balanced mixture of essential and nonessential amino acids. Their qualitative and quantitative
amino acid requirements were determined in growth studies by feeding graded levels of one test
amino acid while keeping all other essential amino acids at their required level. Qualitative
amino acid requirements in carp could also be estimated by employing C14 labeled
isotopes.Body composition analysis of amino acids gives only a rough estimate of requirements,
but could be used in the absence of information on dietary requirements.
Studies on the qualitative dietary requirements of carp have indicated they require all 10 essential
amino acids known as indispensable for other commercial finfish studied so far. When an
essential amino acid was lacking in the diet, the growth of carp was adversely affected. The
amino acid requirements (%) of catla, rohu, and mrigal carp are presented inTable 1.

Amino Acid catla rohu mrigal

Arginine 5.63 5.75 5.25
Histidine 2.38 2.25 2.13
Isoleucine 2.75 3.00 2.75
Leucine 4.38 4.63 4.25
Lysine 6.86 5.58 5.88
Methionine 3.00 2.88 3.18
Threonine 4.50 4.28 4.13
Tryptophan 1.03 1.13 1.08
Valine 3.60 3.75 3.50

The amino acid requirements of Indian major carp differ not only at different life stages, but also
due to variation in the methodologies and dietary protein sources employed for the determination
of quantitative requirements. The replacement value of cystine for methionine in Indian carp has
been reported as 50%. Similarly, phenylalanine can replace by the nonessential amino acid
tyrosine, so levels of tyrosine are also important in the diet while determining phenylalanine
dietary requirements.
Lipids and Fatty Acids
Lipids or fats are required as sources of energy and essential fatty acids, and serve as carriers for
fat-soluble vitamins. Fatty acids and phospholipids help to maintain the structural integrity of
carp cell membranes. The gross lipid requirement of Indian major carp is 7-8% of the diet, and
young fish require relatively more fat and protein than adults. All three species grow well when
their diets contain 1% n-3 and 1% n-6 fatty acids, and their bodies contain a high proportion of
n-3 and n-6 fatty acids.
Few studies have been carried out on the dietary fatty acid requirement of these carp. The
essentiality of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) like eicosapentaenoic acid and
docosahexaenoic acid has not been reported for Indian major carp. These fish are basically
freshwater species that grow well with low levels or even the absence of HUFA.

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate is the least-expensive nutrient and also a less expensive energy source for carp.
Indian major carp, being herbivorous/omnivorous feeders, easily digest appreciable quantities of
carbohydrates in their diets. A dietary level up to 30% carbohydrate did not affect the growth of
these carp. Growth retardation and reduced feed efficiency were observed, however, when
carbohydrate levels exceeded 35% of diet. Starch and dextrin as pure forms of carbohydrate are
readily accepted by carp and used in purified and semipurified diets in nutrient requirement
studies. However, in practical diets, wheat flour, tapioca flour, and rice flour are used as cheap
sources of carbohydrate in diet formulation. These ingredients also serve as natural binders and
enhance the water stability of feed pellets. The absence of adequate carbohydrate in feed leads to
the utilization of protein as an energy source, at the cost of carp growth.

Vitamins
All the water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins found essential for other commercial species of
fish are also essential for Indian major carp. The thiamin requirement is estimated at 8-12
mg/kg diet, depending on the life stage. In commercial diets, higher levels are included to
allow for leaching and anticipated losses during feed processing and storage.
The riboflavin requirement has been reported as 6-8 mg/kg diet. However, in commercial
feeds, 10 mg/kg diet or more is incorporated, since riboflavin is a water-soluble vitamin and
may be lost due to leaching. Niacin or nicotinic acid is another essential vitamin.When fed diets
rich in tryptophan, Indian major carp usually do not experience niacin deficiency. It is estimated
that the three species require 10-12 mg niacin/kg diet for normal growth and survival.
The dietary requirement for pantothenic acid is 9-11 mg/kg diet. A dietary level of 6-8 mg
pyridoxine/kg diet is recommended. Cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12) is important vitamin for
these species, and dietary deficiencies are not likely because only trace amounts (0.01-0.02
mg/kg diet) are required, and easily satisfied by natural food.
The stable forms of vitamin C, such as ascorbate 2-monophosphate or ascorbate 2-sulphate,
should be used in carp feed manufacture because of the unstable nature and leaching problems of
ascorbic acid. A dietary level of 300 mg ascorbic acid/kg diet is reported sufficient for normal
growth and survival of larvae and fry of rohu and mrigal. Tissue levels of vitamin C increase
corresponding to dietary intake up to 1,000 mg/kg diet in both rohu and mrigal.
Disease resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila is affected by vitamin C levels. The lowest
mortality have been reported for rohu fed 600 mg vitamin C kg/diet and mrigal fed 1,000 mg/kg
diet. Deficiency of ascorbic acid leads to anorexia, poor growth, high mortality, fin necrosis,
abnormal pigments, spinal curvature in mrigal, hemorrhagic skin, and hypochromic microcytic
anemia.
The dietary requirements of Indian major carp for inositol and biotin range 300-350 mg/kg diet
and 5-8 mg/kg diet, respectively. The requirement for folic acid appears to be 0.5-1 mg/kg
diet.
Reduced feed efficiency, kidney and intestinal hemorrhage, and poor growth are caused by
choline deficiency. Acetylcholine is a derivative of choline, and dietary requirements are 500-
600 mg/kg diet. When choline hydrochloride is mixed with vitamins E and K in fish feed, it
reacts and inactivates these vitamins. Choline could be synthesized in the fish body if sufficient
methionine is available in the diet.
Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin A (retinoic acid) deficiency causes
displacement of eye lens and corneal thinning, poor growth, exophthalmia, and de-
pigmentation in carp. Their dietary requirement appears to be 1,500 international units,
and the dietary source of vitamin A is beta-carotene. Vitamin D is important in the regulation
of calcium and phosphorous. A dietary level of 400-500 international units is suggested for carp.
 Vitamin A: 1 IU is the biological equivalent of 0.3 mcg retinol, or of 0.6 mcg beta-
carotene
 Vitamin C: 1 IU is 50 mcg L-ascorbic acid
 Vitamin D: 1 IU is the biological equivalent of 0.025 mcg cholecalciferol or
ergocalciferol
 Vitamin E: 1 IU is the biological equivalent of about 0.67 mg d-alpha-tocopherol, or 0.9
mg of dl-alpha-tocopherol.

The dietary requirement for vitamin E, which helps in the protection of PUFAs in carp diets, is
40-50 mg/kg diet. Dietary requirement for vitamin K is 5-10 mg/kg diet. Prothrombin is very
important for blood clotting, and is synthesized by utilizing vitamin K. Rich dietary sources of
vitamin K include alfalfa leaves, green leafy vegetables, soybeans and animal liver oil, which are
easily incorporated into carp diets.

Minerals
As with other fish, carp require calcium for blood clotting, nerve transmission, and integrity of
cellular membranes. Levels of 4,000-5,000 mg calcium/kg diet are suggested. About 5,000-6,000
mg phosphorous/kg diet is adequate. Magnesium is required for many enzymatic reactions and
intermediary metabolism, and 500 mg/kg diet is optimum for Indian major carp.
Iron deficiency leads to poor food conversion, depressed growth, and low hemoglobin, plasma,
and hematocrit levels (the ratio of the volume of red blood cells to the total volume of blood). A
copper dietary level of 3-4 mg/kg diet is adequate. Manganese is required as a cofactor in several
metabolic functions and its supplementation in practical diets particularly carp broodstock diets
is necessary, since feed ingredients often are deficient in manganese. Zinc deficiency in carp
causes poor growth, cataracts, anorexia, and fin and skin erosions. Iodine deficiency leads to
thyroid hyperplasia.
Other trace/minor minerals like selenium, sodium, potassium, chlorine, cobalt, and chromium are
important for Indian major carp in various metabolic functions. Cobalt in the form of cobalt
chloride, when supplemented at a level of 0.1 mg/kg diet for fry in nursery ponds, enhanced
growth and survival. The quantitative dietary requirements of Indian major carp for other
minerals have not been reported.