by
F.M. SUKHOVERKHOV
All-Union Institute of Pond Fisheries
Moscow, U.S.S.R.
THE EFFECT OF COBALT, VITAMINS, TISSUE PREPARATIONS AND ANTIBIOTICS ON CARP PRODUCTION
Abstract
Vegetable fodder is used for growing carp (Cyprinus carpio) under intensive conditions in the U.S.S.R., but the growth rate slows markedly when the natural component in the food ration is less than 17 to 20 percent, as is usual in the high stockings adopted to obtain more production per unit area.
The growth-stimulating effects of various doses of the following substances were therefore investigated:
Cobalt. This is part of vitamin B12 and concerned in nitrogen assimilation and synthesis of haemaglobin and muscular protein. The experiments showed that cobalt additions positively affect growth and productivity, both when added to fodder and when assimilated through food organisms which get it from cobalt-fertilized water.
Vitamins, particularly of the B group and D. The addition of four percent fodder yeast to rations of two-year-old carp increased growth rate by 16 percent and brought down food expenditure per unit gain by about 15 percent.
Tissue preparations, prepared from slaughter-house offal. These when added to rations of two-year carp at a rate of 7 g/kg gave a growth rate increase of 12 percent.
Antibiotics such as terramycin. Best results came from giving 20,000 units every three days; this raised growth by 9.5 percent and a fodder saving of 10.5 percent. Antibiotics are evidently concerned with protein metabolism and can make up to some extent for lack of animal proteins in the rations.
On the basis of these experiments the addition of these growth-stimulating substances to feed mixtures for carp is recommended.
INFLUENCE DU COBALT, DES VITAMINES, DES PREPARATIONS TISSULAIRES ET DES ANTIBIOTIQUES SUR LA PRODUCTION DE CARPES
Résumé
En U.R.S.S., l'alimentation d'appoint utilisée en pisciculture intensive de la carpe (Cyprinus carpio) est à base végétale, mais le taux de croissance s'abaisse nettement lorsque les constituants naturels de la ration tombent au-dessous de 17 à 20 pour cent, ce qui est généralement le cas avec les fortes charges employées pour accroître les rendements.
Aussi a-t-on étudié les effets sur la croissance des substances suivantes, employées à diverses doses.
(a) Cobalt -
Cet élément constitutif de la vitamine B12 joue un rôle dans l'assimilation de l'azote
ainsi que dans la synthèse de l'hémoglobine et des protéines musculaires. Les expériences
ont montré que l'adjonction de cobalt à la ration avait un effet bénéfique sur la croissance
des carpes et sur la productivité des étangs, qu'il soit ajouté directement aux aliments
d'appoint ou assimilé par l'intermédiaire d'organismes servant de nourriture et l'ayant absorbé
dans une eau enrichie en cobalt.
(b) Vitamines (notamment vitamines du groupe B et vitamine D) -
L'adjonction aux rations de carpes de deux ans de 4 pour cent de levure a entraîné
un relèvement de 16 pour cent de taux de croissance et réduit d'environ 15 pour cent les
frais de nourrissage par unité de gain pondéral.
(c) Préparations tissulaires (provenant d'organes d'animaux de boucherie) -
Ces préparations, ajoutées à la ration de carpes de deux ans à raison de 7 g/kg, ont
provoqué un relèvement de 12 pour cent du taux de croissance.
(d) Antibiotiques (notamment terramycine) -
Les meilleurs résultats ont été obtenus par l'administration de 20.000 unités tous
les trois jours: accroissement de 9,5 pour cent du taux de croissance et économie de 10,5
pour cent sur le nourrissage. Il est évident que les antibiotiques ont une incidence sur
le métabolisme protidique et peuvent compenser dans une certaine mesure le manque de protéines
animales dans la ration.
Se fondant sur les résultats ci-dessus, l'auteur recommande l'adjonction à la ration alimentaire des carpes de ces substances stimulant la croissance.
EFECTO DEL EMPLEO DE COBALTO, VITAMINAS, PREPARACIONES DE TEJIDOS ORGANICOS Y ANTIBIOTICOS EN LA PRODUCCION DE CARPA
Extracto
En la URSS se utiliza forraje vegetal para alimentar a la carpa (Cyprinus carpio) en condiciones intensivas, pero la tasa de crecimiento desciende sensiblemente cuando el componente natural de la ración alimentaria es menor del 17 – 20 por ciento, como courre generalmente con las grandes densidades de reproblación utilizadas para obtener más producción por unidad de superficie.
En consecuencia, se investigaron los efectos estimuladores del crecimiento de distintas dosis de las sustancias siguientes:
Cobalto. Este forma parte de la vitamina B12 y está relacionado con la asimilación de nitrógeno y la síntesis de la hemoglobina y la proteína muscular. Los experimentos demostraron que la adición de cobalto influyó positivamente en el crecimiento y la productividad lo mismo cuando se añadió a los forrajes como cuando fué asimilado a través de organismos alimentarios que llegan a adquirirlo en aguas fertilizadas con cobalto.
Vitaminas, particularmente del grupo B y D. La adición de cuatro por ciento de levadura de forraje a las raciones suministradas a las carpas de dos años aumentó la tasa de crecimiento en el 16 por ciento e hizo disminuir el gasto en alimentos por unidad de ganancia en el 15 por ciento aproximadamente.
Preparaciones de tejidos orgánicos, derivadas de resíduos de matadero. Cuando éstas se añadieron a las raciones de las carpas de dos años a razón de 7 g/Kg. dieron un aumento del crecimiento del 12 por ciento.
Antibióticos tales como la terramicina. Se obtuvieron los mejores resultados proporcionando 20.000 unidades cada tres días; esto aumentó el crecimiento en el 9,5 por ciento e hizo obtener una economía de forraje del 10,5 por ciento. Los antibióticos están relacionados evidentemente con el metabolismo proteínico y pueden compensar hasta cierto grado la falta de proteínas animales en las raciones.
A base de estos experimentos se recomienda la adición de estas sustancias estimuladoras del crecimiento a las mezclas destinadas a la alimentación de la carpa.
In view of its importance in intensive carp (Cyprinus carpio) culture in the U.S.S.R., studies were made of methods for increasing the efficiency of organic reserve vegetable fodder conversion when carp were fed under conditions of high stock density and sharply declining availability of fish-food organisms.
Previous studies have shown that growth of carp slows down sharply when the natural components in its food ration constitute less than 17 to 20 percent. This is usual in five-fold and six-fold stockings used with supplemental feeding to obtain higher production per unit area than when only natural food is used.
The VNIIPRH fish-feeding laboratory investigated the following micro-elements as growth stimulants for the carp: cobalt, a protein-vitamin preparation, fodder yeast, antibiotic terramycin and a “tissue” preparation. The improvement in the growth of animals when various growth stimulants are added to the food is mostly accounted for by improvement in the metabolism of the organism. Growth stimulants cannot substitute for food and they are most effective in nutritious rations as they contribute to assimilation of the nutrients. The study of various additions to vegetable fodder for the carp was carried out in ponds stocked with fish of common origin and of identical weight at the time of stocking. The experiments were conducted twice, and the results were compared with those obtained in controls.
Cobalt was studied from two points of view: as an additional micro-element to vegetable mixtures, and as a fertilizing micro-element dissolved in the water of fish breeding ponds. In conditions of dense stocking when the natural component of the food ration declines sharply the food should be physiologically good and balanced according to the complex of nutrients. In addition to organic substances (protein, fat, carbohydrates) it should contain mineral substances, and micro-elements in particular.
Cobalt which is part of vitamin B12 and is of primary importance in the formation of erythrocytes and the synthesis of haemoglobin, is essential for the normal activity of animals. Cobalt greatly affects the fermentation, intensifying the synthesis of muscular protein and the assimilation of nitrogen.
The influence of cobalt on physiological indices and the growth of under-yearlings and two-year-old carp was studied for the first time in the conditions of the central black soil zone (the “Niva” fishery of the Voronez region). Cobalt (cobalt chloride) was used in the experiments, the amount of cobalt being 0.08 mg to 1 kg of fish per 24 hours. This corresponds to 3.0 g cobalt chloride per ton of the fodder. The experiments and commercial experience of four years (1959–1962) have shown that cobalt chloride added to the fodder improved the haematological indices of under-yearling and two-year-old carp (the number of erythrocytes increased by 11 to 28 percent, and the haemoglobin content by 7 to 23 percent). Investigations have shown that adding cobalt to the fodder results in an increase in vitamin B12 in the liver of carp under-yearlings so that its deposition there in three weeks amounts to 2.1 mg, in six weeks to 3.57 mg, and in 11 weeks to 2.2 mg in contrast to 0.76, 0.88 and 0.73 in control fish that had no cobalt addition to the diet. Improvement in the physiological condition as a result of adding cobalt to the fodder allows an increase in growth rate of 30 percent in fingerlings and an average of 15–20 percent in two-year-old commercial fish, and the amount of fodder needed per unit gain diminishes by an average of 20 percent.
Observations on the effect of cobalt on the growth of fish and the productivity of ponds, carried out in the production conditions of the North-Caucasian zone, the Ukraine and the non-black-soil zone, have shown that the application of cobalt to carp food in different regions contributes to the growth of carp, reduces the amount of fodder per unit gain, and increases the productivity of ponds.
In contrast to the investigations described above on the effect of cobalt added to the diet, this micro-element was added to fish ponds as a fertilizer in another set of experiments. These investigations were based on the work done by Koval'skii et al. (1964) who had proved that cobalt added to a water-body is deposited in the silt, and remains there for several years. The first experiments in the fertilization of rearing ponds with cobalt chloride were made in 1962 by Krymova and Farberov in the Niva fishery of the Voronez region (Sukhoverkhov, Krymova and Farberov, 1963). It was found there that the application of cobalt increases the food supply of fish, raises the intensity of the feeding of fingerlings, and consequently contributes to the productivity of ponds. It was ascertained in 1963 that the application of 5 kg of cobalt chloride per ha increases its content in the water 2 to 2.8 times, and when the rate is 10 kg per ha its content increases three or four times. Adding cobalt to pond water resulted in an increase in the biomass of zooplankton and benthos. This also became richer in vitamin B12, whereby the experimental pond fish got more natural food rich in cobalt and vitamin B12 than did the fish in the control ponds.
In 1964 the study of the after-effects of cobalt treatment showed that the content of cobalt in the water of the experimental ponds was 1.5 to 2 times higher than in non-fertilized ponds. The cobalt fertilization of ponds influenced the development of zooplankton and benthos and resulted in a higher content of vitamin B12 in food organisms.
The content of vitamin B12 in the body of a fingerling reared in a fertilized pond was 1.5 to 2 times higher than in one reared in non-fertilized ponds. Even greater differences of vitamin B12 were discovered in the liver of fingerlings. The fertilization of fish ponds with cobalt increased protein and fat deposited in the organs of fingerlings, which is very essential for raising their viability during the wintering period.
In 1963 when the pond water was first fertilized with cobalt only (without ammonium nitrate and superphosphate), at a rate of five kg of cobalt chloride per ha, the productivity of fish was 0.449 ton/ha, while in non-fertilized ponds it was 0.24 ton/ha. In 1964 when studying the after-effects of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate, it was ascertained that with the application of cobalt chloride the productivity of fish was equal to 0.61 ton/ha, and with the rate of cobalt chloride equal to 10 kg/ha the average fish production was 0.67 ton/ha. These investigations showed that cobalt positively affects the growth and productivity of carp, both when added to the fodder and when assimilated through food organisms which get it from the fertilized pond water.
The effect of vitamins on the growth of the rainbow trout is well-known, but their effect on carp when densely stocked and fed on artificial foods has hardly been studied. One of the reasons for a sharp decline in the growth rate of carp given the same rations but stocked at higher densities is, in our opinion, lack of vitamins of the B group. In warm-blooded animals a shortage of the vitamins of the B group adversely affects fermentation, decreases the assimilability of the food, and reduces productivity. It was therefore considered desirable to study the possibility of using fodder yeast as a source of these vitamins for carp.
Fodder yeast is a product of the biosynthesis of protein and vitamins produced during hydrolysis in pulp and paper manufacture. It is produced in the form of a powder containing 42 to 52 percent protein, 2 to 3 percent fat, 13 to 16 percent carbohydrates and 6 to 10 percent of mineral substances. A kilogram of fodder yeast contains the following: 18 mg vitamin B1 (thiamin), 20–50 mg vitamin B2 (riboflavin), 200–300 mg vitamin PP (nicotinamide or nicotinic acid), 50–100 mg pantothenic acid and 2,500–4,00 mg choline. Fodder yeast also contains provitamin D, which when treated with ultra-violet rays turns into vitamin D2. At present pulp and paper plants produce fodder yeast treated with ultraviolet rays.
Sunflower oil cakes which are very often used as the main food and comprise 50 to 55 percent of mixed fodder for carp, are very poor in the vitamins of the B and D groups. They contain 3 mg/kg of vitamin B2, 180 mg/kg of vitamin PP and 10–14 mg/kg of pantothenic acid. They lack vitamin B1, vitamin D and choline. When sunflower oil cake is used as food, the addition of fodder yeast makes up for the lack of vitamin B1 (thiamin); this is a component of ferments necessary for decarboxylation preventing water, fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolic disturbances in the organism. Vitamin D takes part in the mineral and energy metabolism and intensifies the absorption of calcium from the intestines and its deposition in the bones. Choline is necessary as a lipotropic factor promoting the formation of phospholipids in the liver; these prevent liver steatolysis and fat and carbohydrate metabolic disturbances caused by the unsatisfactory use of fodder.
Experiments carried out for two years (1958–1959) and the follow-up in commercial fisheries have shown that the addition of 4 percent of fodder yeast to the rations of a two-year-old carp increases its growth rate by approximately 16 percent, and brings down the food expenditure per unit gain by approximately 15 percent. Fodder yeast is also widely used as a component of the feed mixture for rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri).
In 1933, Filatov suggested that a tissue preparation should be used as biogenic stimulant (Filatov, 1948). He found out that the animal tissue separated from the organism does not die immediately, and for some time metabolic activity continues in it. Any live tissue separated from the organism and kept in unfavourable conditions is subject to a biochemical reconstruction. The substances which form as a result of this reconstruction when introduced into another organism intensify its biochemical development. Filatov called these substances biogenic stimulants.
The study of the effects of tissue preparation on warm-blooded animals has shown that they affect the whole of the animal, intensifying its defensive functions, and the secretory and assimilatory activity of the digestive organs. They intensify its metabolic development through the ferment systems which promote the secretion of the gastric juice, improve the assimilation of the food and speed up growth.
At present the tissue preparation is made of the organs of animals just slaughtered. The organs used for this purpose are: spleen, lungs, liver, lymphatic knots, bowels, tracheae with the thyroid gland, ovaries, pregnant wombs with embryos in the first half of the pregnancy (three to four months), eyeballs, etc. The above organs are subjected to five to six days' preservation at a temperature of 3 to 5°C, after which they are dried under pressure at a temperature of 150–200°C, and then pulverized, sieved and packed in paper bags. A number of meat processing plants produce this preparation on a commercial scale. Investigations have shown that this tissue preparation added to the rations of two-year-old carp during the warm summer of 1964, at the rate of 7 g per kg, or 7 kg per ton of a dry fodder mixture, increased the growth rate of the carp by 12.4–13.3 percent. At the same time this decreased the fodder used per unit of weight gain by 8.8 percent (Sukhoverkhov, et al., 1963). When testing different doses of the tissue preparation (7 g/kg without a 20-day interval, and 3.5 g/kg, 7 g/kg, 14 g/kg and 28 g/kg with a 20-day interval) in the conditions of the cold summer of 1965, the best dose proved to be 7 g/kg (7 kg/ton) of the dry fodder mixture, applied without a 20-day interval. This gave an increase in the growth of the two-year-old carp by 12.0 percent. At the rate of 3.5 g/kg (3.5 kg/ton) the growth increased by 8.2 percent. At the rates of 7.14 and 28 g/kg no increase in the growth was observed.
On the basis of the experiments, we consider it possible to recommend the addition of 7 g/kg of this tissue preparation to feed mixtures for feeding two-year-old carp.
The addition of growth-stimulating substances, i.e. cobalt, fodder yeast, and tissue preparation at the rate of 7 kg per ton of dry fodder (without an interval) promoted the growth of two-year-old carp in the commercial production ponds of the Osenka fishery in conditions of the cold summer of 1965. It also decreased the fodder used per unit weight gain by 20 percent compared with the diet when these substances were not added (Sukhoverkhov, Sidelnikov, Sidelnikova, and Gribanova, unpublished.
Antibiotics comprise the largest group among the known growth stimulants. At present antibiotics number several hundreds. Among these penicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline preparations are generally used to stimulate the growth of animals. Data on the effect of antibiotics on the growth of the carp are scarce. Although some scientists (Leonov, 1963) have observed that antibiotic preparations favourably affect the growth of the carp, no recommendations have been made on the doses to be applied.
To test the possibility and expedience of the application of antibiotics to carp fodder, grain-based terramycin was chosen. This choice was made for the following reasons. Terramycin, which belongs to the tetracycline group, possesses the most universal growth-stimulating effect on animals of different species; the micro-flora adapts to it quicker than to other preparations; in this preparation the antibiotic is organically bound to the substratum, which prevents it being washed away; the preparation retains its activity for six months which allows it to be used as an ingredient of a food mixture.
Experiments have been carried out to test different doses of terramycin, and in methods of applying it in the feeding of carp as an ingredient in diversified rations (Korneeva, 1963 and 1965). The growth-stimulating effect of the antibiotic varied from 5 to 25 percent. Doses tested ranged from 2,500 to 40,000 units per kg of fodder, and doses of 5,000 to 10,000 units per kg of fodder were found to be best. Continuous use was tested against periodical additions of it (every other day, every four days and every nine days). This showed that the antibiotic was effective only when used once every four days. Using it every other day, or every nine days, gave slightly less good results than using it every day. The dose of the antibiotic which gave the best result during the experiments, i.e. 20,000 units every three days, was then tested under commercial conditions. During two years of widely different weather conditions (1964 and 1965) the results were approximately the same. The average indices characterizing the expected efficiency of this preparation in conditions of pond farms should evidently be taken as: 9.5 percent for growth, 14 percent for stock increase and 10.5 percent for fodder saving.
The data obtained allow certain conclusions relating to the mechanism of the growth-stimulating effect of the antibiotic. The study of the weight composition of fish reared with the addition of terramycin to diversified fodder has shown that in the case of a more nutritious ration, containing natural food or animal fodder, the growth-stimulating effect tells first of all on small, undergrown specimens; the percentage of these decreases considerably and this accounts mainly for the increase in the mean weight of the stock. When a pure vegetable ration is used, the mean weight increases on account of an increase in the whole stock. Thus the antibiotic can evidently make up to some extent for the lack of animal protein in the ration. At the same time the study of the chemical composition of the muscles of the carp has shown that the antibiotic effect is concerned in the protein metabolism, the degree of the effect also depending on the quality of the diet. In the case of pure vegetable fodder and that containing 20 percent of animal food, the ratio of different forms of nitrogen in the muscles of the carp was such that the ratio residual : combined nitrogen with antibiotic was approximately 1.5 times lower than in control. This is evidence of a more intensive use of nitrogen. This is also confirmed by the higher content of combined nitrogen and raw protein in the muscles of the carp.
In the case of an increase in up to 35 percent animal food in the diet, no similar relationship was observed.
The data obtained make it possible to believe that the growth-stimulating effect of terramycin, if it is not conditioned by a change in nitrogen metabolism, is at least concerned with this aspect of development.
The study of the effect of growth-stimulating substances on the carp is continuing. On the basis of the experiments we recommend that growth-stimulating substances be added to feed mixtures and combined fodder for carp.
Filatov, V.P., 1948 Tissue therapeutics treating with biogenous stimulants. Tashkent
Korneeva, L.A., 1963 Application of fodder terramycin in feeding the carp with artificial fodder. Trudy vseross.nauchno-issled.Inst.prud.ryb.Khoz., 12
Korneeva, L.A., 1965 The effect of fodder terramycin on the growth of the carp reared in nurseries. Trudy vseross.nauchno-issled.Inst.prud.ryb.Khoz., 13
Koval'skii, V.V. et al., 1964 Artificial change in cobaltic food chains and intensification of protein synthesis of fishes. Trudy vses.Akad.sel'.-khoz.Nauk im.Lenin, 7
Leonov, N.I., 1963 Antibiotics in live-stock raising and veterinary medicine. Moskva, Selkhozizdat
Sukhoverkhov, F.M., 1959 The effect of hydrolysis yeast on the growth of two-year-old carp. Ryb.Promyshl., (52)
Sukhoverkhov, F.M. and R.V. Krymova, 1961 The effect of cobaltic salts on the growth of the carp. Rybovod. i Rybolov., (1)
Sukhoverkhov, F.M., R.V, Krymova and V.G. Farberov, 1963 The effect of cobalt on the growth and haematological indices of the carp. Ryb.Khoz., (8)
