Effects of short-term starvation and re-feeding on some growth indices and structure of the liver and intestine tissues in juvenile Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus Borodin, 1897)

Abstract

Introduction: Currently, exploiting the different feeding strategies and feed deprivation has
become a major issue for aquaculture management. This study was conducted to evaluate the
effects of short-term starvation and re-feeding on structural changes of the liver and intestine
of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus).
Materials & Methods: 120 fish with an average weight of 146/5±16/01 g were exposed to
four different feeding strategies in separated tanks; Ctrl (continuous feeding); SRF1 (Four
alternating periods of two days of starvation and 8 days of refeeding after each starvation
periods), SRF2 (two alternating periods of four days of starvation and 16 days of refeeding
after each starvation periods), and SRF2 (a period of eight days of starvation and 32 days of
refeeding immediately after starvation).
Results: The results indicate that the growth performance in Persian sturgeon can
significantly be affected by the starving and re-feeding strategies. As the Hepatic and
gastrointestinal indices in experimental treatments showed a decreasing trend, and the lowest
survival rate occurred during SRF3 treatment. Moreover, during the SRF3 treatment there
can be seen a significant increase in the thickness of the lamina propria and submucosa of the
intestine as well as a slight reduction in the volume of glycogen and fat vacuoles in
hepatocytes.
Conclusion: Generally, it can be concluded that the digestive capacity of the juvenile Persian
sturgeon could be recovered after SRF1 and SRF2 treatments without any negative impact
on growth performance, or any histological changes in liver and intestine tissues.