Compensatory growth in the Chinese longsnout catfish, Leiocassis longirostris following feed deprivation: Temporal patterns in growth, nutrient deposition, feed intake and body composition

To investigate the compensatory growth responses of the carnivorous Chinese longsnout catfish a 7-week study was performed at 28 °C. Juvenile longsnout catfish weighing a mean of 13.14 g were starved for 0 (control), 1 (S1) or 2 (S2) weeks and then re-fed to satiation for 4 weeks. Weekly changes in specific growth rate, feed intake and body composition were monitored during re-feeding. No significant difference was found in final body weight among the three groups, indicating complete compensation in the starved fish. The deprived groups caught up in body weight with that of the control within 2 weeks of re-feeding. Body concentrations of protein, lipid and energy were restored to control levels within 1 week of re-feeding. In the first week of re-feeding, specific growth rates of body weight, lipid, protein and energy contents were significantly higher in the deprived fish than in the control. In the second week of re-feeding, the specific growth rate of protein content of the S2 group was still higher than in the control. In the third week of re-feeding, the growth rates for lipid and energy content of the deprived fish dropped below that of the control, but were elevated again during the last week of the experiment. Feed intake was higher than the control level in the first week of re-feeding in the S2 group, but no significant difference was found between the S1 group and control. Growth efficiency in the S2 group was significantly higher than in the controls for the first week of re-feeding. The results were compatible with the hypothesis that compensatory growth restores the ratio of fat to lean body mass ratio in the deprived fish.