Effect of dietary taurine levels on growth and feeding behavior of juvenile Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary taurine levels on growth and feeding behavior of juvenile Japanese flounder. Three different taurine level diets were prepared by supplementation of taurine (T-0%, 0.5% and 1.5%) to the basal diet. Fish meal washed with 70% ethanol to remove taurine was used as the sole protein source. Feeding experiments were carried out twice at 20 °C by using different size of fish (average body weight: 0.3 g in Experiment I and 3.7 g in Experiment II). The feeding behavior of fish was observed throughout the experimental period. At the end of experiments, fish were killed for amino acids analysis. The final average body weight and feed efficiency of juvenile Japanese flounder fed the T-1.5% diet was significantly higher than those of fish fed the T-0% diet in Experiments I and II. Abnormal feeding behavior such as multiple feeding while swimming in the water column was observed in the T-0% group in Experiment I. These findings indicate that taurine is essential for normal growth and development of normal feeding behavior of juvenile Japanese flounder.