Quantitative deposition of nutrients in dorsal muscle, adipose tissue and liver in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) in a semi-intensive farming system

Abstract

Carp is the dominant species grown in Serbia and makes up over 80% of the total fish production. The aims of the present study were to analyze changes of protein, lipid, ash and moisture in dorsal muscle, adipose tissue and liver in common carp additionally fed complete pellets during four months in natural carp ponds. Twenty fish from four ponds were sampled. Analysis of variance showed that protein content was the highest in dorsal muscle and adipose tissue and was the smallest in liver (P < 0.05). The percentage of protein was quite stable and reached a plateau value (18.42–19.49%) in dorsal muscle. Total lipid content in common carp was the highest in liver (14.79–17.24%) and smaller in dorsal muscle (1.92–5.42%) (P<0.05). More interested were how the fish mass increased during breeding. The proximate composition of fish tissues was expressed as absolute content by weight of each fish. Simple regression resulted in relationships between protein content (g/fish) and body weight (g) indicating strong association (r = 0.965). Simple regression resulted in not strong relationships between lipid content (g/fish) and body weight (g (r = 0.784). There was a strong relationship between moisture content (%) and lipid content (%) (r = 0.962). The protein content (g/fish) was strongly associated with body weight in dorsal muscle and adipose tissue since coefficients of regression were high (>0.95), as were t-tests of significance (13.69, 18.04), and in the liver there was also an association since the coefficient of regression was 0.952 and the t-test was high (11.72).