The influence of supplement feed preparation on the fatty acid composition of carp and Chironomidae larvae in a semi-intensive production system

Abstract

In order to examine how extruded and pelleted feed affects the fatty acid composition of carp meat and Chironomidae larvae, two-month-old carp specimens were set in two fishponds (L1 and L2). The fatty acid composition of extruded and pelleted feed is characterized by a significantly higher content of ω-3 fatty acids and higher ω-3 to ω-6 fatty acids ratio (ω-3/ω-6) in extruded (11.34±0.12% and 0.315±0.005, respectively) compared to pelleted feed (7.72±0.08%, 0.180±0.001, respectively). The fatty acid composition of carp meat is characterized by higher ω-3 fatty acid content and ω-3/ω-6 in carp fed with extruded feed (L1, 6.98±0.53% and 0.295±0.022, respectively) compared to carp fed with extruded feed (L2, 5.46±0.07% and 0.232±0.009, respectively). Chironomidae larvae from the fishpond L2 had significantly higher ω-3 fatty acid content (8.22±0.89%), and therefore higher ω-3/ω-6 (0.81±0.09) in comparison to Chironomidae from the L1 fishpond where these parameters were 4.48±0.06% and 0.21±0.01, respectively.