A Nutritional Study in Cutthroat Trout (Salmo clarki)

Abstract

The most efficient method of writing a synopsis of my research is to divide the work into three chapters. The first chapter will present what is generally known about pyridoxine and recount that past research which is pertinent to this study. The second chapter will be a summary of my own research. It will state the materials, methods, and the results of my experiments. The third chapter will include a discussion of all experimental results and a statement of conclusion as a result of the interpretation of this data. Test results from the experiment on cutthroat trout discussed in Chapter II of this thesis conflict with experiments on other species discussed in Chapter I. There seems to be no significant difference resulting from the deletion of pyridoxine from the vitamin premix of the X138-25E diet when compared with the X138-25 diet (control). Whereas, one would have expected the deletion of pyridoxine to have shown great significance. This expectation would be based on the similarity of species of trout and the similar requirements for pyridoxine in brown, brook, lake and rainbow trout. The results of the cutthroat trout experiment, however, indicates that there is something, either deficient or in excess, in both the X138-25 and X138-25E diets that make them unacceptable diets for this particular species. The evaluation of these diets as being unacceptable is based upon the presence of hemolytic anemia coupled with degeneration of liver and kidney tissues, abnormal balance and erratic swimming before death of the fish, and high mortality rates.The most efficient method of writing a synopsis of my research is to divide the work into three chapters. The first chapter will present what is generally known about pyridoxine and recount that past research which is pertinent to this study. The second chapter will be a summary of my own research. It will state the materials, methods, and the results of my experiments. The third chapter will include a discussion of all experimental results and a statement of conclusion as a result of the interpretation of this data. Test results from the experiment on cutthroat trout discussed in Chapter II of this thesis conflict with experiments on other species discussed in Chapter I. There seems to be no significant difference resulting from the deletion of pyridoxine from the vitamin premix of the X138-25E diet when compared with the X138-25 diet (control). Whereas, one would have expected the deletion of pyridoxine to have shown great significance. This expectation would be based on the similarity of species of trout and the similar requirements for pyridoxine in brown, brook, lake and rainbow trout. The results of the cutthroat trout experiment, however, indicates that there is something, either deficient or in excess, in both the X138-25 and X138-25E diets that make them unacceptable diets for this particular species. The evaluation of these diets as being unacceptable is based upon the presence of hemolytic anemia coupled with degeneration of liver and kidney tissues, abnormal balance and erratic swimming before death of the fish, and high mortality rates.