Effects of elevated carbon dioxide on growth, feed efficiency and physiological responses in RAS-based juvenile pikeperch (Sander lucioperca)

This study evaluated the impacts of three concentrations of dissolved CO2: Low (~5 mg L⁻¹), Medium (15 mg L⁻¹), High (30 mg L⁻¹); on growth performance, feed efficiency and physiological condition of juvenile pikeperch reared for 105 days (15 weeks) in RAS. Fish (initial total length = 254 mm; body weight = 117 g) were stocked in triplicate tanks per treatment and fed to 1% of the total biomass. Growth indices, feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR), thermal growth coefficient (TGC), organosomatic indices, fin condition, and survival were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. At the end of the trial, fish exposed to 30 mg L⁻¹ CO₂ exhibited significantly lower total length, body weight, and condition factor compared to the Low group. Final body weight averaged 297 g at Low group, 250 g at Medium group, and 233 g at High group. Feed efficiency decreased markedly with increasing CO₂ as FCR increased from 1.09 to 1.82, while SGR and TGC showed downward trends. Survival, organosomatic indices, fin erosion, and body weight variability were not affected. These findings demonstrate that CO₂ concentrations (> 15 mg L⁻¹) affect growth and feed efficiency in juvenile pikeperch, underscoring the need for strict CO₂ control in RAS to optimize production and welfare.

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