Farmed fishes are highly sensitive to diets deficient in ascorbic acid with clinical symptoms that affect performance and commercialization for causing deformities. Aiming to meet the minimum levels for red rainbow fish, six isoaminoacid and isocaloric diets with varying levels of active vitamin C were tested. At the end of 42 days experimental period, 36 fishes were histologically analyzed for the percentage of connective tissue and muscle fibers in order to determine the influence of the Vitamin C percentage in those ratios. Although the averages are statistically indistinguishable from the quantitative point of view, qualitatively higher levels of vitamin C allow better tissue structure. The breakdown of muscle tissue is indicative for dietary deficiency of ascorbic acid.
Ascorbic acid; Glossolepis incisus; ornamental fish; fish farming; collagen
