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Studies on the Vitamin C Requirements of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)¹

University of Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station, and Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 13687, Savannah, Georgia 31406

Three feeding studies on the vitamin C requirements of channel catfish were conducted with practical and semipurified diets. In a long-duration study in which fish achieved almost a 4,000% increase in weight, 50 mg of l-ascorbic acid/kg diet was required for maximal growth and food efficiency. A diet stability study revealed that excessive losses in activity of l-ascorbic acid occurred when practical diets were stored for 16 weeks at 20°. The typical scoliosis condition associated with severe vitamin C deficiency in fish occurred in the nonsupplemented groups in the study with practical diets. Severe growth reductions were obtained from fish fed nonsupplemented semipurified diets, yet no incidences of spinal abnormalities were noted.

KEY WORDS: • vitamin C • ascorbic acid • scoliosis • catfish • Ictalurus punctatus

¹ This investigation was partially financed by a contract from the Georgia Game and Fish Commission and the Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, under Public Law 88-309, Project number: 2-84-R.

Manuscript received 12 September 1974.