Effect of boric acid in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) growth performance

The effects of different levels of boron supplementation to feed on the growth parameters of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were investigated for the first time using four diet variations (0.01%, 0.05%, 0.10%, and 0.20% of boron in feed) in addition to a control diet (without boron). After 120 days of feeding, the final weight (FW), weight gain, condition factor, feed intake, feed conversion rates, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, survival rates, economic conversion rate, and economic profit index were calculated for each treatment and compared with the control as growth parameters. The initial weight was 17.89 +/- 1.12g; at the end of feeding, the FWs were determined as 89.91 +/- 2.11g for the control and 90.56 +/- 1.34g, 99.21 +/- 3.76g, 88.14 +/- 2.43g, and 78.74 +/- 1.47g for 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.10%, and 0.20% of boron feed treatments, respectively. The results of this study show that feeding rainbow trout with 0.05% boron-supplemented feed stimulates the growth parameters, but 0.20% of boron supplementation inhibits the growth of rainbow trout.