Fatty Acids of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus): Variance Components Related to Diet, Replications Within Diets, and Variability Among Fish

Abstract

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) grown on six experimental diets were analyzed for fatty acid composition of total lipid. Estimates of components of variance showed that natural variability in fatty acid composition among fish due to genetic and/or other factors accounted for 5.5% of total variance. Variance associated with diet, replication, and error accounted for 92.8, 0.7, and 1.0% of total variance, respectively.