Effects of dietary thyroid hormones on the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)

Four separate 8-week feeding trials were conducted to assess the effects of supplementing semipurified diets with either triiodothyronine (T3) or thyroxine (T4) at 0, 2, 10, and 50 mg/kg on growth and body composition of juvenile red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) held in artificial brackish water (6‰) and artificial seawater (32‰). At both levels of salinity, increasing doses of T3 resulted in fish with reduced weight gain, feed efficiency, condition factor (weight × 100/length(3)), and muscle ratio (muscle weight × 100/body weight), as well as a lighter body color. Significant (p < 0.05) effects of T3 on the proximate composition of whole body, liver, and muscle were variable, generally reflecting decreased lipid and protein storage in liver and muscle, respectively. The two highest doses of T3 given to seawater adapted fish increased survival. Dietary T4 supplementation had no distinctive effects on appearance, growth or proximate body composition. These results indicate that whereas T3 may function to regulate protein and lipid metabolism in red drum, dietary supplementation with T3 leads to a hyperthyroidism-induced catabolic state. The elevated endogenous thyroid hormone levels found in fish fed optimal diets may thus adequately supply tissue needs during juvenile growth.