Fish Nutrient Requirements

Fish nutrition research has identified 10 essential amino acids, essential fatty acids (EPA, DHA, ARA), vitamins (especially vitamin C - fish cannot synthesise it), and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iodine, selenium). Commercial feed formulations optimise these ratios by species and life stage - the reason salmon farms achieve feed conversion ratios around 1.1 while wild fish operate at 5-10.

Essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamin C deficiency, feed conversion ratio.

Fish cannot synthesise vitamin C - a deficiency causes scoliosis in juveniles and reproductive failure in adults. This was discovered during early aquaculture attempts that produced deformed fish before vitamin C was added to feed.