Palatability of Organic Acids and Their Derivatives for Cichlid Fish (Cichlidae)

• Published in: Moscow University biological sciences bulletin 2024-12, Vol.79 (Suppl 1), p.S68-S75
• Main Authors: Kasumyan, A. O., Levina, A. D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Acids; Ammonium; ammonium oxalate; Ascorbic acid; Attraction; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; bulls; Cell Biology; Cichlidae; Citric acid; Feeding behavior; Food consumption; Isomers; lemons; Life Sciences; Malic acid; Melanochromis; Melanochromis auratus; mouth; Neolamprologus; Neolamprologus leleupi; Oral cavity; Oreochromis mossambicus; Oreochromis niloticus; Organic acids; Oxalic acid; Palatability; Plant Sciences; Research Article; Salts; species; taste; Tilapia; Zoology
• ISSN: 0096-3925; 1934-791X
• DOI: 10.3103/S0096392524600790

The palatability of 15 carboxylic and other organic acids (ascorbic, citric, sorbic, malic, oxalic, acetic, glycolic, α- and γ-aminobutyric acids) and their derivatives (Na + and K + salts, 0.1 M) was compared for five species of cichlid fish (Cichlidae): Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, Mozambique tilapia O. mossambicus , golden mbuna Melanochromis auratus, lemon cichlid Neolamprologus leleupi, and tailbar cichlid Vieja hartwegi. Citric and oxalic acids, Na + -ascorbate, K + -sorbate, K + -citrate, and ammonium oxalate have an attractive or indifferent taste for fish; ascorbic and sorbic acids, Na + -citrate, and Na + -malate have a repulsive or indifferent taste. Malic acid has an attractive taste for tailbar cichlid, a repulsive taste for Mozambique tilapia, and an indifferent taste for other cichlids. Acetic acid and isomers of aminobutyric acid are indifferent in taste for all fish. The taste attractiveness of organic acids may differ in comparison with their salts. The attractiveness of salts is higher than that of the corresponding acids in ten of 28 cases, lower in four cases, and the same in 14 cases. The transformation of ascorbic and sorbic acids into Na + and K + salts is accompanied by an increase in palatability for most cichlids, while that of malic acid transformation into Na + -malate in half of the studied species. Citric acid and its Na + and K + salts have similar palatability for most fish. Oxalic acid, compared to ammonium oxalate, has a higher palatability for lemon cichlid, a lower palatability for Mozambique tilapia, and the same palatability for the other three fish species. There are no differences between the consumption of food pellets with aminobutyric acid isomers and that with acetic and glycolic (hydroxyacetic) acid for all cichlids. The feeding behavior demonstrated by cichlids during orosensory testing of pellets is similar: the fish make a small number of rejections and repeated grasps of the food pellets, and the duration of their retention in the oral cavity is similar.