Colour measurement, using the CIELCH colour space, of muscle of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), fed astaxanthin: effects of family, ploidy, sex, and location of reading

• Published in: Aquaculture research Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 15 - 22
• Main Authors: Choubert, G, Blanc, J-M, Vallée, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.1997; Wiley
• Subjects: Freshwater; Life Sciences; Oncorhynchus mykiss; ALIMENTATION DES POISSONS
• ISSN: 1355-557X; 1365-2109
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2109.1997.t01-1-00824.x

Thirty two families (representing 397 fish of 900 g average weight) of rainbow trout. Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum) (16 diploid sib‐groups and their homologous triploids obtained by heat shock) were fed astaxanthin (96 mg kg‐1 feed) for 39 days, resulting in a red colouring of the muscle. The colour was measured in the CIELCH colour space using a chromameter at three points of fish muscle (head, middle and tail). The effects of ploidy, sex, family and location of measurement on the colour attributes offish muscle (lightness, chroma and hue angle) were analysed. Diploid fish had a higher chroma than triploid ones (P<0.02), but no ploidy effect was found on lightness nor on hue angle. Sex had little influence on colour attributes, except for the hue angle which was slightly higher (P<0.07) in females than in males. Family had a strong effect on chroma (P<0.002), hue angle (P<0.02), and, to a lesser extent, on lightness (P<0.07). However, within families the muscle colour was very variable from one fish to another (highly significant variation [P<0.0001] on every colour attribute). The location effect was highly significant on lightness (P<0.0001), chroma (P<0.0001), and hue angle (P<0.0001). Data from the tail part of the fish muscle were higher than those from the head part. The middle part always exhibited the lowest data.