This study was carried out in order to compare the daily energy needs in three fish species:
gilthead sea bream, European sea bass and white grouper. The requirements for maintenance and
growth and the efficiencies for protein and lipid deposition were estimated. The energy requirement
for maintenance is proportional to the metabolic body weight in the form of aBW(kg)b, whereas
the requirement for growth is dependent on the amount and the composition of the added tissue. The
exponent b of the metabolic body weight was determined by energy loss during starvation using fish
ranging from 1 to 400 g. Similar values of 0.82, 0.80 and 0.79 were determined for the three species.