Apparent digestibility of energetic ingredients by pirarucu juveniles, Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822)

Abstract

An understanding of feed ingredient digestibility for the pirarucu is a fundamental step in the development of feeds that promote proper growth of the specie while in captivity. A digestibility trial was conducted with four treatments in triplicate (corn starch, corn, rice bran and wheat bran) to evaluate the digestibility of dry matter, gross energy, crude protein and amino acids by the pirarucu. We used indirect methodology with the inclusion of chromium oxide at 0.1% in the feeds. In total, 18 juveniles were used, with an average live weight of 235 ± 36 g. The sampled juveniles were trained to consume the feeds prior to testing. The corn and cornstarch presented the best apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dry matter, with 76.37% and 70.66%, respectively, followed by rice bran (46.23%) and wheat bran (45.13%). The best ADCs of crude protein were observed in corn (93.44%) and cornstarch (90.94%) compared to rice bran (68.23%) and wheat bran (68.58%). There was no significant difference in the ADC of gross energy; the values ranged from 47.10% for corn starch to 40.10% for corn. The corn and corn starch presented the best ADCs for all the amino acids evaluated, followed by rice bran and wheat bran.