Effect of different carbohydrate sources on the growth of Penaeus vannamei: economical impact

Abstract

Flours from corn, sorghum, pearl millet, rice, and meals from pasta and cookie by-products were tested as dietary ingredients for juveniles of Penaeus vannamei (0.7 g average weight). These ingredients replaced wheat meal used in the control diet as the main carbohydrate source. Significant differences ( P<0.001) were found in the final weight of the shrimp fed the different carbohydrate sources during 28 days. Shrimp fed the wheat meal (control) and the cookie-waste meal diets had the best growth rate, followed by shrimp fed the rice meal diet, and finally the least efficient diets were those containing corn, sorghum, pearl millet and pasta meal which did not differ significantly. All the experimented diets resulted in very good feed conversion ratios (FCR) (1.2–1.4), except for the pasta diet (1.8). In terms of shrimp production cost, it was noticed that cheaper carbohydrate source prices can overcome the effect of slightly higher FCRs. The potential of the use of cookie and pasta by-products in shrimp feed was demonstrated, since both are in-expensive and their use resulted in excellent to good growth rates. To verify the carbohydrate impact on dietary protein sparing, it is suggested that soft wheat meal be used as a control ingredient.