Effects of Dietary Protein Concentrations and Sources on Production Characteristics of Pond‐Raised Hybrid Catfish Fingerlings

Abstract

AbstractA 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted to examine the growth performance of pond‐raised hybrid catfish (female Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus × male Blue Catfish I. furcatus) fingerlings fed diets containing two levels of protein (35% or 32%) with two animal protein sources (fish meal or porcine meat, bone, and blood meal [PMBB]). Small hybrid catfish fingerlings with a mean initial weight of 2.0 g/fish (SD = 0.6) were stocked into 20 earthen ponds (0.04 ha) at a density of approximately 172,970 fish/ha, based on a sample count of 1,000 fish. The fish were fed once daily to apparent satiation for 113 d. Total weight of feed fed, gross yield, feed conversion ratio (FCR), condition factor, and observed mortality were not significantly affected by either dietary protein concentration or animal protein source. Results demonstrate that dietary protein levels can be reduced from 35% to 32% without compromising fish growth and FCR for hybrid catfish fingerlings raised from 2 to 71 g in a growing season. Porcine meat, bone, and blood meal may completely replace fish meal in the diet. At current feed prices, a 32% protein diet with PMBB can provide considerable savings compared with the 35% protein diet with fish meal that is now used in commercial hybrid catfish fingerling production.