Effects of Poultry By-Product Meal as a Substitute for Fish Meal in Diets on Growth and Body Composition of Juvenile Pacific White Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Abstract

A 35.5% crude protein shrimp diet containing 24.5% fish meal was modified by replacing fish meal with two types of poultry by-product meals (regular poultry by-product meal [PBM] and low-ash petfood-grade poultry by-product meal [PBMPG]) at 33.3, 66.7, and 100% on an equal weight (w/w) basis. Additionally, the PBM and PBMPG were defatted, and fish oil was added back so that their oil contents were the same as the original. These modified meals also were used to replace fish meal at 33.3, 66.7, and 100% on w/w basis. Thirteen diets (including a fish meal control diet) were fed to 936 shrimp of average weight 0.17±0.05 g. After an 8-week growth period, final body weight of the shrimp ranged from 1.09 to 2.21 g, and survival ranged from 62.5 to 84.7%. No body weight differences were observed between shrimp fed diets based on PBM and PBMPG (P= 0.188) or between shrimp fed PBM with and without fish oil supplementation (P= 0.549). However, shrimp fed the 33.3 or 66.7% fish meal replacement diets grew faster than those fed the 100% fish meal replacement diet (P= 0.018 and P= 0.048, respectively). Results demonstrated that up to 66.7% fish meal could be replaced by PBM without affecting shrimp growth (P >0.05). Adding fish oil to defatted PBM diets did not affect shrimp body composition (P >0.05).