Nutritional Composition and Use of Common Carp Muscle in Yellow Perch Diets

Abstract

AbstractHigh market demand for marine fish meals coupled with increasing costs and questionable sustainability of wild stocks have led researchers to investigate a variety of alternative plant and animal protein sources for aquaculture feeds. Our objective was to evaluate the use of common carp Cyprinus carpio, a locally abundant, nonnative fish species, to offset the cost of marine fish meal in fish feed. We completed analyses of common carp whole muscle, formulated diets containing combinations of carp and Gulf menhaden Brevoortia patronus fish meal, and then evaluated test diets in a feeding trial with yellow perch Perca flavescens. Composition (dry matter basis [dmb]) of common carp flesh (crude protein [CP] = 73.4%, crude lipid [CL] = 25.7%) slightly differed from menhaden fish meal (MFM; CP = 71.0%, CL = 11.7%, dmb). Three experimental diets were formulated to include percentage ratios of 50:0, 25:25, or 0:50 of common carp muscle meal (CCMM) to MFM to obtain similar crude protein (29.7 ± 0.9% [mean ± SD]), crude lipid (15.0 ± 3.7%), and digestible energy (14.2 ± 0.3 kJ/g) levels. Juvenile yellow perch (initial weight = 18.1 ± 3.3 g) were randomly stocked (n = 7) in twelve 37‐L tanks resulting in four replicate tanks per treatment. Fish fed 25% CCMM : 25% MFM had significantly higher weight gain, while fish fed 50% CCMM : 0% MFM had significantly higher food conversion ratios and lower visceral somatic indices. No statistically significant differences were observed for protein efficiency ratios, Fulton condition factors, hepatosomatic indices, or feed intake of fish fed the different diets. These results indicate that CCMM can be used to partially offset the use of MFM in yellow perch diets.