Response of Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer juvenile fed with different seaweed-based diets

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of three seaweeds Kappaphycus alvarezii (KA), Eucheuma denticulatum (ED) and Sargassum polycystum (SP) meal as dietary ingredients in the diets of Asian seabass juvenile on growth performance, feed utilization efficiency and body composition of Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer juveniles. A total of four experimental diets were formulated with 5% inclusion of KA, ED and SP. A diet without inclusion of any seaweed was used as a control diet. Experimental diets were fed to triplicate group of 20 Asian seabass juveniles with initial body weight of 9.73 g ± 0.60 g in an 8-week feeding trial. Growth performance and feed conversion ratio were not significantly affected by the seaweed inclusion in the fish diet; however, the total feed intake was significantly improved (P < 0.05) in fish fed with SP-Diet. Fish carcass composition varied among treatments, with fish fed with control diet demonstrated significantly higher protein and lipid contents. Whereas, fish fed with SP-Diet exhibited significantly higher ash content compared to other dietary treatments. KA-Diet proved that it was the most stable feed among all dietary treatments. On the other hand, the stability of SP-Diet was comparable to the Control-Diet. This indicates that the tested seaweed is able to replace commercial feed binder in the diet formulation. Considering the good performance of K. alvarezii, E. denticulatum and S. polycystum in the present study and the local availability of the seaweed, they can be considered as potential ingredients in the diets for Asian seabass juveniles.