The effect of animal size on the ability of Haliotis midae L. to utilize selected dietary protein sources

Abstract

The effect of animal size on the qualitative protein requirements of two size classes of Haliotis midae L. was assessed by feeding 12 semi-purified single protein test diets (20% protein, 6% lipid) to juvenile and young adult animals (10–20- and 40–50-mm initial shell length). The protein sources selected for the trial comprised four fishmeals, casein, spirulina, abalone viscera silage, brewery waste, torula yeast, carcass, sunflower and cotton seed meals. The results indicated that in terms of growth and feed efficiency, the fishmeals and spirulina were the most suitable candidates for use as primary protein sources in formulated feeds, and with the exceptions of the carcass meal and brewery waste, the remaining protein sources demonstrated promise as partial primary protein source replacements. Mean growth rates for the large and small abalone over the experimental period were 1.45 and 1.24 mm month−1 respectively. With respect to the larger size class of abalone, the smaller abalone displayed significantly reduced growth (F = 64.7, P < 0.0001), feed conversion ratio (F = 16.6, P < 0.0001) and protein efficiency (F = 26.8, P < 0.0001). Two-way analysis of variance revealed significant interactions between protein source, animal size and feed conversion ratio (F = 2.4, P < 0.01) and growth (F = 5.4, P < 0.05), thus indicating that qualitative differences exist between the dietary protein requirements of the juvenile and young adult abalone.