Fish Meal Supplementation Research Articles

NUTRITIONAL AND BIOLOGICAL METHODS OF NITROGEN EMISSION REDUCTION ON PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF GUINEAFOWL

Reducing crude protein (CP) level in the feed without altering the amino acid contents by supplementing synthetic amino acids to reduce nitrogen excretion, adding ofexogenous protease enzyme infeed to improve nitrogen utilization and treating litter with the culture ofMethylomonas methanica (MM) to prevent methane emission from litter are the proven methods in commercial poultry production, especially in broiler farming to protect the environment. However, the efficacy of these nitrogen emission reduction strategies on the performance and economics of guinea fowl in intensive production has not been studied adequately. Therefore, a biological experiment was conducted with high protein (HP) diets with (Tl) or without (T2) fish meal (FM) and low protein (LP) diets added with exogenous protease enzyme with (T3) or without (T4) FM. The levels of critical amino acids in all the feed were balanced with the supplementation of synthetic amino acids. These treatments contained six replicates of each with 15-day-old keets. At the start of ninth week, the litter of three replicates from each treatment was sprayed with MM culture additionally, forming four more treatment groups, from T5 to T8 respectively. The results of the study indicated that replacing FM with plant protein sources did not affect body weight. The overall trend revealed that the reduction of CP by 2% had a negative (P<0.05) impact on body weight; while, the addition of protease in feed had no notable effect. The feed consumption was not affected by the withdrawal of FM or reducing CP level by 2% ordietary protease supplementation or MM litter treatment. The feed efficiency was negatively impacted (P<0.05) by withdrawal ofFMin high and low protein diets; -while, feed efficiency -was not improved by protease supplementation in LP diets. The level of CP or -withdrawal FM or protease enzyme supplementation in the ration did not affect livability. The MM litter treatment did not affect gro-wth rate, feed consumption, feed efficiency and livability of guinea fowls. The results indicated that the benefit-cost ratio could be improved in guinea fowls by using low CP feed.

Supplementation of fish meal with moringa oleifera seed meal (MOSM) and its effect on growth performance and survival in ROHU, Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) fry

Supplementation of fish meal with moringa oleifera seed meal (MOSM) and its effect on growth performance and survival in ROHU, Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) fry

Science is not enough: The role of legitimacy in the governance of marine activities

Several scientific programs are investigating the potential for the mesopelagic zone to provide food, fish meal, and nutraceutical supplements for human food systems. However, it is not clear whether fishing in the mesopelagic zone will be granted a social license to operate. Three analogous marine cases and three rounds of stakeholder engagement identified diverse perspectives about the pragmatic, moral, and cognitive legitimacy of human activity in the mesopelagic zone. Therefore, contestation about mesopelagic activities can be expected regardless of the state of scientific knowledge. This is because an activity’s social license to operate is grounded not only in scientific fact, but also in notions of legitimacy. The consultations also show that, despite uncertainty, stakeholders are already employing strategies to support or challenge the legitimacy of mesopelagic fishing, even in this nascent stage. Including stakeholder deliberation alongside current science programs can improve policy advice processes by uncovering important perceptions of legitimacy at an early stage. New governance arrangements such as a multi-stakeholder council, can anticipate and facilitate contestation, envisioning more socially acceptable outcomes for the management of the mesopelagic zone.

Dietary Fish Meal Level and a Package of Choline, β-Glucan, and Nucleotides Modulate Gut Function, Microbiota, and Health in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar, L.).

Steatosis and inflammation have been common gut symptoms in Atlantic salmon fed plant rich diets. Choline has recently been identified as essential for salmon in seawater, and β-glucan and nucleotides are frequently used to prevent inflammation. The study is aimed at documenting whether increased fishmeal (FM) levels (8 levels from 0 to 40%) and supplementation (Suppl) with a mixture of choline (3.0 g/kg), β-glucan (0.5 g/kg), and nucleotides (0.5 g/kg) might reduce the symptoms. Salmon (186 g) were fed for 62 days in 16 saltwater tanks before samples were taken from 12 fish per tank for observation of biochemical, molecular, metabolome, and microbiome indicators of function and health. Steatosis but no inflammation was observed. Lipid digestibility increased and steatosis decreased with increasing FM levels and supplementation, seemingly related to choline level. Blood metabolites confirmed this picture. Genes in intestinal tissue affected by FM levels are mainly involved in metabolic and structural functions. Only a few are immune genes. The supplement reduced these FM effects. In gut digesta, increasing FM levels increased microbial richness and diversity, and changed the composition, but only for unsupplemented diets. An average choline requirement of 3.5 g/kg was indicated for Atlantic salmon at the present life stage and under the present condition.

Multifarious feed additives on lamb performance on Kuwait farms

A change in the livestock feeding strategy is of utmost importance for the stability of animal health and sustainable livestock productivity to overcome the problem of subsiding the environmental effects of sheep production. Supplementing dietary feed with safe and efficient additives provides optimal animal performance and maximizes productivity. This study aimed to assess the effects of adding various feed additives to lamb rations for optimizing feed efficiency in weaned lambs for meat production in Kuwait. The feed additives, namely, ammonium chloride, urea, algae, fishmeal, and humic acid, were investigated on the physical performance of lambs for their effect on body weight, length, height, and waist length. The total feed consumption rate and feed efficiency were also measured. Each treatment comprising five healthy lambs was randomly allocated into six treatments comprising 30 lambs. The six treatments were the basal ration supplemented with ammonium chloride (50-100 g/day/head), urea (30 g/day/head), fishmeal (35 g/day/head), algae (Spirulina platensis) powder (50 g/day/head), humic acid (2.5 g/day/head), control group with only basal ration. The study was conducted for around 27 months and the data were recorded once in 2 weeks. The results indicated a positive elevation in the physique of lambs with all tested additives, showing an affirmative insignia for lamb fattening. The growth parameters in terms of augmented length, height, and waist length of lambs' bodies amplified significantly with ammonium chloride and fishmeal supplement, while the other additives reported a non-significant increment. The feed consumption was significantly elevated for ammonium chloride, algae, and fishmeal supplementation, while humic acid was recorded the least. Concerning feed efficiency of young lambs, fish meal and ammonium chloride were reported best, followed by urea. In contrast, algae and humic acid exhibited a non-significant effect on feed efficiency. This study exposed noteworthy influence on a lamb body's performance with the addition of fish meal and ammonium chloride in lamb rations, trailed by urea and algae.

The Effects of Two-Stage Fermented Feather Meal-Soybean Meal Product on Growth Performance, Blood Biochemistry, and Immunity of Nursery Pigs

The keratinase-producing microbes can readily change the feather waste into more bioavailable peptides and amino acids. This study aimed to improve two-stage fermented feather meal-soybean meal product (TSFP) quality with five selected Bacillus strains and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y10, as well as investigate the effects of TSFP on growth performance, blood biochemistry, and immunity of nursery pigs. In trial 1, 100 hybrid piglets (Duroc x KHAPS) were randomly assigned to dietary supplementation of 5% fish meal or 5% TSFP prepared with 0, 32, 40, or 48 h in the first-stage fermentation. The results showed that the body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of fermented groups were significantly better than the unfermented group (p < 0.05) at weeks 0 to 3 and 0 to 5. The ADG of 32-hr and 48-hr TSFP groups were better than the unfermented group (p < 0.05) at weeks 3 to 5. In trial 2, 80 hybrid piglets (Duroc × KHAPS) were randomly assigned into 5% fish meal or different supplementation levels of TSFP (32-hr first-stage fermented time) at 0, 2.5, or 5%. The 5% TSFP group had better BW, ADG, FCR, and PEF than the 0% group (p < 0.05) at weeks 0 to 5. Furthermore, the ex vivo mitogen-induced lymphoblastogenesis, the interferon-γ production, the oxidative burst activity, and the IgG production of the 5% TSFP group were higher than the fish meal group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the first-stage fermentation time can be shortened from 48 h to 32 h using selected Bacillus strains in TSFP production when supplemented at 5% of the diet for nursery pigs shows the best growth performance and immunity.

Effects of three feed attractants on the growth performance and meat quality of the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

The trial was conducted to investigate the effects of limonene, allicin and betaine supplementation in low fish meal (FM) diet on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, meat quality and intestinal health in largemouth bass (M. salmoides). The biting-balls test and feeding trial were successively conducted. For the one, the results of the biting-ball test showed that with the increase of the concentration of the three attractants, the attracting effect firstly increased, then decreased, and the effect reached maximum at 0.2% concentration. (P < 0.05). Further, a 9-week feeding trial was conducted using five diets, including a basal diet with 30% and 40% fish meal without attractant, 30% fish meal supplemented with 0.2% limonene, 0.2% allicin or 0.2% betaine (the diets were named FM30, FM40, FM30 + L, FM30 + A, FM30 + B, respectively). The results demonstrated that adding limonene, allicin and betaine at concentration of 0.2% to the low fish meal feed could improve final body weight, weight gain rate, and specific growth rate of M. salmoides but only in 4 weeks (P > 0.05). Besides, dietary supplementation with attractants could significantly reduce the content of MDA in serum and liver, and increase the activity of GSH in liver (P < 0.05). Compared with FM30 group, the supplementation with limonene, allicin or betaine diet had higher pH, redness (a*), yellowness (b*) (P > 0.05), and lower refrigeration loss, cooking loss values (P < 0.05). Furthermore, supplementation with attractants groups had higher values for villus height, lamina propria, crypt depth, submucous layer, and serous layer (P < 0.05). Taken together, these results indicated that limonene, allicin and betaine had a time effect on the growth performance, and could improve antioxidant capacity, meat quality and intestinal health of M. salmoide.

PSXIII-B-10 Effects of Termite (Hodotermopsis Sjostedti) Meal Supplement in Broiler Chicken Diets on Growth and Intake

Abstract Effects of partial replacement of fishmeal with termite (Hodotermopsis sjostedti) meal in chicken diets on BW, ADG, intake, and organ and meat weight were tested with Chunky broiler female chickens in two experiments. In Exp.1, 20 chickens (8 d of age and 239 ± 3.0 g BW initially) were allocated in individual pens and assigned one of the four diet treatments; commercial diet with fishmeal supplement (0.0%) and replacement of fishmeal with freeze-dried ground termite meal of 0.5%, 2.5%, and 5.0%. In Exp.2, 18 chickens (9 d of age and 309 ± 3.8 g BW initially) were assigned one of the three diet treatments; commercial diet (COM), 2.5% fishmeal supplement (FM), and 2.5% termite meal supplement (TM). At 21 d old, chickens were slaughtered, and meat and organ weight were measured. Treatment diet CP concentrations resulted in 29.7 and 27.9% DM for Exp.1 and Exp.2, respectively. There was no treatment effect (P>0.05) on BW, ADG, intake, feed conversion rate, meat (i.e., thigh, breast fillet, and inner breast fillet) weights, or organ (i.e., liver, heart, spleen, gizzard, proventriculus, and intestine) weight in both experiments. In Exp.1, empty cecum weight was greater (P=0.03) when termite meal was not included (0.37, 0.33, 0.31, and 0.31 % per shrunk BW for 0.0%, 0.5%, 2.5%, and 5.0%, respectively; SE=0.022). Similarly, whole cecum weight (0.38, 0.54, and 0.40 % per shrunk BW for COM, FM, and TM, respectively; SE=0.043) and cecum fill (0.08, 0.21, and 0.09 % per shrunk BW for COM, FM, and TM, respectively; SE=0.037) were greater (P=0.05) for FM than COM and TM in Exp.2. In conclusion, termite meal supplements did not have either favorable or adverse effects on the growth or weight of meat and organs except cecum weight. Further investigation is needed for cecum function and meat quality.

Effects of Bacillus subtilis DSM 32315 (Gutcare®) on the growth performance, antioxidant status, immune ability and intestinal function for juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei fed with high/low-fishmeal diets

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary Bacillus subtilis DSM 32315 (Gutcare®) supplementation on the growth performance, antioxidant status, immune ability and intestinal function in juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei fed with high/low-fishmeal diets. A 4 × 2 two-factor design was formulated with graded dietary Gutcare® and fishmeal levels. Specifically, four Gutcare® supplemental levels (0, 0.05%, 0.15% and 0.3%) were added under two fishmeal diets (20% and 5% fishmeal levels). Each diet was randomly assigned to five replicate groups of 30 juvenile Pacific white shrimp that were stocked in fiberglass tanks. The results indicated no significant inhabitation on the growth performance, hepatopancreas antioxidant capacity, immune response and intestinal function at 5% fishmeal compared with 20% fishmeal. Shrimp fed with Gutcare® supplementation regardless of high/low-fishmeal diets exhibited higher growth performance, antioxidant- and immune-related enzyme activities (P < 0.05) compared with that 0% Gutcare® supplementation. However, none of the treatments found significant differences in feed efficiency and survival. The mRNA expression levels of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, heat shock protein 70, glutathione peroxidase, prophenoloxidase and lysozyme were significantly up-regulated (P < 0.05) at shrimp fed with Gutcare®. Moreover, the results of mid-intestine morphology showed a significant increase with the addition of Gutcare®, and the highest height and thickness of intestinal epithelium occurred at shrimp fed 0.15% Gutcare®. Bacterial community composition showed that shrimp fed with the graded Gutcare® significantly increased the abundance of Firmicute and reduced the relative abundance of Vibrio (P < 0.05). In conclusion, 5% fishmeal supplementation with well-balanced amino acid composition had no adverse effect on the growth performance of L. vannamei when compared with the 20% fishmeal. Dietary Gutcare® significantly enhanced immunity and antioxidant capacity, and improved intestinal function of L. vannamei. The positive effect of Gutcare® at 5% fishmeal diet provided a possibility for reducing fish meal in the commercial diets of Pacific white shrimp.

Dietary supplementation of fish meal on growth and reproductive performances of black molly, Poecilia sphenops (Valenciennes)

Dietary supplementation of fish meal on growth and reproductive performances of black molly, Poecilia sphenops (Valenciennes)

Dietary DL‐methionyl‐DL‐methionine supplementation could improve growth performance under low fishmeal strategies by modulating TOR signalling pathway of Litopenaeus vannamei

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of DL-methionyl-DL-methionine (Met-Met) supplementation in different fishmeal levels on growth performance, antioxidant and immune response of juvenile Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Eight isonitrogenous and isolipidic experimental diets were formulated to meet the nutrient requirements of Pacific white shrimp. The supplemental amount of fishmeal in diets without essential amino acid supplementation are 200 g/kg (F20), 100 g/kg (F10), 50 g/kg (F5) and 0 g/kg (F0), and with essential amino acid supplementation are 200 g/kg (M20), 100 g/kg (M10) 50 g/kg (M5) and 0 g/kg (M0) respectively. The results indicated that shrimp fed the F5 and F0 diets had significantly lower final body weight (FBW), per cent weight gain (PWG), specific growth rate (SGR) and higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared with those fed the F20 diet (p < .05). Glucose (GLU), triacylglycerol (TG) and cholesterol (CHO) concentration in haemolymph significantly decreased with fishmeal supplementation decreasing from 200 g/kg to 0 g/kg (p < .05). Met-Met supplementation in low fishmeal diets significantly reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), increased the activities of acid phosphatase (ACP) and lysozyme (LZM) in hepatopancreas, as well as increasing the activity of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in haemolymph (p < .05). Meanwhile, shrimp fed M5 and M0 diets had significant upregulation of gene expression of acp, lzm (immune-related), RagC and s6k (TOR signalling pathway‑related) in hepatopancreas (p < .05). In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that dietary Met-Met supplementation could improve the growth performance and the abilities of antioxidant and non-specific immunity of Pacific white shrimp by reducing MDA concentration, increasing T-AOC, ACP and LZM activities, and upregulating gene expression level of immune (acp and lzm) and TOR signalling pathway (RagC, and s6k). Moreover, Pacific white shrimp fed low fishmeal diets had the positive response of well-balanced amino acid, and the results will provide further insight into the possibility of reducing fishmeal content in the commercial feed of shrimp.

Supplementing Chitosan Oligosaccharide Positively Affects Hybrid Grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × E. lanceolatus ♂) Fed Dietary Fish Meal Replacement With Cottonseed Protein Concentrate: Effects on Growth, Gut Microbiota, Antioxidant Function and Immune Response

Oligosaccharides have recently received much attention from researchers owing to their multiple biological activities. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a diet with reduced fish meal and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) supplementation on a hybrid grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × E. lanceolatus ♂). Seven isonitrogenous and isolipidic types of diet were formulated to feed the groupers for 56 days. To prepare the feed, a reference diet (FM group) containing 55% fish meal was used. Concentrated cottonseed protein (CPC) was used to replace 45% of the fish meal protein, and different COS supplementation levels (0, 0.2%, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1%) were added. After an 8-week breeding trial, Vibrio harveyi bacteria were injected into the groupers for a 7-day challenge test. The results showed that the FM and COS0.4 groups showed the best growth performance among the groups (p &amp;lt; 0.05); however, there was no significant difference in the survival rate (p &amp;gt; 0.05). Unlike in the FM group, adhesion and breakage of the intestinal plica occurred in the COS0 group. The height and width of the gut fold reached maximum values in the COS0.4 group (p &amp;lt; 0.05). Microbiome sequencing suggested that there was a stable microbiota core in the gut of the groupers. With increasing COS levels, the abundance of both beneficial bacteria and conditional pathogens increased; the activities of serum glucose oxidase, catalase, and total superoxide dismutase also increased (p &amp;lt; 0.05). In the gut tissue, the activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutamine increased first but then decreased (p &amp;lt; 0.05); the contents of lysozyme, acid phosphatase, complements C3 and C4, and IgM showed upward trends (p &amp;lt; 0.05). Compared with that in the FM group, the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in the COS0 group was upregulated. Gene expression levels of TLR22, TGF-β, and Nrf2 increased first but then decreased with COS supplementation levels (p &amp;lt; 0.05). COS supplementation reduced the cumulative mortality of the groupers in the challenge test (p &amp;lt; 0.05). In general, the results of this study demonstrated that dietary COS supplementation enhanced growth performance, intestinal health, and antioxidant and immune responses of groupers fed with a low-fish meal diet. The optimal and acceptable levels of COS supplement were 0.45 and 0.4–0.6%, respectively; these values can provide a reference for developing aquatic prebiotics.

Bacillus subtilis LCBS1 supplementation and replacement of fish meal with fermented soybean meal in bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) diets: Effects on growth performance, feed digestibility and gut health

Two consecutive feeding trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of Bacillus subtilis LCBS1 supplementation and substituting fish meal (FM) with fermented soybean meal (FSM) in terms of growth performance, feed digestibility, intestinal morphology, and microbial composition of bullfrogs. In trial 1, bullfrogs received either a soybean meal (SM)-based basal diet (control check, CK group) or probiotic diet (basal diet was supplemented with 1 × 107 CFU/g of B. subtilis LCBS1, BS group). Each diet was fed to three replicates of bullfrogs (29.61 ± 0.07 g) for 58 days. Evaluation of B. subtilis LCBS1 FSM as a FM replacer in bullfrog diet was conducted in trial 2. A diet containing 20% FM formed the basal diet, and 60% and 100% of the FM was replaced with SM or FSM (FM, SM60, FSM60, SM100, and FSM100 diets). Each diet was fed to three replicates of bullfrogs (23.3 ± 0.3 g) for 63 days. As a result, in trial 1, BS treatments significantly increased weight gain (WG) and whole-body protein deposition. Significant improvements in villus height (VH), muscularis thickness (MT), and digestibilities of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and phosphorus (P) were observed in the BS group compared with the control group. Probiotic supplementation resulted in elevated IL-4 and IL-10 expression and decreased TNF-α and IL-17 expression. A remarkable decrease in serum D-lactate concentration and diamine oxidase activity was detected in the BS group. Proteobacteria, Fusobacteria, and Firmicutes were the three most abundant bacterial phyla in each group, while Enterobacter and Bacillus were the most abundant genera in the CK and BS groups, respectively. In trial 2, compared with bullfrogs that received the SM diets, bullfrogs fed either the FM or FSM diets showed greater WG, feed efficiency, hind leg index, whole-body CP content, and digestibilities of DM, CP, calcium, P, and phytate P, and increased VH, villus thickness, and MT. Serum urea nitrogen and ammonia concentrations were significantly higher in the SM group than the FM or FSM group. Overall, dietary B. subtilis LCBS1 supplementation improved growth and digestion in bullfrogs and attenuated the intestinal structural damage and microflora dysbacteriosis caused by SM-based diets. Substituting 60–100% of FM with SM impaired the growth performance, digestion ability, and jejunal morphology of bullfrogs, while replacing equivalent FM with FSM effectively ameliorated these traits.

Improving the feasibility of aquaculture feed by using microalgae.

The aquaculture industry is an efficient edible protein producer and grows faster than any other food sector. Therefore, it requires enormous amounts of fish feed. Fish feed directly affects the quality of produced fish, potential health benefits, and cost. Fish meal (FM), fis oil (FO), and plant-based supplements, predominantly used in fish feed, face challenges of low availability, low nutritional value, and high cost. The cost associated with aquaculture feed represents 40-75% of aquaculture production cost and one of the key market drivers for the thriving aquaculture industry. Microalgae are a primary producer in aquatic food chains. Microalgae are expanding continuously in renewable energy, pharmaceutical pigment, wastewater treatment, food, and feed industries. Major components of microalgal biomass are proteins with essential amino acids, lipids with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), carbohydrates, pigments, and other bioactive compounds. Thus, microalgae can be used as an essential, viable, and alternative feed ingredient in aquaculture feed. In recent times, live algae culture, whole algae, and lipid-extracted algae (LEA) have been tested in fish feed for growth, physiological activity, and nutritional value. The present review discusses the potential application of microalgae in aquaculture feed, its mode of application, nutritional value, and possible replacement of conventional feed ingredients, and disadvantages of plant-based feed. The review also focuses on integrated processes such as algae cultivation in aquaculture wastewater, aquaponics systems, challenges, and future prospects of using microalgae in the aquafeed industry.

The Effect of a Total Fishmeal Replacement by Arthrospira platensis on the Microbiome of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus).

An increasing number of fishmeal supplements are becoming the focus of aquaculture research, with a special emphasis on microalgae/cyanobacteria such as spirulina being considered as sustainable alternatives. New feed ingredients can have a far-reaching impact on the intestinal microbiome and therefore play an important role in the development and the health of fish. However, the influence of these alternatives on the microbiome is largely unknown. We undertook a 10 weeks feeding experiment on 120 African catfish with an initial body weight of 50.1 ± 2.95 g. To understand the effect of the spirulina supplementation, two isoenergetic experimental diets were formulated, containing either fishmeal or spirulina as a protein source. The 16S rRNA sequencing was used to analyze the intestinal bacteria microbiota. Results show that the observed richness indicated no significant statistical difference, but Chao1, ACE, Shannon, and Simpson indices indicate a possible increase in bacterial richness for the spirulina diet. The most abundant bacteria in both experimental groups were Fusobacteriia with the only taxa from the genus Cetobacterium. The bacterium from genus Romboutsia was more likely to be found in the microbiome of fish fed the fishmeal diet. In spirulina-fed fish, the genera Plesiomonas and Bacteroides were the most dominant microbes observed. Even though some genera were more abundant in the spirulina group, the overall microbial community structure was not affected by diets.

Effect of Graded Levels of Fishmeal or Urea Supplementation on Rumen Environment and Ruminal Feed Degradation in Bali Cows

An experiment to study the effects of supplementation of graded levels of urea or fishmeal on rumen environment and ruminal feed degradation in Bali cows fed low quality tropical grass hay (crude protein, CP = 3.53%) was conducted according to a 5 × 5 Latin square experimental design with five animals and five periods. In each period lasting for 3 weeks, five non-pregnant Bali cows were given ad libitum access to grass hay (G) or supplemented daily with two level of urea, i.e. 38 g (U38) and 74 g (U74), or two levels of fishmeal, i.e. 156 g (FM156) and 312 g (FM312). Supplementation of both urea and fishmeal reduced significantly (P < 0.01) the average rumen pH from 6.89 in G to 6.74 in FM156. Rumen ammonia concentration increased linearly (P < 0.01) with increasing levels of supplementation and the increase was more pronounced with urea than with fishmeal supplementation. Rumen ammonia concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in urea than fishmeal supplemented cows at both levels of supplementation. Ruminal total as well as individual VFAs (Acetate, Butyrate and Propionate) concentrations were not affected by the increasing level of supplementation of both urea and fishmeal. Supplementation improved significantly (P < 0.05) in sacco rumen degradation of DM but not protein. Ruminal DM effective degradability was increased significantly with increasing level of fishmeal supplementation but not with increasing level of urea supplementation. Supplementation of increasing level of both urea and fishmeal improved rumen environment and feed degradability in Bali cows maintained on low quality tropical grass hay with fishmeal was proven to be the better supplement over urea.

AN EVALUATION OF RAW AND COOKED WHOLE SOYABEAS FOR BROILERS

Two hunared day old broiler chicks were alloted to five treatment groups to evaluate the effect of whole soyabean and fish meal supplementation on productivity of the experimental birds. Feed consump­tion and weight gains were similar on diets 1 -and 3, while feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio were better (P&lt;0.05) on the cooked soyabean diet 3 as compared to the groundnut cake based (control) ration. Fish meal supplementation also unproved performance. The raw soyabean diet gave the poorest performance Metaboli­zable energy was bigher (P &lt; 0.05) on cooked soyabean (diet 3) than the ground­nut cake based ration. Carcass characteristics, were similar on the control and cooked soyabean based rations when supplemented with fish meal. The cost of feed per kg. live weight gained was least on cooked soyabean and highest on raw soyabean based rations.

Crude Protein Requirements Of Egg-type Baby Chicks Under Nigerian (Tropical) Environment

TWO feeding trials were conducted with day old mixed sexes of Apollo (White Leghorn) strain. The first experiment was designed to test the effectiveness of all — vegetable protein diets to meet the requirements of baby chicks. While the second one was designed to find out whether synthetic methionine and/or fishmeal supplementation are desirable in low quality protein of groundnut cake. Results showed that a diet based on plant proteins only, namely, those of groundnut cake and maize, is capable of stimulating rapid growth in chicks. Diets containing 24% all-vegetable protein, 22% plant protein plus 0.35% feed grade methionine or 20% plant protein containing 3% of fishmeal plus 0.37% feed grade methionine, satisfied the requirements for rapid growth and efficient feed utilization in young chicks. However, based on the prevailing prices of the ingredients used in formulating the rations, the results indicate that ration based on 24%of all — plant protein diet was least expensive.

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system combining the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, as primary species, and the sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa as extractive species

Sea cucumbers and sea urchins are promising candidates for aquaculture since they are high market value and low-trophic organisms. However, although they often co-exist in many marine habitats showing feeding interactions, there is currently a lack of investigations available regarding the co-culture of these organisms in Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). The present study investigated, for the first time, the laboratory-scale feasibility of an integrated aquaculture between P. lividus and H. tubulosa, two of the most valuable Mediterranean echinoderms, through a four-month experiment.More specifically, three food sources with different fish meal concentrations were tested separately to sustain the integrated production in a land-based RAS (Recycling aquaculture system) of both co-cultured species: 1) completely vegetable diet (D-0), 2) vegetable diet with 20% of fish meal (D-20) and 3) vegetable diet with 40% of fish meal (D-40). Among these experimental diets D-20 (with 20% of fish meal supplement) was consumed more efficiently and sustained high growth rates for both co-cultured species. However, significant growth was detected with all experimental diets, indicating successful integrated aquaculture between sea urchins and sea cucumbers. The present study, therefore, suggested the existence of substantial benefits of an integrated aquaculture between these echinoderm species, that could promote the environmental and economic sustainability of their production on a large-scale. Our results showed, in fact, that less than 24% of the organic matter administered with the food remained as waste in our IMTA system after being ingested by the two trophic levels. The sea urchins ingested 87% of the food administered, absorbing 64% of the organic matter, whilst in the second step, the sea cucumbers consumed 54% of organic matter present in the sea urchin feces. Hence the aquaculture model investigated here was highly effective in reducing the total waste, at the same time providing added value in the form of sea cucumber biomass.

Impact of a plant-based diet supplemented with phytase on growth, tissue energy and bone mineral status of juvenile pacú (Piaractus mesopotamicus)

ABSTRACT The effects of fishmeal free plant-based diets and dietary phytase supplementation on growth, hematology, plasma, muscle, and liver composition, and bone mineral status of juvenile fish Piaractus mesopotamicus were studied. Two hundred and ten fish (13.70 ± 0.61 g) were maintained in a recirculating system (22 ± 1°C) and fed with two diets: plant-based experimental diet (ED) and plant-based experimental diet added with microbial phytase (EDP) for 120 days. Both treatments were replicated three times. Fish were fed twice a day at a readjusted-restricted rate (5% biomass weight per day). Growth performance measurements were carried out every 21 days. The activity of phytase after extrusion was 4001.1 ± 160.0 PU/kg diet. No significant differences in growth, morphometrical and hematological biomarkers, and tissue energy composition were detected. Lipid content of muscle decreased in EDP-fed fish. There was a higher content of zinc in EDP-fed fish, but there were no differences in bone weight, ash, calcium, and phosphorous content.