Substitution of fish meal by co-extruded soybean poultry by-product meal in practical diets for the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

The use of a co-extruded soybean poultry by-product meal with egg supplement was evaluated as a substitute for fish meal in a practical diet formulated to contain 32% crude protein and 8% lipid. The co-extruded product was substituted for menhaden fish meal on an iso-nitrogenous basis and offered to juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei (mean initial weight +/- standard deviation, 1.13 +/- 0.06 g) over a 6-week period. Inclusion levels ranged from 0% (30 g fish meal/100 g diet) to 100% replacement (0 g fish meal/100 g diet). A fifth diet was formulated to contain no fish meal and 1 g krill meal/100 g diet. Furthermore, a commercial shrimp feed was included in the study to allow for a commercial reference. At the conclusion of the growth trial, survival, final weight, percent weight gain and feed efficiency (FE) were not significantly different among treatments. The inclusion of krill meal did not appear to improve attractability or palatability of the diet. Co-extruded soybean poultry by-product meal with egg supplement appears suitable as a substitute for fish meal in L. vannamei diets. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.