Distillers' dried grains with soluble in diets for Pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus juveniles: Growth performance, feed utilization, economic viability, and phosphorus release

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate corn distillers' dried grains with soluble (DDGS) digestibility and the effects of soybean meal replacement by corn DDGS in diets for P. mesopotamicus on growth performance, feed utilization, economic viability, and phosphorus release. In experiment 1, six replicates of fish (13 +/- 0.3 g mean weight) were fed the referential and test diets to evaluate DDGS apparent digestibility for dry matter, protein, energy, lipids, and phosphorus. In experiment 2, four replicates of fish (21 +/- 0.2 g mean weight) were fed experimental diets (0, 100, 200, 300, or 400 g/kg of DDGS inclusion) for 100 days. In experiment 3, five replicates of fish (27 +/- 1.4 g mean weight) were fed the experimental diets to measure DDGS phosphorus release in the water. Corn DDGS presented a low apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) for dry matter and energy, and high ADC for protein, lipids, and phosphorus. The feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio were positively affected by DDGS inclusion. Dietary costs of weight gain were reduced by 26 % with soybean meal replacement by DDGS. Total phosphorus release in the water decreased with increasing levels of DDGS in the diets. Thus, the results indicate that the inclusion of 400 g/kg of corn DDGS as a plant protein source in diets for P. mesopotamicus in total replacement of soybean meal improved fish production and reduced the environmental impact.