Responses to fishmeal and soybean meal-based diets by three kinds of larval carps of different food habits

A 60-day trial was conducted in a recirculation system to determine the responses of herbivorous grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) (0.43 g), omnivorous gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio CAS III) (0.46 g) and carnivorous black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) (0.46 g) when fed with fishmeal (FM)- or soybean meal (SBM)-based diets. Two isonitrogenous (380 g kg(-1) DM), isolipid (80 g kg(-1) DM), isocaloric (17.75 kJ g(-1)) diets were formulated using FM and SBM as main protein sources. The results showed that weight gain (WG), feed efficiency (FE) and protein retention efficiency (PRE) in FM group were significantly higher than those in SBM group. Grass carp showed better utilization on SBM than other two species and presented higher WG, FE and PRE. When fed with SBM diet, intestinal chymotrypsin (CHY), lipase and trypsin (TRY) activities of gibel carp and black carp decreased while higher alpha-amylase (alpha-AMY) activity of grass carp increased. An enteritis-like effect was observed in black carp and grass carp fed SBM diet. Intestine bacteria mainly belonged to Firmicutes in gibel carp and Proteobacteria in black carp. The dominant genera identified in three species were Cellulomonas, belonging to Actinobacteria. In conclusion, SBM decreased the growth of three carps. Grass carp was more adapted to plant protein.