1. Effects of Dietary Inclusion of a Crude Protein Source Exhibiting the Strongest Attractiveness to Red Sea Bream (Pagrus major) on Growth, Feed Availability, and Economic Efficiency.
- Author
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Baek, Seong Il and Cho, Sung Hwoan
- Subjects
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FISH feeds , *PAGRUS auratus , *PAGRUS , *ECONOMIC efficiency , *FISH meal , *FISH growth - Abstract
Simple Summary: Crude feed protein sources, which are rich in several amino acids, can be used as feed attractants when formulating feed. Jack mackerel meal exhibited the strongest attractiveness to red sea bream among 18 crude protein ingredients. The effects of the inclusion of various levels of jack mackerel meal in diets on the growth and feed availability of red sea bream were evaluated in an 8-week feeding trial. The results of the 8-week feeding trial proved that the dietary inclusion level of 100% jack mackerel meal in a 60%-FM-based diet produced the greatest growth performance in red sea bream, which directly resulted from the improved feed consumption. This result may imply the potential use of jack mackerel meal as a feed attractant when developing low-fish-meal diets for the sustainable culture of red sea bream. Dietary incorporation of an attractive feed protein source is a practical method of enhancing feed intake and consequently improving the growth of fish. The attractiveness of 18 crude protein sources to juvenile red sea bream (Pagrus major) and the effects of the dietary inclusion of the crude protein source that exhibited the strongest attractiveness on growth, feed availability, and economic efficiency were determined. Jack mackerel meal (JMM) showed the strongest attractiveness to red sea bream among 18 crude protein ingredients. In an 8-week feeding trial, 810 juveniles were randomly distributed into 27 tanks (30 fish/tank). Nine experimental diets were prepared. The control (Con) diet included 60% fish meal (FM). Various levels (1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, and 100%) of JMM were included at the expense of FM in the Con diet, and the resulting diets were named the JMM1, JMM3, JMM5, JMM10, JMM20, JMM40, JMM60, and JMM100 diets, respectively. Fish were hand-fed to apparent satiation twice daily for 8 weeks. The weight gain, specific growth rate, and feed consumption of red sea bream that were fed the JMM40, JMM60, and JMM100 diets were significantly (p < 0.0001 for all) higher than those of the fish fed all other diets. However, dietary JMM inclusion had no remarkable impacts on the feed utilization, biological indices, and chemical composition of the whole body of red sea bream. In terms of the economic view of the study, the economic profit index of red sea bream fed the JMM40, JMM60, and JMM100 diets was significantly (p < 0.0001) greater than that of the fish fed all other diets. In conclusion, the strongest attractiveness to red sea bream among 18 crude protein sources was observed in JMM. The inclusion of more than 40% JMM at the expense of FM in the diet of red sea bream is highly recommended for practical feed formulations to induce remarkable improvement in the growth performance of fish and the economic returns for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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