Dietary concentration of marine oil affects replacement of fish meal by soy protein concentrate in practical diets for the white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei.

This work aimed to determine whether a minimum provision of marine oil in practical diets for Litopenaeus vannamei is required when replacing fish meal ( FM) by soy protein concentrate ( SPC). The study consisted of three growth experiments conducted in 500-L tanks with 70 shrimp m−2. In experiment #1, FM was progressively replaced by SPC as fish oil ( FO) levels increased with a consistent input of whole squid meal ( WSM). In experiment #2, FM was replaced by SPC under two levels of FO (10 or 20 g kg−1) without the presence of a feeding effector. In experiment #3, three dietary levels of krill meal ( KRL) and WSM (5, 10 and 20 g kg−1) were included in a basal diet containing SPC and low levels of FM. Results showed that under a clear-water condition, the dietary levels of FO in practical diets for L. vannamei have a significant impact on the amount of FM that can be replaced by SPC. As much as 31% replacement of FM/ SPC was possible with 20 g kg−1 FO. Whenever dietary fat was adjusted by using FO as a lipid source, complete replacement of FM by SPC was achieved with no negative effect on shrimp growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]