The effects of digestible threonine levels, based on ideal protein concept in diets with 1.35% of digestible lysine on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings performance. Four hundred thirty two reverted Nile tilapia, Thailand strain, with initial weight of 1.64 ± 0.03 g, were allotted to completely randomized design, with six diets and six replications with twelve fishes each. The five diets, isoenergetic isoproteic, consisted of various threonine:digestible lysine ratio (69.0, 74.0, 79.0, 84.0, and 89.0%) and methionine + cystine:digestible lysine ratio of 70.0% and one diet with threonine:digestible lysine of 84.0% and methionine + cystine:digestible lysine of 75.0%. The fish were kept in 36 aquariums of 130 L, equipped with water supply, controlled temperature and individual aeration, and ad libitum fed six times a day for 30 days. Performance, body composition, protein and fat depositions and nitrogen retention efficiency of fishes were evaluated. Consumption of feed, body protein content and body protein deposition increased in a linear fashion in accordance to threonine:digestible lysine in the diet, however, was not affected by the increase of dietary methionine + cystine:digestible lysine. Total or digestible threonine levels that provided the best results of performance of Nile tilapia fingerlings were 1.11 and 0.99%, while the levels that promoted better body protein deposition were 1.43 and 1.28%, which correspond to threonine:total lysine ratio of 71.0 and 69.0% and threonine:digestible lysine of 90.0 and 89.0%.
digestible amino acids; initial phase; Oreochromis niloticus; protein nutrition; synthetic amino acids; threonine:digestible lysine ratio
