A feeding trial evaluated the replacement of fishmeal by soybean meal in practical diets on the survival and growth of the shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis. Six iso-energetic and iso-proteic diets were fed to shrimp for 28 days. Replacement levels of fishmeal were 0 (control), 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60%. Post-larvae with mean initial weight of 1.22mg (±0.44) were stocked at random in 40-L tanks. Survival ranged between 70 and 80% and were not different (P>0.05) between treatments. Feeding the diet with 60% of fishmeal replacement resulted in the highest weight gain (P<0.05), while the control diet (no replacement) had the lowest weight gain among all treatments. Similarly, specific growth rate (SGR) was also higher for the 60% diet and lower for the control. Mean final weight ranged from 20.84 to 27.37mg, while SGR varied between 9.1 and 10.7% day-1. The replacement of 60% of fishmeal by soybean meal is recommended in practical diets for F. paulensis as it results in higher weight gain and growth rates, with no effect on survival.
shrimp; nutrition; protein; ingredients; diet formulation
