COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OF FISH MEAL BY POULTRY BY-PRODUCT MEAL IN PRACTICAL DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH COATED AMINO ACIDS FOR PACIFIC WHITE SHRIMP LITOPENAEUS VANNAMEI

A 2 6 factorial experiment with two levels of dietary protein (32% and 40%) and six amino acid (AA) treatments were conducted to determine effects of complete replacement of fish meal (FM) with poultry by-product meal (PBM) in diets on a basis of EAAs or EAA+NEAAs on the growth and body composition of Pacific white shrimp over an 8-week feeding trial. Six AA-treated diets were formulated and expressed as diet FM (basal diet), diet PBM, PBM+ crystalline EAA, diet PBM+ coated EAA, diet PBM+ crystalline EAA+ crystalline NEAA and diet PBM+ coated EAA+ coated NEAA, respectively. For each dietary protein level, WGR in groups of PBM+ crystalline EAA and PBM+ crystalline EAA+ crystalline NEAA were higher than that in PBM group (P0.05). No difference in WGR between group PBM+ coated EAA and control groups at 32% dietary protein level (P0.05) was observed. The WGR in group PBM+ crystalline EAA and in group PBM+ crystalline EAA+ crystalline NEAA was not different (P0.05), but it was lower than that in group PBM+ coated EAA and group PBM+ coated EAA+ coated NEAA groups (P0.05). The WGR value in group of PBM+ coated EAA was significantly higher than that in group PBM+ coated EAA+ coated NEAA (P0.05). Changes in FCR was the opposite of WGR (P0.05). The shrimp fed the 40% protein diets had higher WGR and body protein content but lower body lipid content (P0.05) compared to those shrimp fed 32% protein diets. Plasma free AA concentrations of group PBM+ coated AA were generally lower than those in group PBM+ crystalline AA (P0.05). There were no differences in muscle AA contents (P0.05) except glutamate, glycine and proline across dietary treatments (P0.05). Feeding a diet with PBM+ coated EAA can lead to a growth comparable to feeding the basal diet at 32% dietary protein level.