Pond production of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) fed high levels of soybean meal in various combinations

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of four diets formulated to contain high levels of soybean meal in combination with either poultry by-product, fish meal, distiller's dried grains with solubles, or pea meal in production diets for L. vannamei. Outdoor ponds and tanks were utilized to evaluate the response of the shrimp over the culture period. The pond production trial was conducted in 0.1-ha ponds stocked with juvenile shrimps (mean weight ± S.D., 0.038 ± 0.004 g) at 35 shrimp m−2 and cultured under standardized pond production conditions for 18 weeks. The same dietary treatments plus a commercial reference diet were offered to shrimp (initial weight of 2.1 g) maintained in outdoor tanks (800 L) over a 12-week period. The results for the pond study demonstrated that final production ranged between 5054 and 5265 kg ha−1, mean final weight varied from 15.98 to 16.28 g, survival ranging from 86.6 to 93.7%, and FCR was between 1.32 and 1.37. There were no differences (P ≥ 0.05) or notable trends in shrimp production variables among different test diets. Shrimp reared in the outdoor tanks confirmed these findings. Average final weights ranged between 18.53 and 19.00 g, survival varied from 97.3 to 98.7%, and FCR was between 1.30 and 1.33. The results from the outdoor tank study also showed no differences (P ≥ 0.05) in final weight, survival, or FCR among test diets. Diet containing partial fishmeal showed no benefit on growth performance of L. vannamei comparing with diets containing high levels of soybean meal in combinations with poultry by-product, distiller's dried grains with solubles or pea meal. Therefore, these studies demonstrated that practical shrimp feeds containing no fish meal had no negative impact on growth performances of L. vannamei.