Replacing Fishmeal with Soybean and Acetes Meal: Effects on Growth Parameters and Survival Rates of Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931)

Aquatic foods are increasingly recognized for their crucial role in nutrition and food security, not just as a source of protein. Replacement of fish meal with cheaper ingredients of animal origin in shrimp feed is necessary because of the rising cost and uncertain availability of fish meal. Diets should be prepared with locally available ingredients to make formulation easier and lower the cost of production. The current study evaluates the feed utilization and growth performance of L. vannamei post larvae fed with soybean meal and Acetes meal-based practical diets. A 60-day trial of substituting dietary fishmeal with a mixture of soybean meal and Acetes meal was conducted to assess its impact on the growth performance, survival rate and digestive enzyme activities of Litopenaeus vannamei. Six iso-nitrogenous experimental diets were formulated for this study, each maintaining around 36 % protein level. The control diet (T1) did not include soybean or Acetes meals. The treatment diets contained 1:1 ratio mixtures of soybean meal and Acetes meal replacing fishmeal at 20% (T2), 40% (T3), 60% (T4), 80% (T5), and 100% (T6) levels. These diets were fed to L. vannamei four times daily, depending on their body weight. The data on growth, feed conversion ratio (FCR), survival rate, specific growth rate (SGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of L. vannamei were evaluated. The highest weight gain and SGR were observed in treatment T5 compared to other treatments. The higher PER and lowest FCR were recorded in treatment T5. The present investigation revealed that 80% fishmeal replacement with 1:1 soybean meal and Acetes meal significantly improves the weight gain, survival rate, SGR, FCR and PER of L. vannamei juveniles. The study concluded that soybean and Acetes meal can effectively serve as substitutes for fishmeal, promoting the growth and health of shrimp while reducing dependence on traditional fishmeal. This strategy supports environmental sustainability and enhances cost efficiency in shrimp farming.