Replacement of Fish Meal by Combined Inclusion of Alternative Protein Sources in a Diet for Yearling Red Sea Bream, Pagrus major

Abstract

The replacement of fish meal (FM) by combined inclusion of soybean meal (SBM), corn gluten meal (CGM) and poultry by-product meal (PBM) in yearling red sea bream, Pagrus major diet was investigated.
Yearing fish weighing 260g on average were fed for 195 days with the test diets containing 0-39%SBM, 24%SBM with 10-20%CGM or 13-26%PBM, 24%SBM and 10-20%CGM with 13-26%PBM substitute for FM, respectively.
Palatability of test diets was not affected by dietary treatments, but the feeding activity of non-FM deit group decreased with elapse in the rearing period. The growth performance was not affected by dietary inclusion of up to 39%SBM (replacing of 50%FM), but feed conversion decreased slightly with an increase of dietary SBM content. The performance with feed conversion were most excellent in the diets containing 24%SBM with 10%CGM or 13%PBM (replacing of 50%FM), and were similar in diet containing 24%SBM and 10%CGM with 13%PBM (replacing of 90%FM) compared to that of control diet.
These results indicate that FM in yearing red sea bream diet could be replaced 90% by combined inclusion of 24%SBM and 10%CGM with 26%PBM without supplementation of essential amino acids. It is suggested that combined inclusion of alternative protein sources was more effective and economical for the replacement of FM than single inclusion of one of them in diet.