GROWTH EFFECTS OF SPRAY DRIED PLASMA IN DIETS FOR JUVENILE WHITE SHRIMP Litopenaeus vannamei
Spray-dried porcine plasma (SDP) is a feed ingredient with a diverse mixture of functional proteins including albumen, globulin, transferrin, peptides, growth factors, and other components that improve diet digestibility, growth, feed efficiency, health, and survival in mammalian, avian, and aquaculture species. White Feces Syndrome is highly prevalent in SE Asia shrimp farms causing high mortality and reduced biomass yield. Soybean meal (SBM) is commonly used in shrimp feed to reduce reliance on fish meal but is less digestible by shrimp and may contribute to poor pond water quality. Poor pond water quality propagates the growth of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which is the primary pathogen associated with White Feces Syndrome and causes damage to the hepatopancreas. Functional plasma proteins in shrimp feed may improve diet digestibility and provide better immunity to support shrimp health and growth performance. The study objectives were to determine the effect of 0.0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 or 6.0% SDP replacing SBM in pelleted shrimp diets fed to post-larvae 12 (PL12) white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei on growth, survival, protein efficiency (PER) and feed efficiency (FCR) during PL rearing for 45 days under controlled water temperature (29 ± 1°C) and optimum water quality in fiberglass tanks (4 tanks per diet; 120 PL/m2; 80 shrimp/tank).
Over the 45-day PL feeding study of shrimp under optimum water quality and temperature conditions, there was a linear (P<0.01) increase in total biomass, average shrimp body weight (BW), survival, feed per shrimp, and PER and a linear (P<0.01) reduction in FCR for shrimp fed increasing levels of SDP.
In conclusion, results suggest optimum growth, efficiency, and survival was achieved with a minimum of 4.5% SDP under lab conditions with high water quality.
