Crustacean production in 2018 reached 9.4 million tonnes, being marine shrimps dominating the production of crustaceans typically farmed in coastal aquaculture. Besides, they are an important source of earnings for a number of developing countries in Asia and Latin America. Whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) is the largest produced species with 4.9 million tonnes, accounting for the 52.9% of total crusteans produced. Optimizing shrimp production performance is crucial to the success of the sector. Efficient diet formulation together with successful health and welfare management determines higher production output. As part of a proactive approach to production health and performance, the use of functional and sustainable additives, such as phytogenics, has demonstrated to be an effective tool to boost shrimp performance.
Two different studies were conducted to determine the efficacy of a new phytogenic feed additive (PFA) mixture (saponins, spices and essential oils) on whiteleg shrimp growth performance and feed efficiency. In the first one, six hundred SPF shrimps of average initial weight of 1.9±0.26 g were allocated into three groups using with four replications for each treatment in 350 L tanks. In the second one, two hundred and forty shrimps of average initial weight of 1±0.01 g were randomly allocated into three groups with four replications for each treatment in 20 L baskets. In both studies, shrimps were fed for 6 weeks the different treatments: one control group (basal diet) and two groups receiving Syrena® Boost included at 200 & 400 mg/kg of feed, respectively.
After 6 weeks of feeding, results in the first study showed that shrimp survival did not differ between treatments being above 80%. In terms of growth performance, shrimps fed Syrena® Boost at both inclusion rates showed an increase of weight gain of 12.5% and 13.3%, respectively, with an increase in average daily growth (ADG) of 12.9% and 13.5%, respectively. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was similar between treatments. In the second study, again shrimp survival did not differ between treatments being above 94% in all treatments. Shrimps fed Syrena® Boost at both inclusion rates showed again an increase of weight gain of 10.1% and 7.9%, respectively, being statistically significant (p≤0.1) at the lowest dose. ADG was also improved by 9.7% and 7.9%, respectively, again being statistically significant (p≤0.1) at the lowest dose. FCR was reduced by 3.7% and 1.7%, respectively. Altogether, these results indicate the positive growth performance effects of this new PFA in whiteleg shrimp.