Replacement of protein source in practical diets for Amazon River Prawn

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the best level of substitution of fish meal (FM) by soybean meal (SBM), as protein source in practical diets for juveniles of Macrobrachium amazonicum. Juveniles, with initial mean weight of 0.16 ± 0.66 g, were stocked at a density equivalent to 150 juveniles m^-2 in a recirculating aquaculture system. Treatments consisted of the proportions of fish meal and soybean meal (FM:SBM) in diets, namely: 0: 100, 20:80, 40:60, 70:30, 100:0 with five replicates per treatment. At the end of the 45 days trial, prawns were counted, measured, weighed, and the bromatological analysis of the whole body was performed. Survival remained above 94% in all treatments (p>0.05). A corporal bromatological analysis showed significant among treatments only for crude protein (p <0.05). The results of the production performance showed that the inclusion of up to 30% of SBM in replacement for FM (70:30) did not interfere, significantly, in the performance of the prawns (p>0.05), making possible the use of soybean meal in diets for juveniles of Amazonian river prawn.