Effects of Replacing Fish Meal with Soybean Meal in Diets for Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus and Potential for Palatability Enhancement

• Published in: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society
• Main Authors: McGoogan, B. B., Gatlin, D. M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1997
• Subjects: Red drum; Sciaenops ocellatus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-7345.1997.tb00284.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1749-7345.1997.tb00284.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1749-7345.1997.tb00284.x

Abstract Two 8‐wk feeding trials were conducted with juvenile red drum to determine the maximum levels of soybean meal that may replace fish meal in diets containing 38% crude protein, without reducing weight gain. In the first experiment, fish fed diets containing up to 90% of the protein from soybean meal gained as much weight as fish fed a diet with 100% of protein from fish meal, but fish fed the diet with 100% of its protein from soybean meal gained significantly (P < 0.05) less. Supplementation of glycine and fish solubles individually at 2% (as‐fed basis) in diets containing 90% of their protein from soybean meal tended to increase weight gain of fish compared to those fed a similar diet without supplementation. Similar results were obtained in the second experiment, as fish fed diets containing 90% of their protein from soybean meal gained as much weight as fish fed a diet with 100% of its protein from fish meal. Fish fed diets with 95% and 100% of their protein from soybean meal gained significantly less weight than those fed the diet with all of its protein from fish meal. Supplementation of glycine at 2% in the diet containing 95% of its protein from soybean meal significantly improved weight gain of fish relative to those fed a similar unsupplemented diet. Supplementation of fish solubles at 5% of diet on a dry‐matter basis provided a nonsignificant increase in weight gain compared to that of fish fed a similar unsupplemented diet. In both experiments there was greater observed consumption of the soybean‐meal‐based diets than diets with all of their protein from fish meal. A minimum of 10% of protein from fish meal appears necessary in practical diets containing most of their protein from soybean meal to prevent impaired growth and feed efficiency of red drum.