Evaluation of mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) meal as an alternative protein source for narrow‐clawed crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus) juveniles

Abstract

An eighty‐day feeding study was performed to investigate the effects of mealworm meal (Tenebrio molitor) on the growth, survival and moulting frequency of juvenile Narrow‐clawed crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus). Three dietary treatment groups with triplicate were fed with a fish meal‐based without MW (control diet: MW0), two diets with 50% (MW50) and 100% (Mw100) of fish meal substitution with MW respectively. P. leptodactylus juveniles (11.0 ± 0.05 mm, mean ±SE and 0.011 ± 0.002 g, mean ±SE) were randomly stocked into nine flow‐through tanks with a density of 30 crayfish per tank and reared for 80 days. Crayfish fed with MW50 mealworm meal showed positive effects on weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), apparent net protein utilization (ANPU), moulting frequency (MF) and feed conservation ratio (FCR), but lower survival rate (SR) as compared to the other diet groups. Protein and lipid contents of the whole body of the crayfish fed with replacement diet (MW50) were found to be higher than those of the other two diet groups (p<0.05). However, the MW100 diet slightly increased the moisture and ash contents of the crayfish. Our observation indicated that the addition of a 50% mealworm meal in the diet of P. leptodactylus juveniles improved the growth performance of the crayfish without causing any adverse effects. Therefore, T. molitor meal can be considered as an alternative animal source of protein for the narrow‐clawed crayfish juveniles.

Effects of dietary substitution of fishmeal by black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) meal on growth performance, whole-body chemical composition, and fatty acid profile of Pontastacus leptodactylus juveniles

“…Furthermore, the analysis included the whole body, which means that exoskeleton was included, probably resulting in increased ash content. It is worth mentioning that Mazlum et al (Mazlum et al, 2021) using dietary T. molitor did not find significant alteration of the ash content of P. leptodactylus juveniles.…”

“…Most of the published studies using H. illucen s meal for fishmeal replacement have been conducted majorly in farmed fish species such as rainbow trout ( Stadtlander et al, 2017 ), Atlantic salmon ( Li et al, 2020 ), European sea bass ( Magalhães et al, 2017 ), gilthead seabream ( Karapanagiotidis et al, 2023 ), African catfish ( Fawole et al, 2020 ), Nile tilapia ( Tippayadara et al, 2021 ) and yellow catfish ( Xiao et al, 2018 ), and only few in crustaceans such as pacific white shrimp ( Cummins et al, 2017 ) and red claw crayfish ( Wang et al, 2022 ). For P. leptodactylus , Mazlum et al (2021) evaluated the use of Tenebrio molitor and reported that a dietary inclusion level of 13.5%, representing 50% of fishmeal replacement, was successful in terms of growth performance.…”

“…From studies conducted on Litopenaeus vannamei , it was found that 30% HM inclusion negatively affected the growth performance and body composition of the animals ( Chen et al, 2022 ) while the best growth performance was achieved at a substitution amount of 15% ( Hu et al, 2019 ). In P. leptodactylus juveniles, it was revealed that the addition of T. molitor was promising regarding growth performance, suggesting that the optimal substitution level of fishmeal with the insect meal was 50% ( Mazlum et al, 2021 ).…”

Recent advances in the utilization of insects as an ingredient in aquafeeds: A review

“…In the aforementioned species, BSF improved various growth parameters as well as the immune response to some diseases affecting aquatic species. Also, TM has shown positive results when utilized in the diets of many aquatic species, such as yellow catfish ( Su et al., 2017 ), gilthead seabream ( Fabrikov et al., 2021 ), largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) ( Su et al., 2022 ), seabass ( Dicentrarchuss labrax ) ( Reyes et al., 2020 ), narrow-clawed crayfish ( Pontastacus leptodactylus ) ( Mazlum et al., 2021 ), olive flounder ( Paralichthys olivaceus ) ( Jeong et al., 2021 ), black porgy ( Acanthopagrus schlegelii ) ( Jeong et al, 2022 ) and rainbow trout ( Su et al., 2017 ; Melenchón et al., 2021 ). Furthermore, TM has a relatively high nutritional value as well as being a rich source of essential amino acids (methionine), lipids and fatty acids, that vary based on the developmental stage of the larvae ( Shafique et al., 2021 ).…”

“…(2018) Meal Narrow-clawed crayfish ( Pontastacus leptodactylus ) 0.011 ± 0.002 80 d 50 Improved weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, apparent net protein utilization, molting frequency, and feed conservation ratio, but lower survival rate as compared to the other diet groups. Also improved protein and lipid content of the whole body Mazlum et al. (2021) Meal Black porgy, ( Acanthopagrus schlegelii ) 6.43 ± 0.00 12 wk 60 Improved serum lysozyme activity and upregulation of antioxidant enzyme-related genes but with declined fillet lipid content Jeong et al (2022) Superworm larvae ( Zophobas morio ) Meal Nile tilapia 3.00 ± 0.2 12 wk 15 Enhanced innate immune parameters (thrombocytes and neutrophils), liver and serum lysozyme activity, and complement system activity Alves et al.…”