Growth and health status of the red claw crayfish, cherax quadricarinatus , fed diets with four typical plant protein sources as a replacement for fish meal

Abstract

Four isonitrogenous (350 g/kg protein) diets were formulated for juvenile red claw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, with half of the dietary fish meal replaced by four commonly used plant protein sources (cottonseed meal, soybean meal, rapeseed meal and peanut meal). A diet without fish meal replacement was used as a control. An eight‐week growth trial was conducted to evaluate the growth and health of crayfish juveniles (6.71 ± 0.08 g) fed diets containing the five different protein sources. The weight gain and specific growth rate significantly decreased in the crayfish fed the peanut meal diet compared with those fed the control diet. Survival, hepatosomatic index and whole‐body proximate compositions were not significantly influenced by different dietary plant protein sources. Intestinal damage is accompanied by higher activities of glutathione peroxidase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and decreased lipase activities were observed in the crayfish fed the peanut meal diet. Crayfish fed the rapeseed diet also showed the detached peritrophic membrane and the lower lipase activities than those in control. Moreover, the malondialdehyde content increased and acid phosphatase activity decreased in the haemolymph of crayfish fed the soybean meal diet compared with those fed the control diet. Compared with those fed the control diet, the significantly increased valine contents, the activities of alkaline phosphatase and amylase were found in the crayfish fed the cottonseed meal diet. All these results suggest that soybean meal, rapeseed meal and peanut meal were not suitable substitute sources of plant protein for fish meal because of their adverse influences. On the contrary, cottonseed meal can be a good choice for fish meal replacement in the diet of juvenile Cherax quadricarinatus, as it does not have adverse effects on growth and could even increase amino acid nutrition, immunity and digestion.

Sources of protein diet differentially stimulate the gut and water microbiota under freshwater crayfish, marron (Cherax cainii, Austin 2002) culture

“…On the other hand, though plant proteins are commonly used alternatives to FM in commercial aquafeed formulation, lack of essential amino acids and presence of anti‐nutritional factors (ANFs) discourage them from being added exclusively in the diet as these often results in inferior digestion and compromised growth of aquatic animals (Samtiya et al ., 2020). Several studies have been conducted to minimize these shortcomings via the application of fermentation or supplementing limiting minerals (Saputra et al ., 2019; Fan et al ., 2021; Qian et al ., 2021); however, their mechanism for complete substitution of FM with plant proteins on the gut health of marron ( Cherax cainii ) and other commercially cultured decapod crustaceans is yet to be explored.…”

Growth performance, physiological and antioxidant capacity responses to dietary fish meal replacement with insect meals for aquaculture: A case study in red claw crayfish ( Cherax quadricarinatus )

“…Normally, the inclusion of fish meals in crayfish diets is 20–50% of the total diet formulation, which results in a higher cost for diet and production (Qian et al, 2021). Therefore, alternative protein sources need to be sought for crayfish feed.…”

Dietary Supplementation of Crystalline Amino Acid Improves Growth Performance and Health of Yellow Catfish That Reduced by Plant Proteins Replacement of Fishmeal

“…After treating with phenyl isothiocyanate, phenylthiocarbamide amino acids were synthesized by derivatization reaction. Finally, the amino acid content in feed and muscle was determined by the amino acid automatic analyzer (Biochrom 20, England) [27].…”