Substitution of Soybean Protein for Fish Protein in Formulated Diets for Red Swamp Crawfish Procambarus clarkii¹

Abstract

A 10 week laboratory growth trial was conducted with red swamp crawfish Procambarus clarkii to determine the amount of soybean protein that could be substituted for fish protein in formulated crawfish diets without reducing growth. Crawfish received 32% crude protein, isocaloric diets in which protein was supplied by soybean (soy) meal, menhaden fish meal or an isonitrogenous mixture of soybean and fish meal calculated to provide graded levels of each protein source. Dietary protein was provided as: 1) 100% soy protein; 2) 75% soy protein: 25% fish protein; 3) 50% soy protein: 50% fish protein; 4) 25% soy protein: 75% fish protein; and 5) 100% fish protein. Crawfish fed soy protein: fish protein (SP:FP) mixtures or fish protein alone exhibited better (P < 0.05) weight gain than crawfish fed a diet containing soy protein as the only protein source. Diets containing 25% soy protein: 75% fish protein (1:3 ratio) and 50% soy protein: 50% fish protein (1:1 ratio) produced greater (P < 0.05) weight gains than a diet in which fish protein was the sole protein source. Survival, feed efficiency ratio, maturation rate, net protein and energy retention, and body composition of crawfish did not differ (P > 0.05) among diets with SP:FP ratios of 1:3, 1:1 and 3:1. However, maximum (P < 0.05) weight gain occurred in crawfish fed the 1:3 SP:FP ratio. Although crawfish fed SP:FP ratios of 1:1 and 3:1 had lower weight gains in the laboratory than crawfish fed a 1:3 SP:FP ratio, SP:FP ratios of 1:1 and 3:1 might be adequate for supplemental diets fed to pond‐reared crawfish that have access to natural sources of food.

Effects of replacement of animal protein by soybean meal on growth and carcass composition in juvenile Australian freshwater crayfish

“…It is also apparent that diets containing 15% protein produce suboptimal growth irrespective of the relative inclusion levels of fish meal and soybean meal and are clearly nutritionally deficient. The apparent protein requirement of the yabby falls within the 25-35% range reported for other freshwater crayfish (D'Abramo and Robinson, 1989;New, 1990;Reigh et al, 1993). Furthermore, about 15-20% of the diet (as dry weight) should be composed of animal-based protein ingredients and is consistent with the recommendations made by others (D'Abramo and Robinson, 1989;Reigh et al, 1993).…”

“…The apparent protein requirement of the yabby falls within the 25-35% range reported for other freshwater crayfish (D'Abramo and Robinson, 1989;New, 1990;Reigh et al, 1993). Furthermore, about 15-20% of the diet (as dry weight) should be composed of animal-based protein ingredients and is consistent with the recommendations made by others (D'Abramo and Robinson, 1989;Reigh et al, 1993). Finally, more than 12% of the total dietary protein should be derived from fish meal, particularly in practical feeds that have a low protein content.…”

“…However, it is generally considered that most decapod crustaceans require the ten essential amino acids needed by vertebrates (New, 1976a, b;Conklin, 1980;Boghen and Castell, 1981;D'Abramo and Robinson, 1989). Soybean meal is typically deficient in methionine and cysteine (Andrews and Page, 1973;New, 1976a, b;Akiyama, 1988;Teshima et al, 1992) and may also be comparatively low in other essential amino acids (Penaflorida, 1989;Reigh et al, 1993;Tacon, 1993). Fish meal is usually a more complete protein source for many aquatic species (Andrews and Page, 1973;Penaflorida, 1989;Tacon, 1993) and is important in providing an amino acid balance to manufactured feeds that may otherwise exhibit deficiencies.…”

“…Research conducted with other freshwater crayfsh suggest that protein optima range between 25% and 35% (New, 1976a, b;D'Abramo and Robinson, 1989;New, 1990;Reigh et al, 1993), and that at least 15-20% of the diet should be of animal origin (Huner and Meyers, 1979;D'Abramo and Robinson, 1989).…”

Growth of fresh-water prawn Macrobrachium tenellum (Smith, 1871) juveniles fed isoproteic diets substituting fish meal by soya bean meal

“…However, the source and quality of the soya bean meal should be taken into consideration when a formulated diet is elaborated. PiedadPascual et al (1990), Tidwell et al (1993 and Reigh et al (1993) reported the ability to utilize soya bean meal as dietary protein supplement for some crustaceans, but in those cases, growth performance was not improved in comparison with fish meal diets, possibly due to the presence of active antimetabolites in soya bean that had been incompletely heat-processed (García-Ulloa, 1998), trypsin inhibitors (Ayet et al, 1996), or the amino acid deficiencies in soya bean (Reed and D'Abramo, 1989). The mean SGR in the present study ranged from 1.82 ± 0.67% BW/d for the diet 3 (40%), to 2.62 ± 0.78 for the diet 6 (100%) respectively, being similar to those observed by Jones (1988), and Meade and Watts (1995) for crayfish juveniles fed formulated diet, but lower than that obtained by for Cherax quadricarinatus juveniles, including various soya bean meal levels in the diet.…”