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USDA - ARS

Trout-Grains Project

Digestibility Database


Download Database uploaded 2015-November-20

Database of Nutrient Digestibility's of Traditional and Novel
Feed Ingredients for Trout and Hybrid Striped Bass

F.T. Barrows1, T.G. Gaylord2, W. Sealey2, S.D. Rawles3

This is a collaborative project among;

USDA-Agricultural Research Service
National Program 106 - Aquaculture

1Trout-Grains Project, Aberdeen and Hagerman ID and Bozeman, MT 3H. K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center, Stuttgart, AR

USDOI- Fish and Wildlife Service

2Fish Technology Center, Bozeman Montana

The determination of nutrient digestibilities in specific ingredients and diets for fish has been an area of active research for decades. The Apparent Digestibility Coefficients (ADC), the percentage of nutrients in an ingredient that are available to the fish, is information needed by researchers, producers, and feed mills to accurately formulate feeds and thus meet the needs of the animal without excess. ADC's are also necessary for determining the nutritional and economic value of alternative ingredients. Data developed from many different laboratories have been compiled in publications such as the NRC (1993), and often show extreme variability. This is not unexpected since there are many factors that can affect the ADC of an ingredient, including basal diet formulation, method of feed manufacturing (cooking versus cold formation), fecal collection method, etc. Different laboratories often use a mixture of methods specific to that laboratory.

A project was initiated in 2005 to determine ADC's for macronutrients, amino acids and minerals for traditional and novel ingredients in rainbow trout and hybrid striped bass, using standardized conditions as much as possible. On this spread sheet, the content of macro-nutrients amino acids and minerals of each ingredient is provided on worksheet labeled Nutrient Composition. The ADC's for each ingredient for specific nutrients are found on the worksheets labeled "ADC, Trout" or alternatively, "ADC, HSB" for hybrid striped bass. The anti-nutrient composition of selected ingredients is found on worksheet labeled Anti-nutrients. The database will be updated as additional ingredients are evaluated. The intention of this project was not to be all inclusive of every nutrient for all ingredients, but to make an attempt at standardizing procedures for as many ingredients as possible.