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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #345212
Research Project: Evaluating Nutritional Requirements, Identifying Alternative Ingredients and Improving the Production Environment for Hybrid and Channel Catfish Production

Location: Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit

Title: Replacing Soybean Meal with Alternative Protein Sources in Diets for Pond-raised hybrid catfish, ¿ Ictalurus punctatus × ¿ Ictalurus furcatus

Author
item LI, MENGHE - Mississippi State University
item Bosworth, Brian
item LUCAS, PENELOPE - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Journal of the World Aquaculture Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/31/2017
Publication Date: 8/1/2018
Citation: Li, M.H., Bosworth, B.G., Lucas, P.M. 2018. Replacing Soybean Meal with Alternative Protein Sources in Diets for Pond-raised hybrid catfish, ¿ Ictalurus punctatus × ¿ Ictalurus furcatus . Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. 49(4):755-760.

Interpretive Summary: Catfish feeds in the United States have depended on soybean meal to supply majority of the protein and essential amino acids. However, recently soybean meal prices have markedly increased sometimes reaching $600 per metric ton. Research has generally demonstrated cottonseed meal alone or in combination with one of low-protein corn milling by-products, i.e. corn gluten feed or corn germ meal, could replace up to about 50% soybean meal in diets for channel catfish and hybrid catfish. Higher levels of soybean meal replacement with these protein sources resulted in reduced growth and feed efficiency. Results from the present study and our previous channel catfish study demonstrate soybean meal may be completely replaced by combinations of cottonseed meal and one or two other moderate- to high-protein alternatives, i.e. distillers dried grains with solubles, peanut meal, and pork meat and bone meal in the diet without markedly affecting production and processing characteristics and fillet proximate composition of pond-raised channel catfish or hybrid catfish. These alternative diets may be used for pond-raised catfish during food fish production when prices are favorable, even not for an entire growing season.

Technical Abstract: The present study investigated the replacement of soybean meal with combinations of two or three alternative protein sources in diets for pond-raised hybrid catfish, ' Ictalurus punctatus × ' Ictalurus furcatus. Alternative protein sources evaluated included cottonseed meal, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), peanut meal, and porcine meat and bone meal (PMBM). Hybrid catfish fingerlings with a mean initial weight of 35 g/fish were stocked into 25 earthen ponds (0.04 ha) at a density of 14,826 fish/ha. Fish were fed once daily to apparent satiation for 166 d. No significant differences were observed for total diet fed, net yield, weight gain, survival, carcass yield, fillet yield, or fillet proximate composition among dietary treatments. Results show soybean meal may be completely replaced by combinations of cottonseed meal and one or two of other alternative protein sources including DDGS, peanut meal, and PMBM in the diet without markedly affecting production and processing characteristics and fillet proximate composition of pond-raised hybrid catfish. These alternative diets may be used during food fish production when prices are favorable.