To reach economic success in shrimp farming, maximal feed consumption with minimal feed waste is essential. High feed intake and growth depend on a diet that is nutritionally suitable and stimulates special sensory cells of shrimp. Water-soluble, low molecular weight compounds, free amino acids, nucleotides, nucleosides, quaternary ammonium compounds, phospholipids, biogenic amines and monosaccharides have all been identified as feeding effectors that improve attractability and palatability of diets. Increased attractability of diets reduces the feeding response time and thereby limits nutrient leaching and feed waste. This not only helps with nutrient-overloaded pond issues, but also lowers the energy a shrimp has to spend to find the feed and cost of feed that can make up to 50% of the total farming costs.
Intensive shrimp farming has extensively used fishmeal for its nutrient composition and high attractability, but stagnant supplies and increasing prices have led to the use of alternative protein
sources such as plant and rendered animal byproducts. While these changes have the advantages of reducing cost and increasing sustainability of aquaculture, they can also severely impact shrimp
growth. Reasons may include the absence of essential nutrients, lower attractability and palatability and antinutritional factors that can suppress feeding stimulus and reduce nutrient bioavailability. A good feed attractant may help to overcome these issues, but there may be differences in effectiveness, when different sources such as fish, krill, mollusks, shrimp or squid are compared.
This poster reviews the latest studies with krill that were performed in Brazil, Thailand and India where growth performance, feed preference, hepatopancreas condition and feed formulation costs were in focus.