An eight-week feeding experiment was carried out to investigate the potential of combination of various novel feed ingredients as fishmeal (FM) replacers and to determine their effects on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, enzymatic and immune responses, histology, and gene expression of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei ). Five isonitrogenous (36% crude protein) and isolipidic (6% crude lipid) diets were formulated using alternative protein sources. In the control diet (Diet 1), fishmeal served as the primary protein source. In Diet 2, FM was substituted with poultry by-product meal (PBM) and single-cell protein (SCP) in a 1:1 ratio; Diet 3 included insect meal (IM), rapeseed meal (RM), and SCP (1:1:1); Diet 4 contained fish waste (FW), peanut meal (PM), and SCP (1:1:1); while Diet 5 incorporated PBM, SCP, IM, FW, PM, and RM in equal proportions (1:1:1:1:1:1). Juvenile shrimp with an initial average body weight of 1 g were randomly stocked into experimental tanks following a completely randomized design (CRD) with triplicate groups for each treatment. Juvenile shrimps with an average weight of 1 gram have been stocked in different experimental tanks and fed with above diet following completely randomized design (CRD) in triplicates. Among the dietary treatments, shrimp fed Diet 5 demonstrated significantly higher (p<0.05) weight gain, and specific growth rate (SGR) which was not different from Diet 1 and Diet 3. Significantly improved (p<0.05) PER and FCR was observed in shrimp fed with Diet 1 and Diet 5. The whole-body crude protein content was significantly higher (p <0.05) in shrimp fed Diet 5 and it was not different from Diet 1 and Diet 2. The plasma biochemical parameters of P. vannamei were not significantly influenced by the diets containing different combinations of novel feed ingredients. Diet 1 and Diet 5 showed significantly higher (p <0.05) dry matter digestibility and crude protein digestibility. Prophenoloxidase activity was significantly higher (p<0.05) in Diet 1, which was not different from Diet 5, while respiratory burst activity was significantly higher (p<0.05) in Diet 1 and Diet 5 which was not different from Diet 3. Shrimp fed Diet 1 and Diet 5 exhibited significantly higher (p<0.05) growth and immune gene expression compared to other diets. These findings suggest that a combination of PBM, SCP, IM, RM, PM, and FW in 1:1:1:1:1:1 ratio is an effective combination to replace fishmeal without compromising growth performance , nutrient utilization and health in Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei).
Key words: Novel feed, Fish meal, Sustainability and Penaeus vannamei