EFFECTS OF VDS FEED ADDITIVE MIX ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF L. vannamei

Improving the growth results of shrimp without a reduced survival rate is an important goal in shrimp farming. Certain feed additives can improve the gut health of the shrimp, creating beneficial conditions for optimal growth. Over the last 4 years VDS has been testing different combinations of additives used in aqua feed to find an optimal combination with effect to shrimp growth. In this paper we present our last trial with the additive mix resulting in the best growth performance. In this trial VDS selected 3 different mixes of several specific feed additives for a grow-out trial to compare their influence on standard growth parameters like FCR, Final Body Weight and survival.

A 55 days feeding trial was conducted in our in-house research facility in Belgium. 8 500l tanks in our recirculation system were stocked with L. vannamei PL₃₈ at a density of 140 shrimp/tank (180 shrimp/m²). The water temperature was maintained at 29°C ± 1 °C. The salinity was kept at 20 ppt throughout the whole trial. Other parameters like pH, ammonia and nitrite were monitored daily. 3 different additive mixes were tested against a negative control diet. Each diet had 2 replicates. The inclusion level of the additive mixes was 0.4%. The additive mixes were added on top of the negative control diet powder mix. Afterwards the mash was pelleted. The goal of this trial was to examine the effect of the additive mixes on the growth and survival of L. vannamei juveniles. The final body weight and survival were recorded at the end of the trial and the FCR and average weekly gain were calculated.

After 55 days diet B resulted in a significant better final body weight (FBW) and average weekly gain (AWG) than the negative control diet (Figure 1 and table 2). Overall survival was higher than 90%. There was no difference in survival between the treatments. The FCR was significantly higher in the control group compared to treatments B and A which is to be expected when a higher FBW is observed at the same survival rate.  We can conclude from this trial that the treatment with additive mix A has the highest potential for improving the technical results of shrimp farming.