Effect of substitution of poultry by-product meal by bovine by-product meal on overall performance for Litopenaeus vannamei

The effect of partial to the total substitution of poultry by-product meal for bovine by-product meal (BBM) was evaluated under fish-free basis diets for the white shrimp Litopenaeus vanna-mei. For this purpose, four isoproteic (46.5%) and isolipidic (8.5%) diets without any fish meal and fish oil added, different inclusion levels of BBM were included (0%, 13.6%, 27.2%, and 40.7%) equivalent to Control, L-BBM, M-BBM, and H-BBM, were evaluated. In triplicate groups, three hundred and sixty shrimp were randomly distributed (0.47 g & PLUSMN; 0.006) in 12 ponds (30 shrimp per unit). After seven weeks of experimentation, the biological indices, hemolymph chemistry, apparent digestibility (%), and fatty acid profile were evaluated. It was observed that the H-BBM treatment improved biological indices compared to the Control. In addition, signifi-cant differences were found, such as higher final weight (2.66 & PLUSMN; 0.13), weight gain (2.2 & PLUSMN; 0.1), and specific growth rate (3.4 & PLUSMN; 0.1). In addition, the lower feed intake observed in the H-BBM resulted in lower feed conversion (1.5 & PLUSMN; 0.12) than the Control group (2.8 & PLUSMN; 0.12). On the contrary, in survival, the H-BBM treatment presented the lowest percentage (88.9 & PLUSMN; 4.6), while the control diet had the highest survival (100%). Regarding the apparent digestibility (%), it was observed that the H-BBM treatment presented the highest percentage (91.5 & PLUSMN; 0.3). At the same time, the Control group had the lowest (85.8 & PLUSMN; 0.6), finding significant differences among treatments with BBM compared to the Control group. In addition, a low protein concentration was observed in the M-BBM treatment for hemolymph chemistry. At the same time, bovine meal showed significant differences among treatments, particularly in the H-BBM treatment, resulting in higher cholesterol and triglycerides levels. Therefore, it is concluded that BBM is a protein source with a high prospect of being included in shrimp diets, resulting in better benefits in its performance with higher feed conversion efficiency and digestibility. However, further research on its effect on lipid metabolism is recommended.