Comparison and Efficacy of Soy-based Ingredients in Practical Diets for Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)

Abstract

Three trials were performed to better understand how soy processed in different ways impacts the growth, feed conversion ratio, and health of the Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus). First two growth trials were performed to evaluate the efficacy of an open soy-based diet compared to a commercially produced, fishmeal-based diet. Trial one utilized six replicates and was terminated after 42 days, with overall biomass (p=0.026), weight gain (p=0.006), and FCR (p=0.015) being significantly different between both treatments in favor of commercially produced, fishmeal-based feed. The second trial utilized three replicates, was run over the course of 56 days, and upon termination there were no statistically significant differences due to diets. Histological samples of the distal intestine showed no statistical differences in symptoms conducive to soy-induced enteritis (lamina propria thickness, lamina propria cellularity, thickening of connective tissue, and abundancy of goblet cells) between the practical soy diet and the commercial fishmeal diet. Trial three was designed to improve the soy-based feed by evaluating nine experimental diets with varying soy sources. The basal diet contained 49.97% solvent-extracted soybean meal (SBM) which was replaced with low oligosaccharide soybean meal (LO-SBM), soy protein concentrate (SPC), and fermented soybean meal (Fer-SBM) at 50 or 100%, or expeller extruded soybean meal (EE-SBM) at 25 or 50%. Juvenile Florida pompano (4.82 ± 0.08 grams) were offered randomly assigned diets in quadruplicate for 76 days. Upon termination, there were no significant differences in weight (p=0.493), survival (p=0.925), or FCR (p=0.874) in fish offered any of the experimental diets. Histological analysis of distal intestine samples showed no statistical differences in lamina propria thickness, lamina propria cellularity, connective tissue thickening, or abundance of goblet cells.