review · Animals
Rising demand and escalating costs for traditional fishmeal have intensified the search for sustainable, nutritionally viable alternatives in commercial aquafeed. Yellow mealworms, scientifically known as Tenebrio molitor, offer a promising substitute due to their high nutritional content, including lipids, fatty acids, and essential amino acids such as methionine. Their nutrient profiles vary across different developmental stages, and they also contain significant amounts of chitin and other anti-nutritional factors. Synthesising evidence across multiple finfish and shellfish species, current research demonstrates how partial or complete replacement of fishmeal impacts production outcomes. Key factors assessed across these feeding trials include animal growth rates, biometric indices, body composition, haematological measures, immune responses, antioxidant performance, gut health status, and the eventual sensory qualities of the reared fish.
Aquaculture relies heavily on wild-caught fishmeal, which creates financial strain and ecological pressure. Exploring insect meal from yellow mealworms provides the sector with an alternative protein source. Understanding how mealworm inclusion affects aquatic animal growth, immune health, and final food quality is essential for establishing sustainable feed options that reduce dependence on marine ingredients.
This work informs aquafeed manufacturers and aquaculture producers looking to formulate alternative diets for finfish and shellfish. Because the review synthesises existing feeding trials evaluating inclusion levels, animal health, and sensory results, the application is in an applied testing phase. Widespread commercial adoption requires feed formulators to balance the nutritional benefits against the presence of chitin and anti-nutritional factors identified in the research.
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The success of the aquafeed industry mainly depends on the availability of raw ingredients with high nutritional value, such as fishmeal (FM). However, the increased demand for FM elevates its prices and leads to high feed costs. Thus, there is an urgent need to find suitable alternatives for FM in fish diets to achieve sustainability in aquaculture. Currently, attention is being paid to the possibility of using insect meals as FM substitutes in aquafeed because of their relatively high nutritional quality. TM is one of those insects that can be regarded as a unique candidate because of its relatively high nutritional value. TM are rich sources of essential amino acids (methionine), lipids, and fatty acids, which vary based on the developmental stage of the worms. Although TM have an abundant amount of chitin as a fiber source and other anti-nutritional factors, numerous studies have investigated the efficacy of partial or complete substitution of FM by <i>T. molitor</i> in fish diets. In this context, we reviewed the current research findings on the achievable inclusion levels of <i>T. molitor</i> versus FM substitution in the diets of several finfish and shellfish species. We discussed the potential use of <i>T. molitor</i> as an FM substitute in fish diets and evaluated its effects on growth, biometric indices, and body composition. Besides, the hematological parameters, immunological responses, antioxidative efficacy, intestinal health status, and sensory criteria of fish fed <i>T. molitor</i>-based diets were also assessed.
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DOI: 10.3390/ani11030811
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