article · Aquaculture Reports
Finding plant-based alternatives to conventional fish meal remains a priority for sustainable aquaculture feeds. An investigation evaluated five diets containing 32 percent crude protein, substituting fish meal with fermented soy pulp at levels of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent in African catfish feed. A replacement level of 50 percent yielded the most favourable outcomes. African catfish fed this specific diet demonstrated the highest weight gain, specific growth rate, and condition factor. These fish also exhibited elevated red blood cell counts, lymphocytosis, and beneficial gut bacteria, including lactic acid bacteria. In contrast, the control diet without soy pulp showed lower serum albumin, globulin, and total protein. Furthermore, microscopic examination of the digestive tract showed that a 50 percent substitution maintained an intact epithelial barrier with well-structured villi and crypt dimensions in both the anterior and posterior gut.
Aquaculture requires cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to traditional fish meal ingredients. Demonstrating that fermented soy pulp can replace half of the fish meal in African catfish diets without compromising health or growth offers feed manufacturers a practical dietary strategy. This supports improved fish welfare, enhanced gut health, and potentially more sustainable freshwater fish farming practices.
This research presents an applied dietary formulation for commercial aquafeed manufacturers producing feeds for African catfish and related freshwater species. The findings demonstrate tested performance at laboratory trial scale for a 50 percent fish meal substitution. Commercial application would require scaling up feed production processes and validating the formulation under commercial farm conditions to assess economic feasibility and long-term production outcomes.
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The development of plant ingredients as an alternative to fish meal (FM) has received sustained interest in the aquaculture sector. The study investigated the replacement of FM with different percentages of dietary fermented soy pulp (FSP) to assess the growth performance, haematology, blood biochemical, liver, and gut morphology of African catfish. Five isonitrogenous (32 % crude protein) diets were prepared with FSP by replacing 0 % FSP (D1), 25 % FSP (D2), 50 % FSP (D3), 75 % FSP (D4) and 100 % FSP (D5) of FM component of the diets. The results showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) in growth parameters where the fish fed D3 diet showed the highest weight gain, specific growth rate, and condition factor compared with other diets. The mean values of Red Blood Cell (RBC) and Lymphocytosis (LYM) were significantly highest (p < 0.05) in fish fed the D3 diet. The albumin (ALB), globulin (GLOB), and total protein (TP) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the control diet compared with the experimental diets. In addition, the D3 diet provides the highest total lactic bacteria (LAB) and total bacteria (TB) compared with other diets. FSP as a protein replacement of the FM had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on villus length, width, and crypt depth in fish's anterior and posterior gut. The histological study of the intestinal revealed that the gut of the D3 diet had an intact epithelial barrier with goblet cells arrangement and very well-organized villus structure, tunica muscularis compared with the other treatments. In conclusion, the replacement of 50 % FM with FSP could be used in the aquafeed industry for better growth and health status of African catfish and possibly for freshwater species.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.aqrep.2021.100815
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