A compendium of raw material digestibilities for barramundi, Lates calcarifer

Citation

Glencross B, Blyth D, Cheers S, Bourne N, Wade N & Irvin S (2017) A compendium of raw material digestibilities for barramundi, Lates calcarifer. Aquaculture Nutrition, 23 (5), pp. 1055-1064. https://doi.org/10.1111/anu.12473

Abstract
A series of experiments were conducted to examine the nutrient and energy digestibility of a suite of diets and specific test raw materials when fed to juvenile (179 to 439g) barramundi, Lates calcarifer. Each of the diets was prepared using a twin-screw extruder to mimic modern aquafeed manufacturing processes. Each of the diets was fed to juvenile barramundi for a minimum of a week to allow acclimation to the diet before the faeces were collected using stripping methods. A broad range of digestible nutrient and energy values among the different raw materials were observed, with protein digestibilities ranging from 36% to 106% and energy digestibilities ranging from 36% to 93%. This range in nutritional values of the different raw materials provides substantial utility in allowing the formulation of diets on a digestible nutrient and energy basis across the Asia Pacific region. These results also provide critical data to help underpin the replacement of both fishmeal and fish oil in barramundi diets.

Keywords
animal by-products; Asian seabass; digestibility; ingredients; plant proteins

Journal
Aquaculture Nutrition: Volume 23, Issue 5

People

Professor Brett Glencross

Honorary Professor, Institute of Aquaculture