Work

Comparison and efficacy of soy-based ingredients in practical diets for Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Three Trials were performed to understand better how soy processed in different ways impacts the growth, feed conversion ratio, and health of the Florida pompano ( Trachinotus carolinus ). The first two growth Trials were performed to evaluate the efficacy of an open soy-based diet compared to a commercially produced, fish meal (FM)–based diet. Trial 1 compared a soy-based diet to a commercial FM-based diet using juvenile fish (23.2 ± 1.87 g) across six replicates over 42 days. The FM-based diet significantly outperformed the soy diet in final biomass ( p = 0.026), weight gain ( p = 0.006), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) ( p = 0.015). Trial 2 used larger fish (38.1 ± 0.86 g) with three replicates over 56 days and found no significant differences between diets. Histological samples of the distal intestine showed no statistical differences in symptoms conducive to soy-induced enteritis between the practical soy diet and the commercial FM diet. Trial 3 evaluated nine experimental soy-based diets in juvenile pompano (4.82 ± 0.09 g) across quadruplicate tanks for 76 days. The basal diet containing 49.97% solvent-extracted soybean meal (SBM) was compared with diets where SBM was replaced at 50% or 100% with low oligosaccharide SBM, soy protein concentrate, or enzyme-treated SBM, or at 25% or 50% with expeller-extruded SBM. No significant differences were found in weight ( p = 0.493), survival ( p = 0.925), or FCR ( p = 0.874). Histological analysis showed no adverse intestinal effects in lamina propria thickness, lamina propria cellularity, connective tissue thickening, or abundance of goblet cells.

Source: Aquaculture International

DOI: 10.1007/s10499-025-02395-w