Impacts of Replacing Fish Meal With Duck By‐Product Meal in Diets on Growth Performance, Feed Utilization, and Economic Efficiency of Olive Flounder ( Paralichthys olivaceus )
Randomized trial evaluates duck by‐product meal substitute in fish diets, showing benefits for growth and economics.
Key Points
This study aims to evaluate the effects of replacing fish meal with duck by-product meal on olive flounder growth and feed efficiency.
450 juvenile olive flounder were divided into 18 tanks, each fed one of six experimental diets for 50 days.
Diets were formulated to be isoproteic and isolipidic; varying fish meal replacement levels (0-100%) with duck by-product meal.
Fish were hand-fed to apparent satiation, and growth metrics were assessed post-trial.
Weight gain, specific growth rate, and feed consumption were significantly higher in the control and lower DBM substitution diets (Con, DBM20, DBM40) compared to higher DBM diets (DBM60, DBM80, DBM100).
Economic profit index was significantly higher in the Con, DBM20, and DBM40 diets than in the DBM60, DBM80, and DBM100 diets (p < 0.0001).
Overall, up to 40% of fish meal can be replaced with duck by-product meal without negatively affecting growth performance or feed utilization.