Effects of Dietary Fish Meal Replacement with Dehulled Soybean Meal on Growth Performance, Whole-Body Amino Acid, and Fatty Acid Compositions in Juvenile Sterlet Sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus)

This study evaluated dehulled soybean meal (DSBM) as a fish meal (FM) replacer for juvenile sterlet sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus). Growth parameters (WG, FE, PER) showed no significant differences among groups fed up to 75% DSBM (P>0.05), whereas the DSBM100 group exhibited a critical decline (P<0.05). Whole-body crude lipid levels systematically decreased from 11.3% (DSBM0) to 8.1% (DSBM100) as the DSBM replacement level expanded (P<0.05). Total whole-body amino acids, free amino acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (including DHA and EPA) did not vary significantly among all dietary treatments (P>0.05). Under the evaluating parameters of growth performance and whole-body biochemical compositions in this study, these results demonstrate that with appropriate amino acid and dicalcium phosphate supplementation, DSBM can successfully replace fish meal protein up to 75% for the stable growth of juvenile sterlet sturgeon.