Fermented corn protein concentrate to replace fishmeal in practical diets for Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

The latest corn-based ingredient available in the market today is fermented corn protein concentrate (FCPC), which is expected to perform well in shrimp diets due to its nutritional profile and the probiotic properties of the product. The current study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of FCPC as a replacement for fish meal (FM) in diets of Pacific white shrimps, Litopenaeus vannamei. Graded levels of FCPC (0, 4, 8, 11, 13 and 15 g/100 g) were used to replace fishmeal (16, 12, 8, 4, 2 and 0 g/100 g) in diet, which was evaluated over a 8-week growth trial (initial weight 0.17 +/- 0.01 g; n = 3). At the conclusion, no significant differences were detected in growth, FCR, survival or haematological parameters of shrimp (p > 0.05). Results reveals the efficacy of FCPC to replace 100% fishmeal at an inclusion level as high as 15%, without compromising the performances of shrimp. Significant increase in total haemocyte count (THC) and astaxanthin level in shrimp in response to the inclusion level of FCPC was assumed to be due to the probiotic properties of fermented corn and due to the availability of bio-convertible carotenoids in FCPC, respectively.