Replacement of fish meal by soybean (Glycine max) in the formulation of fish feed ingredients essential for Immunostimulation and growth performance of carps

Abstract

Fishmeal is the preferred protein ingredient in aquaculture feed and contributes significantly to the variable production cost in the aquaculture industry. However, decreasing fishmeal supply relative to demand and increasing costs threaten the sustainability and growth of the aquaculture industry. The way to sustain the industry is to remove or reduce the use of fishmeal. Past studies have demonstrated that complete or partial substitution of fishmeal with alternative proteins does not adversely affect fish performance. Soybean is probably the most promising alternative protein source for fish meal. It is widely used as the cost effective alternative for high quality fish meal in feeds for many aquaculture fish species due to its high protein content, excellent amino acid profile, low cost, availability and steady supply as compared to the other plant protein sources. Hence taking into account this consideration the present feed formulation has been undertaken, are introduce while formulating the feed. Hence for the present work soybean (Glycine max) has been selected as the raw material for formulation of fish feed along with ingredients essential for growth, disease resistance and the binding agent to hold the feed for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).