Effect of an herbivorous diet on energy balance of Litopenaeus vannamei at selected ontogenetic stages

Herbivorous (20% vegetable protein, 40% carbohydrate) and carnivorous diets (40% marine animal protein, 20% carbohydrate) were experimentally tested to assess their effect on the energy balance and energetic substrates utilized by postlarvae (PL's /15 days) and juvenile shrimp (3-6 g) of Litopenaeus vannamei. Postlarval stage 60 (PL60, early juveniles) shrimps fed HeD and CaD diets, then late juveniles (3-6 g) acclimated to the same diets were tested for their respective energy partitioning potential. No significant differences (p>0.05) on growth were obtained in early juveniles (mean final wet weight of 0.19 g). However in late juvenile stages a significant difference (p<0.05) in growth rate was observed. In terms of energy partitioning, both early and late juveniles seem to spend more energy in respiratory metabolism than in the elimination of excretion products. A change in feed composition based on quality protein sources induced some modifications on shrimp's activity measured by heat increment. Shrimps fed with an herbivorous diet showed a higher heat increment. Interestingly, the early stages of L vannamei display a remarkable capacity to assimilate a plant protein-based and a high carbohydrate level diet. Such capacity with a stimulation of genes would lead to a good adaptation of juveniles receiving all-plant diets to sustain growth performances up to a marketable size. The implications of these findings for the shrimp farming feeding costs are briefly discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.