Effect of substitution of dietary fishmeal by soya bean meal on different sizes of gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio): nutrient digestibility, growth performance, body composition and morphometry

Four 70-day growth trials were performed to investigate the effects of substitution of dietary fishmeal (FM) by soya bean meal (SBM) in different sizes of gibel carp CASIII (Carassius auratus gibelio). The initial weights of fry, juvenile, 1-year fish and broodstock of gibel carp were 0.8, 5.0, 62.7 and 135.6g, respectively. In each trial, eight diets were formulated to be iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic, and different levels of soy bean meal protein were used to replace fishmeal protein at 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%. Another diet containing all SBM protein and supplemented with crystalline amino acids was also tested. The results showed that apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dry matter and energy decreased with SBM substitution while the ADCs of phosphorus increased. The ADCs of protein of high SBM substitution were higher than those of FM groups. Juveniles show lower ADCs than grown-up fish. Dietary SBM substitution showed negative effects on survival, growth and feed utilization in gibel carp. One-year fish and broodstock gibel carp have relatively higher tolerance to dietary SBM than fry and juveniles.