The effect of dietary taurine supplementation on growth performance, feed utilization and taurine contents in tissues of juvenile white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, Boone, 1931) fed with low-fishmeal diets

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of different taurine levels on the growth performance of juvenile white shrimp fed with low-fishmeal diets. Six level diets of dietary taurine were prepared by the supplementation of taurine (0, 0.4gkg(-1), 0.8gkg(-1), 1.2gkg(-1), 2.0gkg(-1) and 4.0gkg(-1)) to a control diet (100gkg(-1) fish meal). Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of 30 shrimps (0.48 +/- 0.0g), each three times daily. Shrimp fed the 0.4gkg(-1) and 0.8gkg(-1) taurine-supplemented diets, showed significantly higher weight gain, protein efficiency ratio and protein retention efficiency than those of shrimp fed the other diets. The quadratic regression analysis (y=-55.59x(2) +187.1x+750.2 R-2=0.587) indicated that a maximum weight gain occurring at 1.68gkg(-1) of taurine level. The whole body and hepatopancreas taurine contents of the taurine-supplemented diets were on the same level and higher than those of the control group. Total free amino acid content in the hepatopancreas was significantly affected by taurine supplementation. The results of the present study demonstrate that the white shrimps require taurine as an essential nutrient for growth performance.