Effect of dietary supplementation of fermented red seaweed (Gracilaria tenuistipitata) on performance of white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

Abstract

This research evaluated the effects of supplementing fermented red seaweed (Gracilaria tenuistipitata) with commercial feed for rearing whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). The experiment consisted of five treatments, with each treatment being replicated three times. The control treatment did not receive fermented product (0%), while the other four treatments supply the fermented product at proportions of 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1%. Shrimp juveniles with an initial weight of 0.29±0.02 g was stocked at a density of 200 ind/m³ in 1 m³ tanks with a salinity of 15 ppt in the recirculating system. After 60 days of feeding trial, the survival of shrimp was similar (p>0.05) among the feeding treatments ranging from 90.0 to 94.6%. The average shrimp weight reached 10.25-16.44 g, corresponding to a specific weight gain ranged from 9.96 to 16.15 g, and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were in the ranges of 0.92-1.43 and 1.75-2.71, respectively. Notably, shrimp that supply the 0.5% fermented seaweed diet had the highest growth and lowest FCR and highest PER, indicating the best performance compared to those in the control and other feeding treatments.