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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Aberdeen, Idaho » Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #245336
Title: Soybean level and probiotics in first feeding fry diets alter the ability of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss to utilize high levels of soybean meal during grow-out.

Author
item SEALEY, WENDY - University Of Idaho
item Barrows, Frederic
item SMITH, CHARLES - Aquaculture And Pathology Consulting
item Overturf, Kenneth - Ken
item LAPATRA, SCOTT - University Of Idaho

Submitted to: Aquaculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/7/2009
Publication Date: 7/15/2009
Citation: Sealey, W.M., Barrows, F., Smith, C.E., Overturf, K.E., Lapatra, S. 2009. Soybean level and probiotics in first feeding fry diets alter the ability of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus myskiss to utilize high levels of soybean meal during grow-out. Aquaculture 293;195-203. 2009.

Interpretive Summary: Feeding soybean meal to trout at levels above 20% of the diet causes an irritation to the intestinal lining of the fish that decreases growth rate and production efficiency. Methods were studied to decrease this effect and thus improve feed utilization and decrease feed costs. Probiotics are substances that when fed to animals change the intestinal bacterial populations to benefit the animal. Feeding soybean meal and probiotics to young trout improved fish performance during the early stages but had limited effect if they were not continually fed. Including soybean meal in the young fish diet, which is not normally done, allowed the trout to tolerate higher levels as juveniles.

Technical Abstract: Inclusion rates of soybean meal in salmonid diets are currently kept low to minimize detrimental effects on growth, enteritis and immune responses. Probiotics have been used to treat both infectious and noninfectious enteritis in humans and other terrestrial animals and may represent a feasible method for increasing soy utilization in soy-sensitive aquatic species. To test the hypothesis that probiotics incorporation in rainbow trout starter diets can induce immune-mediated soybean tolerance, a two-phase experimental design was employed. In the starter phase (first feeding (0.13 ± 0.01 to 6.5±0.32 g fish-1), a practical-type diet was formulated to contain 48% crude protein and 20% crude fat containing either 0 (S0), 10 (S10) or 20% (S20) soybean meal (SBM) and supplemented with (S0P, S10P, S20P) or without a commercially available probiotic (Mycolactor Dry Probiotic®) in a 3 X 2 factorial design. Diets were fed to four replicate tanks of fish per treatment (300 fish tank-1; House Creek strain) for eight weeks. Trout were reared in 150 L tanks supplied with 4 L min-1 of constant temperature (14.80C) flow-through spring water. Potentially soy tolerant rainbow trout produced by feeding probiotics and increased levels of soybean meal in starter diets as described above were then fed the industry standard level 15% (G15) or a diet with a challenge level of 43% (G43) of soybean meal during a 12 week grow-out and digestibility trial. Pathological changes were observed in intestines of fish fed the 43% SBM during grow-out; however, these changes were less severe when fish had been exposed to soybean meal in starter diets. The addition of probiotics to starter diets appeared to improve soybean meal utilization by first feeding rainbow trout, but probiotic use had only limited benefits when they were not continuously provided in the diet.