Insect ingredient shown to boost feed consumption by shrimp

A trial conducted for French insect farmer Innovafeed found that a palatant made from black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) resulted in a 7.56% increase in feed consumption by farmed Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei).

The trial was conducted to demonstrate that a diet containing 3% BSFL-derived palatant, when compared to a negative control diet, shows phago-stimulatory activity in pacific white shrimp. Innovfeed also wanted to assess the 3% BSFL diet’s performance against a benchmark diet containing 3% squid meal.

The different feeds were produced by Portuguese company Sparos and the trial was carried out by its research partner, Riasearch. Shrimp were fed for 17 days in a stable environment. Mortality was low, ranging between 0 and 2%, and was not affected by dietary treatments.

Statistically significant differences

Researchers found statistically significant differences in feed intake per unit of body weight, with both BSFL and squid diets outperforming the control diet.

Compared to the control diet, BSFL and squid diets increased feed intake by 7.56% and 11.59% respectively. Although the figure for the squid diets was higher, researchers said the variance within the BSFL and squid diet groups was sufficiently high that the two distributions largely overlapped to the point where they couldn’t demonstrate any significant differences between the two.

There were no statistically significant differences in feed efficiency of tested groups, showing that the increased feed intake would translate into faster growth, and therefore still imply financial benefits at farm scale.

A paper co-written by experts at Sparos, Riasearch, and Innovafeed says that squid meal has traditionally been used in shrimp feed in Latin America at low inclusion levels, owing to its high concentrations of free amino acids, nucleotides, and other water-soluble compounds that stimulate feed intake and improve feeding behaviour.

A promising alternative

But the experts add that many marine ingredients are expensive, variable in quality, and derived from fisheries that face increasing ecological and regulatory pressure, and that insect ingredients, and in particular those from the larvae of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), have emerged as promising candidates to replace marine-derived palatants.

“Innovafeed’s BSFL-derived palatant contains a rich profile of short-chain peptides, free amino acids, nucleotides, and other soluble compounds that may contribute to feed attractiveness and palatability,” they write. “In addition, insect farming offers other advantages in terms of circularity, security of supply, reduced volatility, and reduced environmental footprint compared to marine-based ingredients.”

The paper concludes that the BSFL-derived palatant displayed a strong phago-stimulatory effect, increasing relative feed intake by 7.56% compared to the control feed, “demonstrating a palatant or attractant effect comparable to that of squid meal”.