Substituting fishmeal with extruded cull chickpea meal in diets for the white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, Boone): A preliminary study of the effect on production parameters

Abstract

Among the most typical feed ingredients for shrimp, plants represent a low-cost source in substituting for traditional high-cost feed ingredients. Extrusion is a common grains processing technique to make plant nutrients available and more digestible to animal. Different levels (15, 30, 45, and 60%) of extruded low-quality chickpea meal were included in a formulated diet for the juvenile shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei cultured in a closed system for 75 days. The growth of shrimp fed with the tested diets was similar to the control group (P > 0.05). We concluded that the use of extruded cull chickpea meal is a potential food alternative to replace fishmeal effectively in diets for L. vannamei.