Effect of protein source and nutrient density on growth efficiency, histology and plasma amino acid concentration of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum)

The effects of protein source and nutrient density on growth efficiency, nutrient digestibility and plasma amino acid concentrations of rainbow trout were evaluated. A 3 by 2 factorial treatment design with three protein sources, fish meal–barley (F–B), plant concentrates (PC) and plant meals (PM), and two nutrient densities were used. A commercial reference diet was also fed. Triplicate tanks of 30 fish (initial wt. 28 g) were fed each diet, and the final weight averaged 240 g fish⁻¹. Protein source and nutrient density affected feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio. Weight gain of trout fed the PC and PM diets was approximately 10% less than fish fed the F–B diets. Protein retention was affected by protein source, but not nutrient density, and was the highest for the fish fed diets containing fish meal and the lowest for the fish fed PM diets. Apparent digestibility coefficients and apparent amino acid availabilities of the diets corresponded with differences in weight gain. This study provides further evidence that growth rates of trout fed fish meal‐free diets, using conventional and concentrated plant protein ingredients, are good but some limitation to growth exists in the fish meal‐free diets.