A comparison of two faecal collection methods for protein and amino acid digestibility coefficients of menhaden fish meal and two grades of poultry by-product meals for market-size sunshine bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis)

Apparent digestibility and availability coefficients for protein and amino acids in menhaden fish meal (MEN), pet‐food grade (PBM‐pet,) and feed‐grade poultry by‐product meal (PBM‐feed) were determined for market‐size (500 g) sunshine bass in two consecutive trials using passive netting (1.6 mm mesh) followed by manual stripping of faeces. A reference diet resembling a commercial feed was formulated to meet or exceed all known nutritional requirements of hybrid striped bass. Test diets were formulated to contain a 70 : 30 mixture of reference diet to test ingredient with chromic oxide (1%) serving as the inert marker. Diets were extruded under commercial conditions and the reference diet was fed for two weeks in order to acclimate fish to experimental conditions. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate tanks containing 30 fish each. Fish were fed their respective diet twice daily to apparent satiation for two weeks, with faecal collections being conducted on the 7th and 14th day, in each trial. ADC values determined in the net method were highly variable and generally lower than ADCs obtained by stripping. Consistently lower and highly variable chromium concentrations were found in the net method faecal samples and suggest that marker loss relative to nutrient content, or dilution of marker with non‐faecal matter, on the net collectors influenced results in that trial. In contrast, the standard errors of ADCs determined in the strip method were less than 5 percentage points in most cases. Protein digestibility ranged from a low of 51% (PBM‐feed) to a high of 87% (PBM‐pet) in the net method, and from a low of 80% (PBM‐feed) to a high of 99% (MEN) in the strip method. With the exception of Lys, no differences in amino acid availabilities among diets were found in the net method. In the strip method, protein digestibility and amino acid availabilities in MEN were generally greater than those found in PBM‐pet or PBM‐feed, whereas ADCs were not significantly different between the two poultry by‐products. Based on the conditions of the present study, net collection of faecal matter can not be recommended for determining the digestibility of nutrients in feed ingredients for market‐size sunshine bass. Digestibility coefficients obtained by the strip method for feed and petfood grades poultry by‐product were higher than those previously reported and will be facilitate more efficient and economical diet formulations for larger sunshine bass.