Evaluation of Potential Feed Ingredients for the Juvenile Four‐sided Sea Cucumber,Isostichopus badionotus

The objective of this study was to evaluate two seaweed species, Solieria filiformis and Macrocytis piryfera, both as dry‐meal powder and predigested meal, to be used as ingredients in artificial diets for the juvenile four‐sided sea cucumber, Isostichopus badionotus. Four diets were tested in triplicate: S. filiformis dry‐meal powder and predigested meal and M. piryfera dry‐meal powder and predigested meal, mixed with 70% of beach sand. Survival exceeded 90% in all the treatments, and there were no differences in the growth of juveniles using dry‐meal powder or predigested meal. Weight gain was calculated for all the diets, and the highest values were obtained by animals fed S. filiformis. No differences between using dry‐meal powder and predigested meal were found, so these diets were excluded from the second trial. The ingestion rate was the same with both algae, but the feed conversion ratio was twice as high for M. piryfera. Solieria filiformis exhibited a number of differences in fatty acid and amino acid profiles, including higher proline, arginine, and saturated fatty acid levels. The results indicate that S. filiformis has better nutritional characteristics to be an ingredient for an artificial I. badionotus juvenile diet.