Potent dietary organic acid insights for Penaeus monodon
Feed additives are commonly used in aquafeeds with the aim of influencing the feed’s physical and nutritive quality and improve overall animal performance. The list of available feed additives is extensive and often overwhelming, with new commercially available products launched regularly.
Although there is a growing body of evidence in this space, there remains a lot of unknowns about type, function, inclusion levels of feed additives, species-specificity and interactions with other dietary compounds. One kind of feed additive with increasing acceptance are organic acids and their salts. Organic acids have been used in aquafeeds as an alternative to antibiotics, growth promoters and their effect on performance and survival continue to be investigated in aquatic organisms, including prawns.
In a recent publication in Aquaculture, we assessed the effects of three dietary organic acids (butyrate, succinate, and fumarate) on performance and nutrient retention efficiency of black tiger prawn.
After 42 days, we found that butyrate alone or in combination with fumarate and succinate demonstrated the most promising effects on overall performance and feed efficiency, followed by succinate. On the other hand, fumarate on its own appeared to be dispensable.
Interestingly, previous research suggested fumarate, succinate and butyrate as equally suitable for whiteleg shrimp feeds. Further research is needed to clarify which organic acid or combination of organic acids is the most appropriate for each prawn species.
There is an ongoing interest in expanding black tiger prawn production globally and in Australia. Our research is timely and provides insights to aquaculture nutritionists and the aquafeed industry. Our work points out the relevance in identifying the key organic acids suitable for this species as well as continuous advancement in this species’ nutritional requirements.
CSIRO Aquaculture contact
Dr Artur Rombenso – Research Scientist
Dr Ha Truong – Research Scientist
Dr Cedric Simon – Principal Research Scientist
