Study points to squid-liver powder alternatives in shrimp feed

Pacific white shrimp diets may be able to rely less on squid-liver powder without sacrificing performance, according to a new study in Animals that tested several marine protein hydrolysates as partial replacements over an eight-week feeding trial. The paper, by Dachawat Poonnual, Siriporn Tola, and Bundit Yuangsoi, evaluated tuna hydrolysate, shrimp hydrolysate, fish hydrolysate, and salmon silage in diets for Litopenaeus vannamei, the world’s dominant farmed shrimp species. In the preprint version of the work, the tuna hydrolysate treatment delivered the strongest gains in final body weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, feed intake, trypsin activity, and nutrient digestibility, while the broader premise was that marine hydrolysates could stand in for a portion of squid-liver powder, a common palatability and performance ingredient in shrimp feeds. (papers.ssrn.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary and aquaculture professionals, the study speaks to a familiar pressure point: how to maintain intake, digestive performance, and health when traditional marine ingredients become costly, variable, or harder to source. Industry background helps explain the interest. Marine hydrolysates are increasingly used as strategic ingredients and palatants in aquafeeds, especially as plant-heavy formulations can create palatability challenges, and different hydrolysate raw materials can produce meaningfully different biological responses. That makes the finding less about a simple ingredient swap and more about formulation precision, feed efficiency, and resilience in shrimp health programs. (iffo.com)

What to watch: Watch for the final peer-reviewed article details, including whether the published Animals version confirms tuna hydrolysate as the leading option and whether follow-up work tests these replacements under commercial farm conditions, disease challenge models, or cost-per-kilo gain analyses. (papers.ssrn.com)