Effect of dietary inclusion of earthworm (Eisenia fetida) meal on the growth performance, body composition, and survival rate of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, Boone, 1931) postlarvae

Authors

Department of Fisheries, Bandar Abbas Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas, Iran

10.22092/ijfs.2025.134638

Abstract

The increasing demand and cost of fishmeal, together with seeking more sustainable feed ingredients in aquaculture have pushed the investigation of alternative protein sources, such as earthworm (EW; Eisenia fetida). A 50-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary replacement of fishmeal by EW meal on the growth performance, body composition, and survival rate of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) postlarvae. Triplicate groups of shrimps (mean weight 0.05 g) were fed with 5 isonitrogenous and isolipidic experimental diets including 0% (EW0; control), 25% (EW25), 50% (EW50, 75% (EW75), and 100% (EW100) EW meal replacing fishmeal. The final body weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate revealed significant differences among the groups, with the lowest values observed in the EW75 and EW100 groups compared to the control group (P<0.05). However, the incorporation of the 25% and 50% EW meal in the shrimp feed had the highest survival rates and also increased their capacity to convert feed into shrimp biomass. The proximate analysis indicated that 25% and 50% of fishmeal could be replaced with EW meal without any negative effects on the protein and lipid content of the shrimp carcass. Obtained results indicate that optimum replacing up to 20% of fishmeal with E. fetida meal in the diet of Pacific white shrimp (L. vannamei) does not negatively impact growth performance, survival, or body composition.

Keywords

Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences
Volume 24, Issue 6
November 2025
Pages 1439-1450

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