Effects of the Partial Replacing of Fish Meal with Marine Polychaetes (Nereis sp.) on the Nutritional Value of Macrobrachium rosenbergii Shrimp

Background and Objective: Fish meal is a high-cost in the production of shrimp feed so, partial replacement of fish meal with polychaete meal (Nereis sp.) is one of the successful solutions for aquaculture. This study examined marine worms as a high-value protein source and low-cost components of freshwater shrimp diets. Materials and Methods: Two types of diets were prepared, replacing 25 and 50% of the fish meal with polychaetes meal, in addition to the control diet (without adding polychaetes meal). The moisture, protein, fat, ash, and carbohydrates were estimated. The significance of the differences in average nutritional contents was studied by using one way-ANOVA test (p<0.05). Results: The results of this study showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in the fat content between the prepared diets (50 and 25% of polychaetes meal compared to control (70% fish meal). The highest percentages were 16.20 and 12.77% in 50 and 25% polychaetes meal, respectively compared to the control (10.55%). In contrast, statistical analysis did not find any significant differences (p>0.05) in protein, carbohydrate, ash, moisture content, and total energy content between the experimental diets and the control. Conclusion: The nutritional value of shrimp diets was improved by substituting polychaetes meal (Nereis sp.) for fish meal. This was achieved by raising the amount of fats rich in super-unsaturated fatty acids in the diet.