Use of Grain Distillers Dried Yeast in Practical Diets for Juvenile Pacific White Shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Grain distillers dried yeast (GDDY) is a yeast-based protein source that is obtained from the bioethanol industry. A range of yeast-based products has been evaluated as nutritional supplements in fish diets, yet there is limited information in shrimp. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the production response of Litopenaeus vannamei fed diets containing increasing levels of GDDY in two growth trials. In trial 1, five diets formulated to contain 360 g/kg crude protein, 80 g/kg lipids, and up to 300 g GDDY/kg were evaluated under laboratory conditions with juvenile shrimp (1.90 ± 0.10 g, initial weight). In trial 2, juvenile shrimp (0.40 ± 0.01 g, initial weight) were fed similar diets where lysine was supplemented in diets with high levels of GDDY (200 and 300 g/kg of diet). The results from this study demonstrate that inclusion of GDDY up to 300 g/kg of diet did not cause negative effects on final biomass, mean final weight, feed conversion ratio, and survival. Furthermore, the addition of lysine to diets with high levels of GDDY (200 and 300 g/kg of diet) did not enhance growth performance under the reported conditions, confirming lysine was not limiting. Consequently, these results indicate that up to 300 g GDDY/kg of diet can be used in practical diets for L. vannamei in a clear water system.