Apparent digestibility coefficients of selected protein ingredients for pirarucu Arapaima gigas (Teleostei: Osteoglo ssidae)

Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of nine protein ingredients were determined for pirarucu Arapaima gigas , a Neotropical fish species with great aquaculture potential in the Amazon. ADCs of crude protein, energy and dry matter were determined by feces sedimentation in cylindrical-conical tanks. Experimental diets were composed of 795 g kg -1 of the reference diet, 5 g kg -1 of chromic oxide and 200 g kg -1 of the following test ingredients: fish by-product meal, salmon by-product meal, poultry by-product meal, hydrolyzed feather meal, meat and bone meal, blood meal, soybean meal, corn gluten meal and corn gluten feed. Blood meal, meat and bone meal and corn gluten feed resulted in low ADCs for pirarucu, whereas corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal and soybean meal were better digested, indicating that these ingredients may be potential protein sources in feed formulations for pirarucu. The other animal protein ingredients presented intermediate ADCs values and, together with blood meal and meat and bone meal, they demonstrate that the nutritional quality of the animal by-products tested could be improved, especially by enhancing the processing methods of this group of ingredients.