Apparent digestibility for Zophobas morio meal in diets for juvenile yellowtail lambari, Astyanax bimaculatus...

Aquaculture is essential for food security and the yellowtail lambari is of great importance in Brazilian fish farming. Zophobas morio meal has emerged as a sustainable protein alternative for fish diets. This study evaluated the apparent digestibility of larval, pupal and adult meal of Z. morio in diets for lambari. The experiment, conducted at IFES and UFES, used 840 juvenile lambari. The animals were fed three times a day and feces were collected by the direct method eight times a days over a period of 22 days. The apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) for larva and pupa meal were significantly higher than the ADC for adult meal, due to their lower chitin content. Protein digestibility was highest for pupa meal, followed by by larva and by adult meal. Lipids of larva meal were more digestible than those of adult meal. There was greater gross energy utilization for larva and pupa meal than for adult meal. In conclusion, Z. morio meal is a promising feed for yellowtail lambari, especially that of the larval and pupal stages, due to its good digestibility and high nutritional value; adult meal has lower digestibility and requires additional treatments for improvement.