The effects of dietary levels of the sea cucumber (Bohadschia ocellata Jaeger, 1833) meal on growth performance, blood biochemical parameters, digestive enzymes activity and body composition of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei Boone, 1931) juveniles

The sea cucumber (Bohadschia ocellata) is a species with great density, reproduction rate and growth in the Persian Gulf. A Very few human consumption in Islamic countries makes this species a good choice to be used as a supplementary or stimulant ingredient in cultured aquatic animals. The present study evaluates the effects of dietary levels of B. ocellata meal on growth performance, blood biochemical parameters, digestive enzymes activities and body composition of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei). White shrimp juveniles (6.6 +/- 0.1 g) were fed with different levels of the B. ocellata meal (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 % of the diet) during 8-weeks period. According to the results weight gain, specific growth rate, and daily feed intake trends showed significant (p<0.05) increase with increasing level of sea cucumber meal from 0% to 4%. The greatest feed conversion ratio and least protein efficiency ratio were recorded in the 8% treatment. In blood biochemical outputs, the least cholesterol and the highest glucose levels were recorded for the 4% and 6% treatments, respectively. Digestive enzymes activity assessments showed that protease activity was significantly increased from 4% to 8% treatments. In general, adding 4-6% of B. ocellata meal to commercial diet of P. vannamei juveniles clearly improved some body biochemical activities such as protease enzymes activity and blood cholesterol content, and enhanced growth performance of white shrimp.