Effects of Vinegars and Sodium Acetate on the Growth Performance of Pacific White Shrimp, Penaeus vannamei

Vinegars and their salts have the potential to act as growth promoters and prophylactics against bacterial pathogens. This study aims to evaluate the effects of various vinegars and sodium acetate on the growth performance of white shrimp Penaeus vannamei. Groups of shrimps were fed diets containing 2% of either apple cider vinegar (ACV), coconut sap vinegar (CSV), sugar cane vinegar (CaV), or sodium acetate, and a diet with no vinegar (i.e. a control diet). Total acidity data of the diet showed that only the sodium acetate diet resulted in the highest total acidity after 60 min immersion in salt water (20 ppt). Attractability tests using customized repartitioned aquaria showed that the CSV diet attracted the highest significant percentage of shrimps after 10 min of feed placement in the feeding chamber. In the feeding trial that lasted for 60 days, results showed that the ACV and CSV groups of shrimps consumed significantly more feed than the other groups. All vinegar groups exhibited significantly higher final average body weight, weight gain, and specific growth, rate than either the control or sodium acetate group. The CSV group exhibited the significantly best feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio. Survival was statistically similar among all groups. Conclusion: the CSV group exhibited the significantly best growth performance and efficiency while both the control and sodium acetate groups exhibited the poorest.