Using high protein distiller's dried grain product to replace corn protein concentrate and fishmeal in practical diets for the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

An 8‐week growth trial was conducted to evaluate the use of a high protein distiller's dried grain (HPDDG, NexPro®, Flint Hills Resources, LP, Wichita, KS) on the growth performance of juvenile Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. In the growth trial, graded levels of HPDDG (0.00, 10.00, 15.00, and 20.00%) were used to replace corn protein concentrate (CPC: 12.60, 6.30, 3.15, and 0.00%) or fishmeal (FM: 17.40, 9.79, 6.00, and 2.21%). A commercially produced open‐feed formulation was also included in the trial as a reference. Each diet was randomly assigned to four replicate groups of 30 shrimp stocked in 0.8 m3 culture tanks. Under green water conditions, in the presence of natural foods, the results indicated that growth performance and feed conversion ratio were not statistically influenced by increasing levels of HPDDG when used to replace CPC. The FM replacement series trial results showed that shrimp fed a diet with 20% HPDDG exhibited significantly decreased trend of biomass. Results of this study demonstrate that HPDDG is a good protein source, and 20% HPDDG can be used to replace CPC in shrimp diets, or up to 15% when replacing FM.