Nutritional Evaluation of Black Soldier Fly Frass as an Ingredient in Florida Pompano (<i>Trachinotus carolinus</i> L.) Diets
Amiti Banavar,
Samad Keramat Amirkolaei,
Lexi Duscher,
Bela Haifa Khairunisa,
Biswarup Mukhopadhyay,
Michael Schwarz,
Steve Urick,
Reza Ovissipour
Affiliations
Amiti Banavar
Future Foods Lab and Cellular Agriculture Initiative, Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Hampton, VA 23699, USA
Samad Keramat Amirkolaei
Future Foods Lab and Cellular Agriculture Initiative, Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Hampton, VA 23699, USA
Lexi Duscher
Future Foods Lab and Cellular Agriculture Initiative, Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Hampton, VA 23699, USA
Bela Haifa Khairunisa
Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
Biswarup Mukhopadhyay
Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
Michael Schwarz
Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Hampton, VA 23699, USA
Steve Urick
Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Hampton, VA 23699, USA
Reza Ovissipour
Future Foods Lab and Cellular Agriculture Initiative, Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Hampton, VA 23699, USA
The aquaculture industry is in need of sustainable fish feed to reduce the use of expensive and environmentally invasive wild-caught fish currently fed to many carnivorous species. The black soldier fly (BSF) has become a popular sustainable alternative protein source; however, the nutritional waste byproduct of BSF, frass, has not been extensively studied as a feed replacement in carnivorous species. This study evaluates the potential of BSF frass on the growth, body composition, and intestinal microbiome of the Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus. Four experimental diets were formulated containing different levels of frass, replacing plant-based carbohydrate sources. As a result of this study, the frass did not improve the growth performance, resulting in a lower specific growth rate and higher feed conversion rate. While the frass diets did not alter the body composition, the visceral somatic index (VSI) significantly increased compared to the control diet and the hepatosomatic index (HIS) was lowered. The microbiome analysis showed high variation among the diets, with the control diet having the most distinct consortia, which may have been driven by the increased levels of starch compared to frass diets. This study indicates that BSF frass may not be a suitable feed replacement for carnivorous pompano; however, frass could still potentially be a replacement feed for herbivore or detritivore fish and should be further studied.
