Replacing soybean meal with distillers dried grains solubles on growth performance and feed utilization in catfish Clarias magur fingerlings

The present study explored the feasibility of the use of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) to replace soybean meal (SBM) in the diet of magur, Clarias magur fingerlings. The experimental feeds were formulated by gradient replacement levels of SBM (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) via DDGS. Magur fingerlings (12.75 ± 0.4 g) were randomly stocked in triplicates in fiberglass tanks (10 fish/tank) and fed with their respective diets twice daily at the rate of 3% body weight per day. At the end of the 60-day feeding trial, the growth and feed utilization parameters were not significantly affected by up to 50% replacement level. However, higher replacement levels, such as 75% and 100%, significantly reduced the growth and feed utilization. Antioxidant properties, digestive enzyme activities, and serum and blood biochemistry, responded differently to the different treatments but mostly without any adverse effects at up to 50% replacement, indicating the potential of DDGS as a safe alternative protein source in the magur diet. To conclude, DDGS could be a viable alternative ingredient for the partial replacement of SBM for up to 50% in the magur diet, which could improve the sustainability and profitability of magur aquaculture. In the future, research may be directed toward supplementing limiting nutrients and optimizing processing conditions to further increase the replacement level of SBM by DDGS.