Abstract:
                                      An eight-week net pen experiment was conducted to evaluate the potential to replace fish meal with three oil seed meals, soybean meal, rapeseed meal and cottonseed meal, in diets for 11.3 g sutchi catfish (
Pangasius sutchi). Seven isonitrogenous and isocalific diets were established. The control diet was formulated to contain 45% fish meal, whereas in the other six diets, soybean meal was added at 31% and 46% to replace 50% and 75% of the fish meal, or rapeseed meal added at 20% and 40% to replace 25% and 50% of the fish meal, or cottonseed meal added at 19% and 39% to replace 25% and 50% of the fish meal. Results of the experiment indicated dietary fish meal level could be reduced from 45% to 23% by adding soybean meal at 31%, or from 45% to 34% by adding rapeseed meal at 20% or cottonseed meal at 19%, without significantly negative effects on survival, feed intake, weight gain, specific growth rate (
SGR), feed conversion ratio (
FCR), protein retention efficiency, viscerosomatic index and haematocrit value (Hct). Feed intake, weight gain and 
SGR significantly decreased when dietary fish meal level was reduced to 11% by adding soybean meal at 46%. Reducing fish meal level to 23% by adding rapeseed meal at 40% resulted in the increase of 
FCR and decrease of energy retention efficiency, while reducing fish meal level down to 23% by adding cottonseed meal at 39% resulted in the decrease of weight gain, 
SGR and Hct. These results suggest fish meal level in sutchi catfish diets could be reduced to 23% by using soybean meal (added at 31%), and to 34% by using rapeseed meal (added at 20%) or cottonseed meal (added at 19%), as fish meal substitutes.