Valine requirement of postlarval tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon Fabricius

The valine requirement of juvenile tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon Fabricius, was determined. Shrimp postlarvae, PL20, with a mean weight of 14 mg, were randomly distributed in 36 oval 40-L capacity fibreglass tanks at 10 shrimp per tank in a flow-through seawater system and reared for 8 weeks. Postlarvae were fed amino acid test diets containing 400 g kg−1 protein with casein and gelatine as intact sources of protein. Crystalline L-amino acids were supplemented to simulate the amino acid profile of the shrimp muscle except valine. Valine was added in graded levels to obtain 7, 10, 13, 16, 19 and 22 g kg−1 of the diet or 18, 25, 33, 40, 48 and 55 g kg−1 of dietary protein. At termination of the feeding experiment, growth and survival were determined and nutritional deficiency signs noted. The relationship between weight gain and dietary valine level was analysed by the broken-line regression method to derive the valine requirement. The dietary valine requirement of Penaeus monodon postlarvae was found to be 13.5 g kg−1 of the diet or 34 g kg−1 of dietary protein. This value was lower than the level found in the shrimp tissue