Development of Feed Formulation for Green Inland Production of Whiteleg Shrimp

Production of shrimp fisheries in Kuwait has declined over the past decades, necessitating imports to fill the and the gaps between demand and supply had to be filled by imports. The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) has successfully developed an innovative technique for farming inland shrimp known as “biofloc technology”, which is eco-friendly and cost-effective. However, there is no study on shrimp feed formulation that directly affects the quality of produced shrimp, its potential health benefits, and operational cost. This study aims to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementations on the formulated feed in juvenile Whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. A diet without supplementation of probiotics will be used as control (CON); another diet will be prepared by supplementing Bacillus subtilis at 1 × 107 CFU/g (BSD); and two diets with low fish meal (LFD) (10%&20%) will be compared to commercial diet (COM). The shrimp will be housed at a density of 20 shrimp/tank, and will be fed at 5–6% of wet body weight/day for 8 weeks. The project team will weekly monitor the weight gain, specific growth rate, survival rate, feed efficiency, and protein efficiency ratio of shrimp fed BSD, LFD and COM diets. The project will serve as a model for investors and farmers interested in shrimp aquaculture, thereby enhancing the food security of the country.