Evaluation of different carbohydrates in the diet of the prawn Penaeus indicus

Abstract

The dietary characteristics of seven different carbohydrates-glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, sucrose, glycogen, and starch-were evaluated for the prawn Penaeus indicus, through formulation of purified diets. All the carbohydrates tested showed excellent apparent digestibility of above 85% at 30% level in the diet. But the growth of prawns fed with diets having glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, and glycogen was lower than the growth recorded by the diet having zero carbohydrate. Similarly, food conversion ratio (FCR) was inferior in the case of diets having monosaccharides.