Apparent Digestible Protein and Energy Coefficients of Common Feed Ingredients for Channel Catfish

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Abstract
Apparent digestible protein and energy coefficients for corn, cottonseed meal, menhaden fish meal, meat and bone meal, peanut meal, rice bran, rice mill feed, soybean meal and wheat were determined in test diets processed in pelleted and extruded forms in adult channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Test diets were fed ad libitum to fish and fecal samples were collected by the dissection technique. The digestibility value of each ingredient was determined by comparison of the digestibilities of a reference diet and a test diet containing a 70:30 mixture of the reference diet and the test ingredient. In general, the digestibility values determined by this method are higher than previously reported values based on single-source diets which were force-fed to channel catfish. Although some differences were observed in digestible energy values determined on test diets processed in the extruded and pelleted forms, values determined on pelleted test diets appear to be the most reliable in predicting the...