Nutritional innovations on amino acids supplementation in Nile tilapia diets

Abstract

The optimal dietary supply of amino acids to tilapia has been studied for many years. Nevertheless, a general agreement on the amino acid requirement for tilapias has not been established. In order to optimize efficiency and reduce surplus nitrogen, values of digestibility of each amino acid of feed must be considered. Due to variations in the amino acid requirement due to new tilapia strains introduction, continuous research on amino acid requirements is necessary to elaborate economical and environmental sustainability diets, also improving fish growth, efficiency and fillet yield. The concept of ideal protein in tilapia diets was introduced more than ten years ago, and new researches have shown the importance of protein and amino acids on fish performance and health, when tilapias are submitted to constant challenging from internal and external factors.