Black soldier fly Hermetia illucens larvae as protein source for giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii larvae feed

The giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii is a targeted species in Malaysia with potential to become an income generator. The fall of production for cultured giant freshwater prawns in Malaysia were due to declining quality brood stock supply, small productivity, imported food dependence for larval stages and low culture technology. The objective of the study is to evaluate the performance of Black Soldier Fly larvae as a protein source for Al rosenbergii larvae. The study involves feeding giant freshwater prawn larvae in four different treatments with feed containing different inclusions of Black Soldier Fly larvae meal (BSFLM) and also Artemia nauplii. The growth and survival rate were monitored after a period of approximately 35 days. Black Soldier Fly (BSF) provides nutrients like protein, lipids and minerals. In treatment 1, the egg custard was made of eggs and skim milk powder without any Black Soldier Fly larvae as its ingredient. Treatment 2, 3 and 4 were formulated to partially replace skim milk powder at inclusion rate of 15%, 30% and 45%. Artemia nauplii were given in every treatment. Treatment 4 had the highest survival rate of larvae which is 2.33% and followed by Treatment 1, which was 0.33%. The survival rate for both treatment 2 and 3 were 0%. High mortality were probably due to overfeeding, operator error, Mid Cycle Disease (MCD) and Exuvia Entrapment Disease (EED). The growth rate of larvae were unable to be determined because no larvae reached post larvae (PL) stage. The result of the study was not significant in identifying the potential alternative protein sources to create feed for giant freshwater prawn larve.