Effect of replacing fish meal with different levels of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larva meal in the diet on growth, immune, and antioxidant indices in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Fisheries Department, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmeh Sara, Iran.

2 Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources and Earth Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran.

3 Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran.

4 National Artemia Research Center, Iranian Fisheries Scienc Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Urmia, Iran.

10.22059/jfisheries.2026.405572.1470

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of replacing different levels of fishmeal with black soldier fly (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens) larva meal in the diet on growth performance, immune responses and antioxidant activity of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry. A total of 180 fry with an initial weight of 5 ± 0.3 g were randomly distributed into four treatments and three replicates. The treatments consisted of control (C; standard fishmeal-based diet) and three experimental diets in which fish meal was replaced with insect meal at inclusion levels of 10% (BSFL10), 20% (BSFL20), and 30% (BSFL30). Growth assessment across two-week intervals revealed that black soldier fly larva meal replacement significantly affected growth indices during the experiment (P<0.05). The results at the end of the experimental period showed that 10% replacement treatment resulted in a significant increase in weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), body weight gain (BWI) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) compared to the control group (P<0.05), while the 20% and 30% replacement levels exhibited no significant differences in growth indices compared to control diet (P>0.05). In addition, the activities of lysozyme (LYZ) and catalase (CAT) enzymes at a replacement level of 10% were also significantly higher than the control and 30% replacement treatments (P<0.05). Complement activity (ACH50) was higher at 10% replacement level than other treatments (P<0.05). The results of this study showed that replacing black soldier fly larva at a level of 10% with fish meal is more effective in growth performance of rainbow trout fry, while increasing the replacement level up to 30% had a negative effect on growth, immune, and physiological indices. These findings suggest that black soldier fly larva meal can be used as a reliable and stable protein source with favorable performance in rainbow trout diets.

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Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Fisheries
Volume 79, Issue 1
February 2026
Pages 1-15

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