Comparison of Met-Cu and copper sulfate use in Litopeneaus vannamei feed

In this paper, the effects of Met-Cu and copper sulfate application in the feed on the growth rate, immunological factors and the tissue copper of Litopenaeus vannamei were studied. The supplemental concentration of copper were 0, 7.5, 15, 30, 45 mg · kg^-1.There were not significant differences among the groups supplemented with Met-Cu as well as the control group; the shrimp fed with the feed supplemented with 30 mg · kg^-1 copper sulfate grew faster than the other groups significantly. The differences of the survival rate were not significant among various groups. PO and SOD activity were influenced by the content of feed copper, they were highest when the supplemental copper concentration was 30 mg · kg^-1 feed. There were not significant differences among the shrimp muscle copper content of different groups, the average value was (4.07±1.80)mg · kg^-1, which varied obviously among the individuals. The highest content of the hepatopanreas copper was 210.36 mg · kg^-1, the lowest was 33.78 mg · kg^-1(control group), it was higher than that in the muscle. The results showed that Met-Cu application in the feed did not enhance the growth or influence the copper content of the muscle and hepatopancreas as well as the SOD activity compared to the copper sulfate under this experiment condition.