Best‐Performing Dietary Supplementation Levels of Two Exogenous Proteases for Improving Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility in Juvenile Penaeus vannamei Raised Under Clear and Green‐Water Condi

This study evaluated the best‐performing dietary inclusion levels of two commercial exogenous proteases, Ronozyme ProAct and ProAct 360 (dsm‐firmenich Animal Nutrition and Health, Heerlen, The Netherlands), for improving growth performance and nutrient digestibility in juvenile Penaeus vannamei reared under indoor and outdoor conditions. The study comprised two dose‐response growth trials conducted under contrasting indoor clear‐water and outdoor green‐water production systems, followed by two digestibility assays using diets containing either standard (33.66%) or high (51.82%) soybean meal (SBM) inclusion levels. In the indoor trial (175 shrimp/m ² ), the highest final body weights were achieved with 800 mg/kg Ronozyme ProAct (8.00 ± 0.59 g), compared with 7.48 ± 0.71 g in the control. In the outdoor trial (70 shrimp/m ² ), supplementation with 400 mg/kg Ronozyme ProAct produced the highest final body weight (10.46 ± 0.64 g), weekly growth rate (1.11 ± 0.17 g), and yield (767 ± 124 g/m ² ), significantly outperforming the control (8.60 ± 1.18 g; 0.81 ± 0.13 g/week; 558 ± 89 g/m ² ). The digestibility assays revealed no significant differences in growth performance but showed consistent improvements in apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs). In standard SBM diets, crude protein (CP) digestibility increased from 67.80 ± 6.96% in the control to 78.16 ± 2.31% with Ronozyme ProAct and 75.27 ± 8.38% with ProAct 360, while gross energy (GE) ADC reached 74.56% with ProAct 360, compared with 58.42% in the control. In high SBM diets, supplementation with Ronozyme ProAct increased CP digestibility from 72.40 ± 6.56 to 81.34 ± 1.54%, ether extract (EE) ADC rose from 77.41 ± 5.73 to 84.87 ± 0.84%, and total amino acid digestibility increased from 78.87 ± 5.24 to 86.76 ± 0.99%, with lysine and methionine digestibility exceeding 88%. Overall, exogenous proteases enhanced nutrient utilization, particularly in diets rich in plant ingredients. The best‐performing supplementation levels differed between the two culture systems evaluated, with higher supplementation levels required indoors (800 mg/kg Ronozyme ProAct and 200 mg/kg ProAct 360) and lower levels outdoors (400 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, respectively). These findings demonstrate the value of exogenous proteases for improving nutrient digestibility and supporting shrimp performance in practical diets containing moderate to high levels of SBM.