Abstract: The present study was conducted to compare the effects of housefly maggot meal （magmeal） instead of dietary 50% fish meal on growth performance， tissues textural mechanical properties， serum immunity and antioxidant parameters in juveniles （initial average weight 3 g） of Pelodiscus sinensis Japanese strain. At the end of 9 months feeding trial in greenhouse， the P. sinensis Japanese strain fed with magmeal diet （R group） showed significantly lower specific growth rate than the data observed in the control group （C group） （P<0.05）， however， survival rate in R group was little higher than the C group without significant difference （P>0.05）. Regarding textural mechanical properties， the hardness of muscle and cohesiveness of calipash in the R group decreased significantly when compared with the C group （P<0.05）， but the adhesiveness in muscle increased significantly （P<0.05）. No signicant difference in serum antioxidant parameters or lysozyme activities were found between two dietary treatments， however， the acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activities were enhanced by dietary magmeal substitution. In conclusion， the present study preliminary indicated that magmeal was a potential protein source which could be applied in P. sinensis feed， however， the optimal replacement level for fish meal needs further investigation.

Key words: P. sinensis Japanese strain, housefly maggot meal, textural mechanical properties, serum parameters