Abstract:

A research for eight weekswas conducted to evaluate the effect of substituting fish meal with local agricultural products in the diet of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).Three treatment dietaries were prepared. The dietary composition of the tested diets is as follows: A1/plant based-diet (Groundnut cake, sesame cake, millet bran, maize meal and 0% fish meal) A2/fishmeal partial replacement diet (Groundnut cake, sesame cake, millet bran, maize meal, and 10% fish meal) and A3/fishmeal based-diet (Groundnut cake, sesame cake, millet bran, maize meal, and 25% fish meal). All the diets were isoprotein and isolipidic diets. The initial average weight of the fish was 3.45±0.5g. The fishes were fed twice a day in triplicate for eight weeks. After the experiment, the final average weights were 4.97±0.5g, 5.43±0.5g, and 5.86±0.5g for A1, A2, and A3, respectively. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) among the three diets. The Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of juveniles fed on the A3 diet (1.77) was significantly better (lower) compared to A1 and A2 (3.41 and 2.59, respectively). The FCR of the fish fed diets A1 and A2 were not significantly different. The Specific Growth Rate (SGR), Individual Daily Growth (IDG), and relative average weight gain of juveniles fed on A3 and A2 diets were not significantly different. However, they were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of the A1 diet. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05)among all the diets for average weight gain and survival rate. This study revealed the possibility of partial but not total substitution of fishmeal by plant materials in the diet of 3.45g Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings considering both growth and economic factors.

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