Section : Research Article

Published Date : May 20,2013

Lede

Evaluation of Growth Response and Food Utilization Efficiency in Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters), Fingerlings Fed Supplemented Dietary Protein Levels with Varying Feeding Rates in Concrete Tanks

Abstract

A four weeks laboratory feeding trial was conducted to assess the effect of dietary crude protein levels of 32.68% as basal protein diet (BPD) and 22.40% as low protein diet (LPD) fed at different feeding rates on growth performance, feed and nutrient utilization of tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. Fish were reared utilizing outdoor concrete tanks of 1 3 1 3 1 m. The results showed that growth performance of tilapia fingerlings was significantly (p , 0.05) increased at the higher dietary protein levels. Feed efficiency was significantly (p , 0.05) reduced in terms of protein efficiency ratio (PER) and specific growth rate (SGR) at the LPD tested. Further, the results clearly showed that fish growth was best at the BPD level tested. Furthermore, in term of percentage weight gain and daily weight gain, there was a progressive improvement in the growth responses with increasing dietary feeding rates at LPD levels, while weight increment in fish fed with BPD achieved a mean final weight of 41.11 g, LPD at 6% body weight of 29.55 g, LPD at 8% body weight of 31.50 g and LPD at 10% body weight of 33.02 g, respectively. Protein, lipid and moisture content were influenced significantly by dietary protein levels. There was a significant increase in muscle protein and a decrease in lipid content with increasing dietary protein. The growth performance of O. mossambicus fingerlings was monitored under laboratory conditions.