Growth response of clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) on silage-based diets.

Abstract

The feeding trial of C. gariepinus using three silage based diets and one fish meal based diet was carried out in concrete tanks. The four experimental diets were fed to C. gariepinus fry of relatively the same size. At the end of 8 weeks feeding trial the fish increased from their initial body weight of 0.2g, 0.4g, 0.4g and 0.4g to average final weights of 21.2g 15.4g, 12.8g and 13.8g respectively. The diet containing 41.1% resulted in the least food conversion efficiency of 1.2 over the eight weeks period. Of the experimental treatments the diets containing the highest level of fish silage (41.0%) performed better than any of the other two treatments of 19.0% and 33.5% fish silage contents. Apart from the nutritional superiority of 14% fish meal-based diet over the 41% fish silage-based diet the commercial production of fish silage is not yet feasible in Nigeria hence the need to look for the alternative protein source for the replacement of the expensive fish meal in the diet of culturable fish.