Comparative utilization of biodegraded and undegraded rice husk in <i>Clarias gariepinus</i> diet

Abstract

Possible improvement in the nutritional composition of rice husk (RH) was attempted through Solid State Fermentation with the use of the fungus, Trichoderma viridii. A comparative utilization of the
fermented RH (FRH), raw RH and a control diet was studied using parameters like performance and nutrient utilization alongside some economic indicators to arrive at conclusion that isonitrogenous
diets were produced using graded levels of RH (5.0, 75 and 10%) of both raw and the fermented which were compared to a control diet. The process of fermentation resulted in improvement in the crude
protein value of RH by 97% and reduction in the crude fibre composition by 45%. Probably as a result of the fermentation process, fishes fed FRH had better Food Conversion Ratio (FCR), Protein Efficiency
Ratio (PER) and Specific Growth Rate (SGR) than their counterparts fed raw RH. The Feed Intake (FI), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and Protein Intake (PI) increased as level of inclusion of the RH increases.
The same observation is equally true for the Profit Index, Benefit Cost Ratio and the Incidence Cost.