Growth Performance of Nile Tilapia (<i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>) under a Locally Formulated Feed in Concrete Ponds

Abstract

In Sub-Saharan Africa a large proportion of population rely on fisheries from aquaculture as a source of both food and income. However, little is known about the performance of local feed used as fish feeds such as tilapia in the aquaculture sector. The purpose of this study was to compare the growth performance in terms of standard length, total length and weight for Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in a concrete pond fed on locally formulated feeds versus imported fish feed. The local feeds were designed to meet the protein and energy needs of growing fish. The local feeds were composed of blood meal and fish meal as a source of protein, whereas rice and maize bran, as well as multivitamins, provided energy. The Mwamapuli Aquaculture Development Centre in Igunga district hosted the experiment for 30 days. Nile tilapia fingerlings (Oreochromis niloticus) were cultured in six fish ponds (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5 and P6); which were stocked with 10 fingerlings from the same batch from the Mwamapuli hatchery. The feeding program was conducted three times per day at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. and were fed according to their body weight. The results revealed that the commercial imported fish feed insignificantly performed better in the growth of Nile tilapia (Mean=5.16±0.35g) than the local formulated fish feed (Mean=4.40±0.21g) (P>0.05). On the other hand, the local formulated feed performed significantly better in terms of mean growth weight (Mean=4.40±0.21g) than the control (mean=3.00±0.12g) (P>0.05). Conclusively, the locally made fish feed performed similarly to the commercially imported fish feed while outperforming the control. As a result, aqua farmers must be educated on how to make local fish feed that is both cheaper and more profitable in aqua culture production.