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ABSTRACT
Fish diets contain high proportion of fish meal as the major source of protein, however, the high cost of fish meal and high rate of consumption of fish by man has recently resulted to fish manufacturers trying to reduce or even avoid their level of inclusion in diets by finding a suitable cheap protein material for the purpose of reducing cost of feed.
This study was conducted to investigate the growth and economic performance of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed dietary substitution of various levels of fish meal with soybean meal. Fifteen plastic tanks measuring 5x5x4ft and 3000L volumewere used for the study for a period of 12 weeks. The tanks were stocked with O. niloticus juveniles with mean weight of 3.40±0.06g for T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 respectively. Each treatment was replicated three times. The first treatment (T1) was fed diet with 38.66% fishmeal inclusion, the second treatment (T2) – 7.73% fishmeal and 30.93% soybean meal inclusion, the third treatment (T3) – 19.33% fishmeal and 19.33% soybean meal inclusion, the fourth treatment (T4) – 27.05% fishmeal and 11.61% soybean meal inclusion, and the fifth treatment (T5) was fed diet with 38.66% soybean meal inclusion. Data collected were analyzed through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and mean comparison was carried out with Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT). All tests were carried out at 5% probability level. The result on growth performance showed that there were no significant differences in the growth of fish amongst treatments (p > 0.05). The result showed that tilapia growth was better in treatment with 27.05% FM and 11.61% SBM inclusion (T4) in terms of weight gain, relative weight gain, absolute growth rate, and feed conversion ratio. Economically, treatment fed on 27.05% FM and 11.61% SBM inclusion was more profitable than the other treatments with a net profit value and cost incidence of ₦4925 and ₦72 respectively. This study revealed that 1230% soybean meal could replace fish meal in diets for Nile tilapia without negative effects on growth and economic returns.
