Yones AMM and Metwalli AA, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Shakshouk Fish Research Station, El-Fayoum, Egypt

Four isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (30.22 ± 0.02% CP and 19.007 ± 0.015 MJ kg-1 diet) were formulated to represent four dietary treatments. The first treatment (control) was without poultry by-product (PM0), while the second, third and fourth diets were formulated with substitution of fish meal by poultry by-product meal at 50, 75 and 100%, respectively. Each diet was fed to 100 juvenile tilapia (1.5 ± 0.05 g), in triplicate cement ponds of 2 m3. Fish were fed diets at a rate of 3% of its biomass daily divided into two equal portions. The highest (P<0.05) growth performance parameters (final weight, weight gain, daily gain and specific growth rate) and best nutrient utilisation (feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio and net protein utilisation) were recorded with the PBM0 and PBM100% groups. The applied treatments showed insignificant effects on nutrients digestibility coefficient among dietary groups for dry matter, energy, CP, and fat and nitrogen-free extract. No significant effects on dry matter, crude protein, fat and ash contents were recorded between dietary treatments. Juvenile tilapia fed the experimental diets showed insignificant differences in blood contents (P<0.05) between groups. The present study recommended 100% substitution of fish meal with poultry by-product meal in juvenile Nile Tilapia diets.

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Article made possible through the contribution of Yones AMM, Metwalli AA, and the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries