PARTIAL AND TOTAL REPLACEMENT OF FISHMEAL WITH CHEESE PROCESSING BY-PRODUCT MEAL IN PRACTICAL DIETS FOR NILE TILAPIA, OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS (L.) FINGERLINGS

Mohsen Abdel-Tawwab1*, Fayza E. Abbass2, and Medhat E.A. Seden3

1Department of Fish Biology and Ecology, 2Department of Fish Production and Aquaculture Systems, and
3Department of Fish Nutrition, Central Laboratory for Aquaculture Research, Abbassa, Abo-Hammad, Sharqia 44662, Egypt.

* Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]

Received 17/ 7/ 2011 Accepted 18/ 8/ 2011

Abstract

Aquaculture is the fastest expanding food production system in the world. This rapid development largely depends upon the increased production of aqua-feeds, which traditionally rely on fishmeal (FM) as the main protein source. The increasing demand for FM use in animal and fish diets has resulted in FM becoming difficult to obtain and more expensive. Therefore, this study was conducted as a trial to use cheese processing by-product meal (CPBM) as a substitute for FM in practical diet for Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus
(L.). Triplicate fish groups were fed on one of five isonitrogenous (30.4%) and isolipidic (7.4%) diets. The control diet (D1) used FM as the sole protein source. In the other four diets (D2 – D5), FM protein was substituted by 25, 50, 75, or 100% CPBM. Fish (3.5 ± 0.1 g) were stocked at a rate of 20 fish per 100-L aquarium and fed one of the tested diets for satiation twice daily, 6 days a week for 12 weeks. Fish growth, feed utilization, protein efficiency ratio, apparent protein utilization, and energy utilization for fish fed CPBM diets up to 75% of FM (D2 – D4) were all higher, but not significantly, than those for fish fed D1. No significant changes were found in whole-body moisture, crude protein, total lipid, and total ash contents. Cost–benefit analysis of the test diets herein indicated that CPBM was economically superior to FM. This study concluded that the optimal replacement level of FM by CPBM was 75%.

Keywords: Nile tilapia, fishmeal, cheese processing by-product meal, fish growth, feed utilization, whole-body composition.