Abstract
An investigation was carried out on the possibility of replacing fishmeal with graded levels of yeast single cell protein (SCP; 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%) in isonitrogenous feed formulations (30% protein) in the diet of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings for a period of 12 weeks. The control diet had fishmeal as the primary protein source. There were six treatments and four replicates. The result indicates that the 50% yeast SCP diet gave the best in growth response with percentage weight gain (PWG) of 6.04, specific growth rate (SGR) of 0041, daily growth rate (DRG) of (0.0088) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.94. There was however no significant difference in growth parameters and feed conversion ratio between treatment (p > 0.05). The proximate examination of the carcass composition of the whole fish body showed that the 50% yeast SCP fed fish had the highest percentage of body protein (55.35%), but with a lower amount of fat at the end of the feeding trial compared to the control. There was however no significant difference in carcass protein and fat content between treatments (p > 0.05). It could therefore be concluded that yeast SCP can successfully replace fishmeal up to 50% level with 0.25% dietary methionine supplementation in a 30% protein diet for O. niloticus fingerlings with no significant difference in fish performance (p > 0.05). Key words: Tilapia, yeast single cell protein, growth, carcass composition, feeding trials.
Highlights
The increasing world population has resulted in a rising demand for protein for human consumption and animal production
The result indicates that the 50% yeast single cell protein (SCP) diet gave the best in growth response with percentage weight gain (PWG) of 6.04, specific growth rate (SGR) of 0041, daily growth rate (DRG) of (0.0088) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.94
The results showed that the protein content of the diet ranged between 30.24-30.85%, fat content from 4.71-6.56%, crude fibre content 4.925.33%, ash between 3.68-4.53%, moisture approximately between 6.79-8.02 and nitrogen free extract (NFE) ranged between 45.21 - 48.89%, respectively
Summary
The increasing world population has resulted in a rising demand for protein for human consumption and animal production. The demand for protein is certain to become more serious with over exploitation of the sea and the depletion of most of the available arable land with the ever rapid population growth. There is, the need to find; new protein sources whose production. Aquaculture has been suggested as a veritable means of bridging the protein demand supply gap. This production system can only be effective if operated as an enterprise. Aquafeeds have high protein content and this tends to increase the cost of production, especially with the high inclusion level of fish meal. It has become imperative to search out for cheaper alternative protein sources to fish meal
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