Evaluation of Spent Bleaching Clay from Palm Oil Refining as an Ingredient for Diets of Red Hybrid Tilapia, Oreochromis sp.

Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted to determine whether spent bleaching clay (SBC) from palm oil refining could be used as a diet ingredient in the diets of red hybrid tilapia, Oreochromis sp. Five practical diets containing 0, 10, 20, 30, or 40% SBC were formulated and fed to triplicate groups of hybrid tilapia fingerlings (mean initial weight of 3.9±0.1 g) for 8 weeks. All diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous (31% crude protein) and isolipidic (13% crude lipid). There was a trend of improved pellet stability in water as the level of SBC in the diet was increased. Growth and feed utilization efficiency of hybrid tilapia fed up to 40% SBC was mostly not significantly different (P > 0.05) compared to fish fed the control diet without any SBC. Survival, bone ash, hepatosomatic index and hematocrits of hybrid tilapia were also not affected by dietary treatments. Whole-body lipid content increased and body moisture decreased significantly with increasing dietary SBC. It was concluded that SBC from palm oil refining is a potential diet additive in tilapia diets offering a cheap source of dietary lipid (and energy), imparting pellet stability in water and possibly acting as a mycotoxin absorber.