The Potential of Mopani Worm (<i>Gonimbrasia belina</i>) as an Alternative Protein Source in Fish Feed

Abstract

A study to determine the potential of Mopani worm ( Gonimbrasia belina ) as a feed ingredient for partial or whole replacement of fish meal as a protein source in fish diets was conducted at the National Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (NARDC) in Mwekera, Kitwe from February to 5 th June 2012. A Complete randomized design (CRD) with four treatments was used with three experimental feeds meant to address growth rate and condition factor were formulated to contain 30%±1 crude protein. Inclusion of G. belina as feed ingredientvaried as follows; 100%, 75% and 50% in treatments 1, 2 and 3 respectively. No proximate analysis was done on the feed ingredients before formulation; instead the nutrient values used were in accordance with nutritional books guidelines. After formulation the actual feeds contained 28.1%, 25.0% and 26.3% crude protein. The fish were fed twice daily, at 4% of their body weight. Sampling was done biweekly for weight (Wt), standard length (SL) and total length (TL). The weight gain, daily weight gain, specific growth rate (SGR) and condition factor were calculated for each treatment. After 14 weeks experimental period, samples of the carcasses for each treatment were subjected to proximate chemical analysis. The results showed that there was no significant difference in growth patterns between the treatments. However, the results indicated that treatment 3 containing 50% G. belina inclusion had the highest growth performance. Generally, what can be concluded is that with further research G. belina can be incorporated into fish feed production to partially replace fish meal. This however can only be done after studies have been conducted on their amino acid profiles and analyses have been done on whether these profiles suit the fish’s amino acid requirements.