Evaluation of Farm-made and Commercial Tilapia Diets for Small-scale Hapa Production of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in Ghana
F. A. Anani *
CSIR-Water Research Institute, P.O.Box M 32, Accra, Ghana
F. K. E. Nunoo
Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
M. Steiner-Asiedu
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
T. N. N. Nortey
Department of Animal Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
N. W. Agbo
Department of Fisheries and Watershed Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: To evaluate a farm-made and commercial tilapia diets for small-scale production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), the most cultured fish in Ghana.
Study Design: Completely randomized design.
Place and Duration of Study: The Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (ARDEC), Akosombo, of Water Research Institute (WRI) of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana, from February to July, 2014.
Methodology: A 30% crude protein (CP) farm-made diet, ARDECFEED was formulated and prepared using locally available ingredients. The two most commonly used commercial fish diets (RAANAN, 30% CP and COPPENS, 34% CP) by small-scale fish farmers were also selected for the study. The feeding trial was conducted in net hapas of dimension 5.0 × 2.0 × 1.2 m installed in a 0.2 hectare earthen pond. O. niloticus with an initial mean weight of 22.8 ± 2.1 g were stocked at a density of 2 fish m-2 and fed at 4 to 3% body weight three times a day including weekends for 140 days. At the end of the period, growth performance, feed utilization and cost-effectiveness of each dietary treatment were determined.
Results: The final mean weights of O. niloticus for the various dietary treatments were 140.3 ± 23.4, 187.6 ± 42.1 and 148.3 ± 25.4 g for ARDECFEED, RAANAN and COPPENS respectively. That of RAANAN was significantly higher (P = .03) than those fed with the other diets. There was no significant difference (P = .67) in specific growth rate among dietary treatments. The highest survival (100.0%) was observed in fish fed with RAANAN whilst the least (86.67%) occurred in those fed with COPPENS. However, there were no significant differences among dietary treatments. In terms of cost effectiveness, the farm-made diet was more profitable than the commercial ones, with COPPENS being the least profitable.
Conclusion: The farm-made diet, ARDECFEED has the best prospects based on growth performance, nutrient utilization and economic returns.
Keywords: Farm-made and commercial tilapia diets, hapa, Oreochromis niloticus, small-scale