Haematological response of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) fingerlings fed varying levels of toasted Sesbania sesban seed meal

Abstract

This study examined the haematological effect of partial replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with toasted S. sesban seed meal (TSSSM) in the diet of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings. Four iso- nitrogenous (42% crude protein) diets were formulated to replace SBM with TSSSM at the rates of 0, 10, 20, and 30%. The experimental diets were fed to fingerlings for 10 weeks in triplicates in hapas of dimension (1m x 1m x 1m) outdoor earthen ponds (7×5×1.2m) partitioned into 4. The fish were stocked at 10 fish/1m³. The proximate composition and anti-nutritional compound of the raw and toasted SSSM were determined. The haematological indices of C. gariepinus fingerlings were also studied. The results showed that TSSSM had (34.27%) crude protein. Toasting resulted in a decline in the concentration of anti-nutritional compounds in this order 67.5%, 84.4%, and 57.8% for oxalates, alkaloids, and tannins respectively. The haematological parameter indicates that there was no significant difference (P<0.05) between fish fed control (0% TSSSM) diet and fish fed 10% TSSSM diet. All the haematological indices fell within the recommended range for normal healthy fish. This implies that 10% of the soya bean meal in African catfish could be substituted with toasted S. sesban seed meal without deleterious effect on fish health status.