Growth performance, body composition, and apparent nutrient digestibility of hybrid catfish fingerlings fed with blended insect meal

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the growth response, nutrient utilisation, and body composition of hybrid catfish fingerlings fed varying inclusion levels of two blended insect meals [dung beetle larvae meal (DBLM) and grasshopper meal (GHM)] for 56 days. Five isonitrogenous diets of 40% CP and 9.5% Lipid were formulated with 0-60% inclusion of the two blended insect meals at the same ratio but different graded levels to replace Clupeid fishmeal. Diets were designated as D1 (0%), D2 (5%DBM and 5%GHM), D3 (10%DBM and 10%GHM), D4 (20%DBM and 20%GHM) and D5 (30%DBM and 30%GHM). A total of 300 fingerlings with average initial weights of 2.55±0.14g were distributed into fifteen hapas nets in three concrete tanks (8m×5m×1.5m). Water quality parameters were monitored daily. The results showed that fish fed D4 had the highest value in all the growth parameters and were significantly different (P<0.05) from other fish fed experimental diets, while fish fed D5 had the lowest value but were not significantly different (P>0.05) from fish fed D1, D2, and D3. The nutrient utilization parameters followed the same pattern as the growth parameter indices. It could be concluded that the inclusion of both insect meals can improve the growth performance of the fish without any adverse effects, suggesting that the blended meals could be suitable for a hybrid catfish diet.