Effects of diet with Banana leaf meal (Musa acuminata) on the fecundity, egg size and gonadosomatic index of the Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of diet formulated with Bananna leaf meal (Musa sp) on the fecundity, egg size and gonadosomatic index of the Nile Tilapia (Oreochromisniloticus). This feeding trial was conducted for one hundred and twenty (120) days using a triplicate setup of six (6) tarpaulin tanks measuring (100 x 100 x 100 cm3 ) labeled Al, A2, A3, Bl, B2 and B3. Two isonitrogenous diets containing a crude protein level of 35 % (Diet A and Diet B) were used in feeding the experimental fishes. Diet A was the control diet and Diet B was formulated with the inclusion of Banana leaf meal (BLM) in addition to dietary feed ingredients. A total of one hundred and fifty (150) fingerlings of O. niloticuswith a mean body weight of 2.84 ± 0.11 g and mean total length 3.96 ± 0.12 cm were purchased from a private fish farm in Uyo, AkwaIbom State and used for the study (25 fingerlings per tank). Results obtained showed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the fecundity, egg size and gonadosomatic index of O. niloticus fed the two experimental diets which indicates that Banana leaf meal (BLM) did not negatively affect the fish reproductive indices. Physicochemical parameters including pH, water temperature (ºC), dissolved oxygen (mg/L) and ammonia level (mg/L) were maintained within the optimum range recommended for optimal growth and health of freshwater fishes. However, the inclusion of Banana leaf meal (BLM) in the diet of O. niloticus resulted in a reduction in the quantity of other conventional feed ingredients such as soybean meal (SBM), fish meal (FM), groundnut meal (GNM) and corn meal (CM). For a cost effective production of O. niloticus, the inclusion of Banana leaf meal (BLM) in the diet of O. niloticus is therefore recommended.