Evaluation of Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) wastes and live housefly (Musca domestica) larvae as dietary protein sources in diets of Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus 1758) fingerlings

Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate spirulina wastes and live housefly maggot as partial replacement for fishmeal in the diets of Nile Tilapia. Four isonitrogenous (35%) and isocaloric (17-18 KJ.g-1) diets were evaluated: commercial diet Skretting SK, control diet CD (30% fishmeal), and two others diets (SW and LM), corresponding to spirulina wastes and live housefly maggot inclusion respectively. Diets were hand-fed thrice daily to triplicate groups of fish to apparent satiation. After 12 weeks, the final weight and feed intake of fish fed diet CD and SK did not differ from those fed diets LM, but were higher than those fed SW diet (p<0.05). However, inclusion of SW had no effect on feed utilization. No significant differences were found in survival, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio and condition factor among the treatments (p>0.05). Whole-body protein contents were similar in all groups, whereas the lipid content was lower in SW group. It was concluded that a 62.56 % fishmeal protein could be replaced by live maggot in the diet of Nile Tilapia without negative effects on growth performances and quality of fish produced.