Effects of incorporation of shea caterpillar flour (Cirina butyrospermi) in the feed on the growth performance of tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) raised in basin brazil strain

<p>With the aim of seeking alternatives to the expensive use of fish meal in fish feed, a study was carried out on the incorporation of shea caterpillar meal (<em>Cirina</em><em> butyrospermi)</em> into the diet of <em>Oreochromis niloticus</em>. Three diets with progressive incorporation rates of 15% (A15), 20% (A20) and 25% (A25) of <em>C. butyrospermi </em>meal were prepared from a local feed based on agricultural by-products and compared with a control diet (AT) without animal meal. Tilapia larvae with a mean initial weight of 4± 0.05 g were reared in duplicate basins at a stocking density of 100 fry per m3. The fish were fed 4 times a day with a ration of 5% of their total biomass from the start to the end of the experiment. After 90 days of rearing, the best feed conversion and final weight (1.50 ± 0.14; 37.10± 2.25 g, respectively) were obtained with diet A20, followed by diet A15 (1.62 ± 0.08; 35.20± 2.86 g) and A25 (1.74 ± 0.12; 33.03± 3.44 g). The lowest daily growth (0.33± 0.03 g/day) and the highest feed conversion index (1.99± 0.12) were recorded with the AT diet. At the end of the experiment, survival rates were greater than or equal to 92.86%. At the end of this study, shea caterpillar meal can be incorporated into tilapia feed and considered a good protein source.</p> <p>published by the  <a href="https://innspub.net/international-journal-of-biosciences/"><strong>International Journal of Biosciences (IJB)</strong></a></p>