Effect of Dietary Carbohydrate:Lipid Ratio on Growth Performance and Body Composition of African Catfish (Heterobranchus longifilis) Fingerlings

Abstract Fingerlings of African catfish (Heterobranchus longifilis) were fed six isonitrogenous diets containing different levels of carbohydrates (15.30-40.55%) and lipids (7.01-20.32%), with carbohydrate:lipid ratios ranging 0.75-5.78, or a control diet (35% protein; carbohydrate:lipid 8.60) for 56 days. At the end of the trial, growth performance (body weight gain, specific growth rate) and feed efficiency (feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, protein gain, lipid gain) improved as the carbohydrate:lipid ratio increased from 0.75 to 5.29, however, beyond this point, they dropped. Likewise, protein and lipid body contents increased with the increasing carbohydrate:lipid ratio from 0.75 to 5.29, then fell. The carbohydrates had a protein sparing effect. The optimal dietary carbohydrate:lipid ratio for maximum growth performance of African catfish fingerlings was 5.29. This study shows that it is possible to incorporate local carbohydrate sources such as corn, millet, and sorghum in diets for African catfish, reducing the cost of feed production

Effect of Crude Palm Oil Incorporation on Growth, Survival, Feed Efficiency, and Body Composition of Heterobranchus longifilis

International audienceAn 8-week feeding trial was carried out to determine the effect of increasing dietary palm oil levels on African catfish juvenile growth and nutrient utilization. Six isonitrogenous diets were formulated to contain 0.5% to 15% crude palm oil with dietary lipid levels ranging from 5% to 20%. Growth performance and protein utilization efficiency of African catfish responded in a positive manner to palm oil addition up to 9% (diet 14% lipid). No further improvement in growth was observed with higher levels of palm oil in the diets, and lower survival was observed with inclusion of 15% palm oil (diet 20% lipid). Whole-body lipid content increased when fish were fed with increasing levels of dietary lipid. Under our experimental conditions, the best growth rate and nutrient utilization were observed with the inclusion of 9% crude palm oil in the diets for African catfis