Growth Performance of Tilapia Fingerlings Fed with Phytoadditives from Fruit Wastes (Pineapple, Citrus and Banana) for Aquaculture

Abstract

Aims: This study aims to determine the effects of the different fruit wastes (banana, citrus and pineapple peel) on the zootechnical parameters (weight gain (WG), length, specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and survival of tilapia fingerlings (Oreochromis sp.) and to select which feed supplement is suitable for tilapia fingerlings.  Study Design:  Feeding study was conducted and growth in terms of weight gain and length were analyzed. Place and Duration of Study: College of Fisheries and Aquatic Science Hatchery Laboratory from January 2019 to March 2020. Methodology: Tilapia fingerlings (Oreochromis sp.) samples were used in this study. The treatments used for this experiments were consisted of; commercial feeds (control), 2%, 5% and 10% levels of pineapple, citrus, and banana waste respectively.  Results: Results showed that weight gain and FCR were significantly affected by the treatments and that treatment contained 2% levels of pineapple, citrus and banana waste showed superior growth and FCR than other treatments. Fish length and survival did not show any significant difference at P≤0.05.   Conclusion: Although the weight gain was significantly affected by the treatments studied but the length of tilapia fingerlings didn’t effect when fed with fruit waste. Better FCR and survival rate was observed when fingerlings fed with 2% banana peel however, no found significant difference in cases of 2% citrus or pineapple wastes. Besides, values of water parameters were at a normal level (temperature, dissolve oxygen (DO), and pH) and they did not significantly affect these treatments.