Partial and Total Replacement of Soya Bean Meal with Rhynchophorus phoenicis (African Palm Weevil) Larvae Meal in the Diet of Oreochromis niloticus

Abstract

Growth efficiency of fingerlings of Oreochromis niloticus fed different replacement levels of soybean meal with larvae of African palm weevil Rhynchophorus phoenicis (RP) meal was assessed in the present study. Oreochromis niloticus of the initial weight of 6.0 ± 0.05g was evaluated over 74 days. Five different inclusion levels of Rhynchophorus phoenicis meal RP1 – RP5 were combined to formulate five experimental diets: 0% (control), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, where RP1 is the control. All diets were iso-nitrogenous, and there were three replicates of each treatment. At the end of the feeding trials and statistical analyses, it was concluded that O. niloticus fed with 100 % inclusion of RP performed best in the growth indices. They consumed the most feed, gained the most weight, and had the best feed conversion ratio. The blood parameters of O. niloticus were not adversely affected by the addition of RP to their diet. Red blood cells increased as the RP meal increased, indicating that the RP meal had no detrimental effects on red blood cells, while white blood cells decreased as the RP meal increased, which might be due to experimental stress. In the carcass composition, crude protein was highest in the fish fed with 100% inclusion of RP meal. It was also concluded that there was no adverse effect on the culture media and water parameters when O. niloticus was fed an RP meal. Therefore, the present study suggests that Rhynchophorus phoenicis meal may serve as a 100% substitute for soybean meal in the diet of O. niloticus fingerlings to increase the growth performance