Abstract

This study was conducted at the Aquaculture Research and Development Centre at Akosombo, to observe the growth and economic performance of fry of Oreochromis niloticusfed on different dietary treatments. In the experiment, four isonitrogenous (36% crude protein) and isoenergetic (physiological fuel value gross energy (GE), 18 MJ/kg) diets were formulated to contain agro-industrial by-products including: wheat bran (diet 1), pito mash (diet 2), rice bran (diet 3) and groundnut bran (diet 4) and fed to fry of O. niloticus (average weight 0.11 ± 0.01 g) stocked at 50 fish/m³ in out-door hapas for 8 weeks. The results showed that the growth performance was similar (P > 0.05) for fry of O. niloticus among all treatments. However, the incidence cost was highest (P < 0.05) for diet 4 and lowest for diet 2. Also, fishes fed on diet 2 had the highest (P < 0.05) profit index, while those fed on diet 4 had the lowest. It was therefore recommended that diet 2 be used in feeding fry of O. niloticus.

Key words: Pito mash, rice bran, groundnut bran, wheat bran, incidence cost.