EFFECTS OF PARTIAL SUBSTITUTION OF FISHMEAL BY SEA CLAM (SENILIA SENILIS)MEAT MEAL ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE, FEED EFFICIENCY, SURVIVAL, AND WHOLE-BODY COMPOSITION OF THE NILE TILAPIA (OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS, L.1758)

The present study assessed the effects of incorporating sea clam (Senilia senilis)meat mealas a partial replacement for fishmeal on the growth performance, survival and whole-body composition of Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus fry(0.2 g).Three iso-proteins (26%) and iso-caloric (11%) diets where fishmeal was substituted withclam meat meal at 0% diet A,10% diet B, and 15% diet C were prepared.The experiment was conductedfor 12 weeks. The stocking density was 15 fish per tank in an isolated system consisting of 9 plastic tanks of 80L each. Each treatment was administered in triplicates, and fish were fed three times per day (09 :00h, 13 :00h, and 17 :00h). The daily ration corresponded to 10% of the fishs live weight during the first month and was reduced to 8% and then 6% for the second and last month of the trial period.The results of this study showed that the incorporation of clam meat meal in the diet of Nile Tilapia fry has benefited growth in fish fed the tested diets. The best growth performance was obtained in the fish fed with diet B containing 10% clam meat meal: 10.57g for absolute mean weight gain 4.75% /d for SGR 0.82 for FCR 2.14 for PER, followed by diet A.Diet C has the lowest growth performance: 8.37g for weight gain,4.44%/d for SGR,0.99 for FCR, and 1.75 for PER. The best survival rate was obtained by diet C (93.33%), followed by diet B (80%), and the lowest by diet A (71.11%). The protein contents of the tested fish were moderately higher than that of the initial fish. No big difference was observed among the tested diets. The ash content is reduced sharply after two months feeding. The lipid content of the tested fish decreasedslightly in comparison to the initial fish. At the end of the study, fish fed with diet B showed the best growth performance among other diets. These results indicatethat clam meat meal can be included up to 15% in the tilapia diet without affecting the nutritional quality of the feed.