Substitution of Plant Proteins or Meat and Bone Meal for Fish Meal in Diets of Nile Tilapia

Abstract

Five experimental diets containing plant proteins and synthetic amino acids with and without fish meal or meat and bone meal were fed to Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus averaging 13 g for 84 d in aquaria. Each experimental diet contained 20% corn gluten meal, 34–40% high-lysine corn, 29–36% soy grits, 0 or 6% fish meal or meat and bone meal, and supplemented with synthetic lysine, tryptophan, and threonine. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and protein efficiency ratio for Nile tilapia fed the all plant protein diet, the fish meal diets with two levels of fat, the meat-and-bone-meal diets with two levels of fat, and the commercial diet containing fish meal and meat and bone meal. Thus, substitution of plant proteins or meat and bone meal for fish meal in Nile tilapia diets did not affect growth response.