Partial and complete replacement of fish meal by broad bean meal in feeds for Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, L., fry

A 16-week feeding experiment was conducted to study the feasibility of using broad bean meal (BBM) as a replacement for fish meal (FM) for Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus fry, initial average weight 1.9 +/- 0.18 g. FM (50% of the diet) was used as sole sources of animal protein in the control diet 1. The replacement levels of BBM in diets (2-5) were 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the FM. Methionine (1%) and lysine (0.5%) were added to each diet except the control diet. Three groups of fish were fed each of five isonitrogenous (31.2% CP) and isocaloric (20.1 kJ g(-1)), and performance was compared against a nutritionally balanced control diet at the end of the experiment. Nile tilapia fed the diet containing 50% BBM exhibited comparable growth with those fed the FM-based control diet. Digestibility of protein, energy and lipid decreased with increasing levels of BBM above 50% of total replacement FM into the diet. Incorporation of BBM in the diets significantly affected the moisture, fat and energy of whole fish body. These results suggest that BBM can replace 50% of the FM in diet for Nile tilapia fry, without adverse effects on fish performance.