Abstract:
Commercial aquafeeds FA, FB and FC were obtained from renowned aquafeed store in Akure.
Apparently healthy catfish were distributed into nine rectangular glass tanks (60 x30 x20 cm) at
12 catfish per tank of average weight 4.13 g. The experimental design was Completely
Randomized Design. Each aquafeed was fed by hand to three groups of catfish in three replicates
for 84 days. The catfish were fed twice daily at 08:00-9:00 hours and 16:00-17:00 hours. All groups
were fed their respective diets to satiation. Each group of fish was batch-weighed weekly using
electronic weighing balance Toledo PB 8001, London. Catfish faecal samples were collected by
sieving water using muslin cloth. The faecal samples were air-dried at ambient temperature of
26 o C prior to analyses. The proximate composition of the aquafeeds and faecal samples were
determined according to the procedures of AOAC 1990. Growth performance and nutrient
utilization were estimated using standard procedures in fish nutrition. Water quality parameters
which include pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration were determined weekly. At
the end of the 84 days feeding trial, growth performance, nutrient utilization, fish carcass
composition and apparent nutrient digestibility were determined. The values of apparent
digestibility of protein for the three commercial aquafeeds obtained during the experiment ranged
from 51.30 in feed C to 60.29 in feed A while the lipid digestibility values ranged from 53.52 in
feed B to 64.10 in feed A. The good performance of catfish fed feed type B growth indicates that
the feed contained a well-balanced nutrient, high digestibility and nutrient utilization.
