Fish meal is widely used in commercial feed production because of its amino acids profile, and high protein content, however, its usage constitutes a major cost in fish feed production. It is therefore essential to source for a highly nutritious, cheap and readily available substitute which can supply the farmed fish with necessary dietary requirements for proper growth and development. The study utilised house fly maggots (Musca domestica) cultured from poultry waste at varying inclusion levels of 0 (no inclusion), 25, 50, 75 and 100% (maggot inclusions) to replace fish meal in the diets and replicated thrice. A total of 180 Clarias gariepinus juveniles catfish with initial average weight of 10.11±0.12 g were stocked at 12 fish per tank, acclimatised for 2 weeks and fed twice daily at 3% body weight for a period of 12 weeks. The proximate composition of wet maggots showed the presence of favourable amino acids similar to fish meal but had lower crude protein content (47.45%) with high ether extract (22.23%) and moisture content (83.52%). The water quality parameters such as ammonia, temperature and dissolved oxygen were monitored daily and showed no significant difference (P<0.05) among the treatments and were tolerable for fish culture. Sampling of fish was done weekly, the growth and nutrient utilisation, economic indices and haematological studies were done and analysis of variance was used for the statistical analysis. It was observed that 75% inclusion of wet maggot gave better results and rapid utilisation and conversion of feed to flesh and was evident in the weight gain (50.71 g), lowest feed conversion ratio (1.04±0.04), highest specific growth rate (1.99±0.00 g/day) and cheap in terms of cost of production (₦ 172.12). This shows that 75% of wet maggots can be recommended as an inclusion level in commercial fish feed for adequate utilisation by C. gariepinus juveniles.
Effects of substitution of fish meal with fresh and dehydrated larvae of the house fly (Musca domestica L) on productive performance and health of broilers
