Effect of dietary carbohydrate sources on the growth of Oreochromis Niloticus L: A case of Kaaka fish farm, Namutumba district, Eastern Uganda

Abstract

A 16-week field experiment was carried out at Kaaka fish farm in Namutumba district to investigate the effect of dietary carbohydrate sources on the growth performance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L Fish fry of an initial mean standard length (SL) of 2.4cm were randomly introduced into experimental 12 pond units. They were subjected to three different test feeds possessing different sources of dietary carbohydrate namely maize bran (MB), cassava peels (CP) and sweet potato peels (PP). Growth rate was dete4mined by Standard Length (SL) measurements. Results revealed a significant difference among the treatment Means (p<0.001). A Post-hoc analysis showed that it was the mean standard lengths of PP Vs CP and MB Vs CP that differed significantly (p< 0.003). The mean standard lengths of PP Vs MB did not differ significantly. The above results suggest that PP was the best performer when compared to other test feeds. The sweet potato-based feed should therefore be utilized to completely substitute the maize-based feed (MB) in diet of Nile tilapia.