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¹ Department of Biology, Mizan-Tepi University, PO Box 121, Tepi, Ethiopia
² Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia DOI : 10.4194/AQUAST1991 Viewed : 47 - Downloaded : 33 This study evaluated effects of fishmeal replacement with a mixture of lupin and grass pea meal (LGM) at inclusion levels of 0, 25, 50, and 75% as potential plant protein sources in the diets of Nile tilapia fingerlings on growth performance, feed utilization, and carcass composition. Experimental diets were formulated to be iso-nitrogenous (36g 100 g-1), iso-lipidic (10g 100 g-1) and iso-energetic (18 KJ g-1), and fed at 6-10% of their body weight day-1. Total of 276 tilapia fingerlings with average initial body weight of 1.37±0.06 were stocked into 4 treatments using completely randomized design. Results revealed replacement of 25, 50, and 75% of fishmeal by LGM meals did not significantly (P>0.05) affect most of growth and feed utilization parameters. However, fish fed with 25% LGM meal revealed enhanced final body weight and improved feed intake. Compared to control diet, increasing LGM meals in diets significantly increased hepatosomatic index. Replacement of fishmeal by LGM meal has also resulted in comparable carcass composition. In general, there are promising nutritional justifications for replacing fishmeal with a mixture of lupin and grass pea protein sources in diets of Nile tilapia considering growth parameters, feed utilization, and carcass composition up to 75% level. Keywords : Aquafeeds Carcass composition Feed utilization Lupin