SUBSTITUTING FISH MEAL WITH SPIRULINA (ARTHROSPIRA PLATENSIS) MEAL IN DIETS FOR JUVENILE CLARIAS GARIEPINUS

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of substituting fish meal with spirulina (Arthrospiraplatensis) meal into the diet of juvenilesclarias (Clarias gariepinus) in northern Senegal.This work was carried out on juveniles of 15 g raised in 09 aquariums with a volume of 24.3 L each.Three isonitrogenous diets (35% protein) containing different levels of spirulina meal 0%, 50%, 100% noted respectively A, B and C were prepared, each diet was randomly assigned to three groups of fish, fed to satiation, for 60 days.The results of water quality parameters of the different treatments showed that the average water temperature ranged from 26 to 27 °C, the average pH values ​​measured in the different treatments ranged from 6.3 to 6.6.The best growth and feed efficiency performances were obtained with diets B, the one containing 50% spirulina meal, followed by diets C and A.The results obtained show that the specific growth rates (SGR) varied between 1.58%1.64% and 1.8% respectively in fish fed with diets C, A and B. For the batches of fish receiving diets A, B and C, the feed conversion rate was between 1.01 and 1.38 kg. Regarding survival rates, statistical analyses show that diets B and C obtained the best TS comparedto diet A.The results of the study show that feeding A. platensis increased whole-body protein and ash contents of the fish, but decreased lipid and moisture contents.This study showed that the optimum rate of A. platensis in the fish practical diet is 50% replacement for fish meal in a fishmeal-based diet for of juvenile Clarias gariepinus without any adverse effects on fish growth and proximate composition of carcasses.This information is useful for the proper use of this vegetable protein source in the formulation of inert fish feed, which could reduce production costs and improve farm profitability.