African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is a major cultured freshwater fish in Africa. Its feeding has been majorly on fishmeal and plant sources inclusion beset with human and livestock competition. Goat Hoof Meal (GHM) a protein rich keratin is a waste product of the slaughter house with dearth of information on its utilisation in livestock nutrition despite the abundant quantity generated. Fishmeal and plant protein escalating prices in the international market can determine the profitability of aquaculture operations. Hence, non-conventional feed resources of terrestrial livestock need be investigated due to their renewability. This research was conducted to determine the inclusion level of GHM in diet of Catfish juveniles.
Feeding trial was conducted for 8 weeks with catfish total initial weight 47.26g stocked at the rate of 20 fish/plastic tank in replicate. A 40% crude protein diet was formulated at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% inclusion of GHM with f ishmeal as control diet. (Table 1).
At the end of experiment catfish fed diet without fishmeal (100%) had significantly (P< 0.05) lower final weight, specific growth rate (SGR) and highest feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to all other dietary treatments (Table 2). The result indicated 75% GHM and 25% fishmeal can be successfully used to increase growth of catfish and farmers profitability.