Fishmeal is increasingly viewed as insufficient for sustaining the future growth of the aquaculture industry highlighting the need for better alternatives to ensure sustainable aquafeed production. Insect meal, particularly from black soldier fly larvae, emerges as a promising protein source for aquafeeds This study aimed to the determine the growth parameters and nutrient utilization of Clarias garepinus feed combination of commercial diet and black soldier fly larvae meal. A total of one hundred and five (105) Clarias gariepinus juveniles of 63.5 ± 0.00g average weight were used across five dietary treatment which are Treatment 1: 100% Commercial diet (T1), 40% BSFL and 60% commercial diet (T2), 80% BSFL and 20% commercial diet (T3), 100% BSFL (T4), 100% Formulated diet (T5). Bi-weekly weights recorded and feed supplied were taken to compute the growth performance and nutrient utilization parameters.
The result showed that treatment 1 (100% commercial diet) had the highest total weight gain (TWG) values (2157.75 ± 113.22) and Treatment 4 had the lowest (761.37±8.11). Apart from the control (T1), Treatment 2 also had the highest mean body weight (MBW) (224.93 ± 7.62) and average daily gain (ADG) (3.21 ± 0.11). The lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) was recorded in T1 (0.64 ± 0.01) and the highest (1.04±0.01) was recorded in T4. T1 had the highest value of SGR (2.27 ± 0.06) and the lowest (1.22±0.01) was found in T4. Treatment 3 had the highest protein content (19.49 ± 0.14), and the lowest (16.24±0.12) was found in T5. The survival rate was 100% across all treatments. For protein efficiency ratio (PER), T1 had the highest value (1.18 ± 0.07) and the lowest (0.40±0.00) was recorded in T 5. In terms of feed conversion efficiency (FCE), T1 had the highest (157.17 ± 2.83) FCR and the lowest (96.13±0.61) was recorded in T4. For protein intake (PI) and nitrogen metabolism (NM), T1 had the highest values, followed by T2.
The investigation into the growth performance and nutrient utilization of Clarias gariepinus fed a combination of commercial feed and black soldier larvae revealed that Treatment 2 showed the best growth performance. Therefore, to enhance feed efficiency, efforts should focus on efficient feed conversion as it is crucial for maximizing fish growth.