Growth, feed utilization and digestibility of Oreochromis shiranus(Boulenger 1905) fed dietary yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebriomolitor) meal raised in earthen ponds

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of incorporating yellow mealworm larvae (Tenebriomolitor) on the growth, feed utilization, and digestibility of Oreochromis shiranus, adominant aquaculture species in malawi. Four isonitrogenous diets were formulated byreplacing fishmeal with yellow ealworms at 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%. the formulatedfeed was fed to 720 fingerlings (15.05 ± 2 g) for 126 days in 12 experimental concreteponds for the growth trial. a digestibility trial was conducted with 240 juveniles(49.63 ± 1.68g) fed for 40 days in 12 150 l tanks, followed by biochemical analysis.Results showed that replacing fishmeal with yellow mealworm had no significant effecton the final average body weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, feed intake,apparent feed conversion ratio, and survival rate of O. shiranus fingerlings. however, asignificant difference in hepatosomatic indices was observed, though effect size wassmall. apparent digestibility coefficients for dry matter, ash, and crude fat were higherfor diets with yellow mealworm inclusion than diet with fishmeal only (p < 0.05). incontrast, the inclusion of yellow mealworm did not affect the digestibility of crudeprotein or gross energy. these findings suggest that yellow mealworm larvae canreplace up to 75% of fishmeal without compromising growth and feed utilization of O.shiranus