| Abstract: | This study was conducted to evaluate the ef fect of replacing soybean meal(SBM) by low protein floc meal(LPFM; 24% CP) in tilapia diets on growth performance, feed utilization and ?sh chemical composition. Three isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets were formulated; control diet(C; without LPFM),FM 25(25% of SBM protein was substituted by LPFM) and FM 50(50% of SBM protein was substituted by LPFM). Nine 55 l circular plastic tanks were stocked by 12 ?sh to form three experimental groups.No dif ferences in tilapia performance were observed between the control and the FM 25 diet. Chemical composition of ?sh did not dif fer signi?cantly among treatments except for protein and selenium contents where the highest values were recorded in the control treatment. The highest mineral content was recorded in floc collected from the control tanks, while calcium content showed its highest value in floc collected from FM 50 e ? uent. These data indicate that replacing soybean meal with LPFM up to 25%, had no negative ef fect on growth performance and potentially may improve the system sustainability. Meanwhile, the adverse ef fect of more inclusion of LPFM in tilapia diet may be attributed to the higher content of ash. In other word,minerals seem to cause more energy utilization in ?sh fed floc meal since it is needed to maintain osmotic homeostasis. |
