Growth Performance and Cost-Effectiveness of Farm-Made and Commercial Tilapia Starter Diets in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) Fingerling Production in Ghana

This study investigated the growth performance and cost-effectiveness in producing an average of 2.0 g Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings using a farm-made tilapia starter diet (ARDECFEED) and two commonly used commercial ones (MULTIFEED and RAANAN) by tilapia hatchery operators in Ghana. The farm-made diet was formulated and prepared to contain similar crude protein (400 g kg-1) as the commercial ones, using locally available ingredients. The feeding trials were conducted in net hapas of dimensions 3.0 x 1.0 x 1.2 m. Nile tilapia fry with an initial mean weight 0.2 ± 0.01 g were stocked at a density of 33 fish m-2 and fed at 10% body weight five times daily. Fry in the various dietary treatments attained mean weight range of 2.8-3.0 g in 4 weeks. No significant differences (ANOVA, P>0.05) were observed in the growth performance indicators among all treatments. The computed profit index values ranged from 6.43 to 9.64 with that of the farm-made feed being significantly higher (Tukey's HSDT, P