Food conversion efficiency and nitrogen balance in Cirrhinus mrigala fingerlings fed on three pelleted feeds compounded with wild legumes

Abstract

Preliminary experiment was made to know whether the seed kernels of wild trees such as Gliricidia maculala. Albizia lebbek and Enterolobiurn saman can be used as a substitute for the costly oil cake of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) presently used extensively as a protein source in the supplementary feed for fish culture in India. The fish fed with the feed containing wild tree seed kernels showed higher nitrogen assimilation than those fed with the feed containing ground nut oil cake. The metabolism of nitrogen was so high in the fishes fed with feed containing with seed kernels that the nitrogen built up in the fish was 2 per cent of the actual consumption in the fishes fed with feed containmg Giiricidia seed kernel against 13.3 per cent in the fish fed with the feed containing groundnut oil cake. It was nil and negative in the fish fed with feed containing Albizia and Enterolobium seed kernels respectively.