A Review of the Efficiency of Alternative Feed Sources for Cultured Catfish Species in Nigeria

The African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, is a major cultured food fish in Nigeria because of its fast growth, good feed conversion, hardiness, and high market value. However, one of the problems facing catfish production is the high cost of fish feed caused by the escalating cost of fishmeal, the main protein source in fish feeds. In Nigeria, the raw material for fish feed formulation such as under-utilized “trash” fish, groundnut cake, palm kernel cake and soybeans are becoming increasingly expensive. The sustainability of the catfish culture industry, therefore, depends on reducing the fishmeal content of fish feeds by finding alternative protein sources of good nutritional quality that are readily available and more cost effective than fishmeal. Keywords: Cultured Catfish Species, Alternative Feed Sources DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/13-16-03 Publication date:September 30th 2023