Effect of Replacing Maize with Cocoa Pod Husk in the Nutrition of Oreochromis niloticus

Abstract

The study was carried out to evaluate the potential of Cocoa Pod Husk (CPH) as a replacement for maize in the diet of Oreochromis niloticus (tilapia). Triplicated groups of 20 fish per plastic tank (replicate) with average weight of 0.9±0.2 g per fish were randomly allocated into 5 groups in a completely randomized design in an 8 week, trial. The treatment included the control diet (diet E) having maize as the only major energy source and diet A in which maize was completely replaced with cocoa pod husk, also diets B, C and D contained different proportions of maize and cocoa pod husk which ranged from 10-30 in percentage. Result revealed that 100% maize substitution with CPH had no significant effect on survival, weight gain and feed conversion ratio at reduced cost. The study suggests that CPH could suitably substitute up to 100% maize in the diet of Oreochromis niloticus with an irresistible increase in profit margin.