Author(s): Ndueso U Ikot

Abstract: The research was conducted in the laboratory static water system of glass aquaria to determine the response and acceptability of Parachanna obscura fingerlings to different protein levels in artificially compounded feed. Three experimental diets A, B, and C were formulated with fish meal, blood meal and palm kernel cake as major protein sources containing 28%, 32%, and 18% dietary protein levels respectively. Three aquaria of the same size containing 20 fingerlings of the same size each were fed 20% body weight of feed daily. The fish increased in sizes by 1.22g (Diet A), 1.19g (Diet B) and 1.01g (Diet C) with the three diets in the 40 days of study. Growth rate determined for the diets were not significant (P>0.05). Mortality rate of 40%, 60%, and 59% were recorded in tanks 1, 2, and 3 (Diet A, B and C) respectively. The results indicated that Specific growth rate was higher in diet A though not significantly different (P>0.05) from other diets. The study has proven that Parachanna obscura fingerling can accept artificially compounded feed and can be listed as one of the aquaculture candidate in Nigeria.

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