Effects of Adansonia digitata (Baobab) bark meal additive on growth performance and nutrient utlization of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings

Feeding trial was carried out to determine effects of Adansonia digitata bark meal (ADBM)on growth performance and nutrient utilization of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings. Six iso-nitrogenous diets (40% crude protein) were formulated with ADBM at six levels (D 1 - D 6 )(0.00, 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 0.80 and 1.00%). One hundred and eighty fingerlings (3.09 ± 0.21 g) were stocked at ten fingerlings per tank in 18 plastic tanks (58L). Each treatment was replicated in a completely randomized design and fish were fed to satiation for 12 weeks. Data was analyzed for analysis of variance and Duncan Multiple Range Test to separate means .A. digitata bark contained oxalate, alkaloid, tannin, flavonoid, saponin steroid, anthraquinone, terpenoid, glycoside and phenol. Growth and nutrient utilization indices showed significant differences (pu003c0.05) among treatments. Mean weight gain (MWG) (41.77±1.88 g), final mean weight (FMW) (44.76±1.88 g), percentage weight gain (PWG) (1398.2±38.50%), daily growth weight (DGR) (0.50±0.02 g/day), apparent net protein utilization (ANPU) 76.73±3.98% and protein efficiency ratio (PER) 2.15±0.04 were highest in fish fed D 3 . MWG (31.27±2.48), FMW (34.31±2.25), PWG (1035.9±161.94%) and DGR (0.37±0.03) were lowest in fish fed D 5 . However, ANPU (49.84±4.23) and PER (1.45±0.07) were lowest in fish fed D 6 . Feed conversion ratio was best in fish fed D 3 (1.17±0.29) while D 6 (1.72±0.08) was poorest. Keywords: Utilization, growth, fingerlings, Adansonia digitata bark, Clarias gariepinus