International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research

Authors
Mmandu U Effiong, Anthony W Akpan, Ezekiel O Ayotunde

Abstract
The study investigated utilization of dietary lipids of plant origin (coconut, olive, palm, sunflower and sesame) on growth and fatty acid compositions of genetically-male tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. The control diet contained fish oil. These oils were incorporated at 7% level of the diet and used to produce a 42.5% crude protein balanced diets. Fish (weight 2.50±0.02g and standard length 4.3±0.00cm) were randomly stocked at 20fish/floating net-hapa (1m3) and fed at 5% body weight for 12 weeks. All experimental procedures followed standard methods. Results revealed the highest final weight (56.42g), average daily growth (0.64g), specific growth rate (3.69%/day) and final standard length (18.43cm) were obtained in fish fed palm oil-based diet. Lauric (12:0), myristic (14:0) and palmitic (16:0) acids were the main saturated fatty acids while oleic (18:1) was the main monounsaturated fatty acids. Long chain PUFAs such as EPA, DHA and ARA were observed in fish fed olive, sunflower and sesame oil diets. This showed that these oils would be beneficial to human health. The study concludes that replacing fish oil with these plant oils consistently resulted in major changes in growth and fatty acid profile of the male tilapia.