Growth Response of Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) Juveniles to Diets Containing Raw Mucuna utilis Seed Meal

Feeding trial was conducted in static water to assess the growth of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings fed different inclusion levels of Mucuna Seed Meal (MSM). Raw MSM was used at 10, 20 and 30% inclusion levels and the performance of fish fed, these diets was compared with the fish fed soybean-based diet (0% MSM) which contained 40% protein. All diets were prepared to be isonitrogenous and isocaloric. A four by six factorial experiment with three replicates using ten fish each of average initial weight of 6.60±g was carried out. Daily fish ration of 5% body weight was administered 2 times for 12 weeks. The Specific Growth Rate (SGR) in diet 1 (control) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than the other dietary groups and worsens as inclusion level increased similar trend was also observed in the Food Conversion Ratio (FCR) and Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER). The significantly lower growth performance of fish fed diets containing raw MSM might be due to the presence of anti-nutritional factors present raw MSM. The possibility of improving this trend through processing should be investigated.