Sustitución de la harina de pescado por harina de ca？a proteínica para la engorda de tilapia roja

it is important to search for sustainable alternatives with byproducts for replacing fish meal in diets for weight gain in red tilapia (oreochromis spp.) cultured in floating cages at 27.8 °c. in the present study, four isoprotein diets (26 %) (treatments: t; 0 %, t0; 14 % t14; 16 % t16, and 18 % t18) and isoenergetic diets (2.7 kcal g-1 feed) were formulated, using a by-product mixture of sugar cane, enriched with acid fish-silage (sugar cane protein meal) as substitution of fish meal. four hundred and twenty tilapia males (58.34±0.01 g) were used in this study, fed for 60 d. the experimental design was completely randomized with seven rectangular cages per treatment (0.256 m3; 0.8x0.8x0.4 m) left hanging above a circular concrete pond (8 m diameter and 2 m high) with 15 fish per cage. data analysis, conducted by a one way analysis of variance, indicated that for t0 and t14 there were no significant differences (p>0.05) in final weight, growth rate, protein efficiency rate, factor of conversion and feed efficiency. the fish in treatments t16 and t18, however, showed less performance. we conclude that up to 14 % of sugar cane protein meal may be included in diets for weight gain in red tilapia without affecting productive indicators.