Leaf meals as protein sources in diets for milkfish Chanos chanos (Forsskal)

Abstract

The protencial of partial replacement of fish meal protein with protein indigenous leaf meals in practical diets for milkfish, Chanos chanos (Forsskal) was studied. Five isocaloric (375 kcal/100 g diet), isonitrogenous (40% protein), and isolipidic (10%) diets were formulated to contain leaf meals from either swamp cabbage (kangkong, Ipomea reptans), sweet potato (kamote, Ipomea batatas), ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala), and cassava (kamorng kahoy, Manihot esculenta), or a combination of swamp cabbage, sweet potato and cassava.

The control diet contained fish meal and soybean meal as sources of protein while thw test diets contained fish meal, soybean meal, and leaf meals erplacing 15% of the fish meal protein. The protein sources were incorporated in levels that gives optimal essential amino acid patterns to the diets. Each diet was fed to reiplcate groups of fish (about 0.3 g) maintained at 20 ppt salinity and 29^oC in a recirculating system for twelve weeks. Growth, feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), and survival of fish fed the diet contaning cassava leaf meal showed the best groth FCR, PER and survival. the data sugest that these leaf meals can be used to partially replace fish meal in a diet for juvenile milkfish if the requirments for essential amino acids are met.