Growth Performance and Proximate Composition of Oreochromis Niloticus (Trewavas) Fed Cobalt Chloride Incorporated Diet.

Abstract

Indoor feeding trials were conducted for 49 days using juvenile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with initial average weight ranging from 0.59gm to 0.65gm and initial average length ranging from 3.0cm to 3.25cm. they were fed cobalt chloride incoperated feed at 0% and 0.1% levels at 10% of their body weight.

Growth responses including specific growth rates, food conversion efficiency and carcass composition were studied. Results revealed that the cobalt chloride incoperated diet significantly (P<0.05) enhanced the growth. Though the food conversion efficiency and carcass composition were not significantly different between treated and untreated fish; the food conversion efficiency was much higher in the treated fish than the untreated fish specimens. It is therefore concluded that cobalt chloride has a growth enhancing property at 0.1% inclusion.

Keywords: Cobalt chloride, Oreochromis niloticus, Growth performance, Proximate composition