Comparative Assessment of Growth, Nutrient Utilization and Profitability of <i>Clarias gariepinus </i>(Burchell, 1822) Fed Locally Manufactured Feeds and a Foreign Feed

In this study, 240 juvenile Clarias gariepinus fish fed three locally manufactured fish feeds (F2, F3, and F4) as well as a foreign feed (F1) were examined for growth performance and nutrient consumption.  Three treatments and a control were administered in triplicate during the twelve (12) week investigation, which used a completely randomized design.  Water samples and morphometric measurements were collected biweekly.  The objectives of this study were to determine the growth performance, nutrient consumption, survival rate, and cost-effectiveness of C. gariepinus fed three locally produced fish feeds and a foreign feed.  The findings showed that the temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH of the water were all within the permissible range.  From the feeding trials, it was observed that all samples utilized the trial diets effectively.  Nonetheless, the fish given F1 gained the most weight (185.73g), followed by F2 (170.24g), F4 (166.46 g), and F3 (149.17 g).  There was no discernible difference (p>0.05) in the fish's weight growth after consuming various feeds.  The SGR showed no significant difference, where F3-fed fish had the lowest specific growth rate (3.27), whereas F4, F2 and F1-fed fish had 3.39g, 3.44g and 3.53g, respectively.  Fish fed F3 had the highest survival rate (93.33%), while fish fed F4 had the lowest (88.33%).  However, fish fed F1 had the highest feed conversion ratio (1.42), while fish fed F2 had the lowest (1.29).  Significant difference was not observed in FCR and survival rate (p>0.05) across fish that were fed various feeds.  Despite fish fed F1 having the highest SGR (3.53), it had the lowest net profit (₦−87.45), whereas F4 yielded the highest net profit (₦80.41, p<0.05) followed by F2 (₦11.6) and F3 (₦4.75).  This study revealed that although the foreign feed (F1) had the best growth performance and nutrient utilization, locally manufactured feeds can be more profitable for fish farmers because they are lower in cost than foreign feeds.