Effects of Dietary Inclusion Levels of Soaked Sunflower Seed Meal (Helianthus annuus) on the Growth Performance of Clarias gariepinus Reared in Captivity

A trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of substituting soaked sunflower seed meal (Helianthus annuus) in the diet of Clarias gariepinus on production performances. A total of 720 C. gariepinus juveniles (initial average weight: 8.45 ± 2.85 g) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. The treatments consisted of four rations (Ha0, Ha25, Ha50 and Ha75), corresponding to sunflower seed meal inclusion levels of 0%, 25%, 50% and 75%, respectively, with three replicates per treatment. Fish were fed twice daily at 8% of their biomass, and zootechnical performance parameters were recorded every 14 days. The results showed that survival rates increased (p < 0.05) with higher levels of sunflower seed meal substitution compared to the control diet (Ha0). Total length and live weight also increased (p < 0.05) with increasing inclusion levels of sunflower seed meal. With the exception of feed conversion ratio (FCR) and feed intake (FI), most growth performance parameters were improved by sunflower seed meal substitution, indicating enhanced feed utilisation by the juveniles. Bromatological analysis of the flesh revealed an increase (p < 0.05) in crude protein and lipid contents, with the highest values observed in fish fed the Ha75 diet (95.12± 1.28 and 20.80 ± 0.51, respectively). Similar trends were observed for all other biochemical parameters analysed. Overall, the use of sunflower seed meal (Helianthus annuus) as a partial substitute for soybean meal in the diet of juvenile C. gariepinus proved to be both technically effective and environmentally sustainable.

Keywords: Clarias gariepinus, Helianthus annuus, Growth Performances, Meat Quality.