Replacement of soya bean meal with cashew nut meal as an alternative protein source in the diet of tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus

An experiment was conducted to replace soya bean meal (SBM) with cashew nut meal (CNM) in the diet of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). Five isonitrogenous (30% CP) and isolipidic (6% CL) diets, CNM0 to CNM4, were prepared replacing SBM at 0%, 12.5%, 25%, 37.5% and 50% with CNM. The feeding trial was conducted in FRP digestibility tanks of 150 L capacity for 60 days. Twenty tilapia fry (20.56 ± 0.05 g) were stocked in each tank. The final weight, weight gain and weight gain% of tilapia that received the CNM4 diet were significantly higher (p .05) among the treatments. It can be concluded from the study that 50% replacement of SBM with CNM in the diet is suitable for the enhancement of growth, nutrient utilization and health status of tilapia.