Finding an adequate Tilapia feed for rural fish farmers in Mombasa.[Internship Report]

Seven different possible fish feeds for tilapia (a hybrid from Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus crossed with Sabaki tilapia, Oreochromis spilurus) were carried out on an internship on Mtopanga farm at Bao-bab Trust, Bamburi. The ingredients tested should be easily available to local farmers in Mombasa and should take into account that valuable nutrients produced on a farm should not be fed to livestock as these are urgently needed in local communities. As a valuable animal protein which can be pro-duced on decaying organic material, black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens was tested on tilapia. The daily growth rates on the tanks with the lowest stocking density proved to have the best food quo-tient. Further the feeds containing the cheapest ingredients were found using the food quotient of the feed and the prices of the ingredients. But as the feeding trials were only carried out between 20 and 35 days, longer feeding periods should be carried out for more validity. Also parameters such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH were not measured. But since the results are aimed at being used by local fish farmers in Mombasa, who on their side have no measuring facilities, the trial has certain relevance and is an effort for proposing integrated, organic agriculture as opposed to commer-cial production. The aim is to motivate local communities in Kenya to become independent of the feed producing companies as these are mostly unaffordable for them and to help them to cover their need for valuable animal protein in their nutrition and in that of their families.

Published