Values expressed in percentage or in mg/kg of feed. The members of the genus Oreochromis are all omnivores, feeding on algae, aquatic plants, small invertebrates, … Tilapia are traditionally raised in earth ponds and fed with by-products from food-producing agriculture. Broodfish may require elevated protein and fat levels to increase reproductive efficiency (Santiago et al. Tilapia fish feed can be in the form of pellets and crumble, and there are various suppliers of commercial fish feed in many countries. - Good attractability and feed This is called “prebiotic effect,” in which pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria are removed, allows the increase in the numbers of beneficial Gram-positive bacteria. and fast growth at least cost, a well-balanced prepared feed is essential to successful tilapia culture. Feed Company A. Nutrigenomic tools are also helping researchers to better understand the expression of genes that regulate growth and health of fish. Contents vii 5.5 Tank and Raceway Culture 83 5.5.1 Tank size and shape 84 5.5.2 Stocking density and fish size 84 5.5.3 Water exchange and flow rate 84 5.5.4 Raceway culture 85 5.6 Green-water Tank Culture 87 5.7 Tilapia Meurer et al (2003) did not observe reduced performance of 1- to 7-gram tilapia fingerlings fed diets containing up to 8.5 percent of crude fiber. vitamin requirements, it is difficult to make general recom-mendations as to what the optimal concentrations should be, but general minimum levels are commonly applied to feeds. Thus, all these species are very close when protein consumption per kilo of gain is considered (Table 1). Tilapia appear to have similar vitamin requirements as other warmwater fish species. Fig. Essential Amino Acids in experimental tilapia … The best part : Tilapia has a good price. Dos artículos nuevos cada semana, con noticias e información técnica sobre la evolución de la acuacultura, una de las industrias de más rápido crecimiento en el mundo. In the absence of feeds specifically prepared for tilapia, a commercial catfish feed with a crude protein content of 28 to 32 percent is appropriate in the United States. The omega-3 FAs specially benefit the cardiovascular and brain health of humans. The Global Aquaculture Advocate supports the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s (GAA) mission of advocating, educating and demonstrating responsible aquaculture practices worldwide. Many other plant-derived essential oils or extracts (phytotherapeutic compounds) have been demonstrated to enhance the immune response of tilapia and other fish species and may be important tools in the near future for fish nutritionists to improve the immune effects of commercial feeds. Tilapia efficiently filter small particles (planktonic microalgae and microcrustaceans) present in the culture water. Feeding man-agement including the amount, and frequency of feeding, are also factors. Feed Company B. Contrary to Internet lore, tilapia do … Tilapia are omnivores and will eat just about anything from microscopic organisms through their gills, (they literally “filter” them out of the water), to algae, weeds, vegetable scraps, bugs, worms, tadpoles, etc. In a quick calculation, considering an average production cost of U.S. $0.80 per kg, and that, on average, feed represents 60 percent of such cost (i.e. Annual fish yields using tilapia in polyculture with carps, high levels of agricultural by-products and good stock management can reach or exceed five tonnes/ha. The art of tilapia farming is to und… The crude fiber fraction of the feed (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and others) is not digested, so we consider it contributes virtually zero energy to the fish. Hallali et al (2018) observed 47 percent increase in growth as well as higher dry matter, lipids and protein digestibility in hybrid tilapia (O. niloticus x O. aureus) fed feeds supplemented with 5 percent NaCl compared to tilapia fed feeds without NaCl supplementation. You can feed Purina line of Tilapia food called Aquamax Catfish and Tila… Organic acids and their salts – including citric acid and sodium citrate, formic acid or potassium or sodium diformate, lactic acid or sodium lactate, propionic acid or calcium propionate, among others) – can improve protein and minerals utilization (digestion) and thus fish growth and feed efficiency. Ten amino acids are considered essential to most animals, including fish. Table 3. Tilapia raised in tanks cultures benefit from having a consistent diet compared to tilapia that depend on natural foods in native water bodies. 3 General requirements 3.1 Compounded tilapia feeds shall be in the … BioMar's feed ranges cover the special needs in the full life cycle from egg to harvest of both fresh water and marine fish species, and of shrimp. Recommended levels of vitamins in feeds for tropical fish (NRC, 2011) and vitamin requirements specifically determined for tilapia. An increase in the daily intake of Se appears to be associated with a reduction in the risk of cancer in humans. They also eat many alternative feeds like duckweed, Azolla spp., and other high-protein plants which makes them important in aquaculture. This will provide more complete answers about the benefits from adjustments of feed composition and from the use of specific additives. This has increased the flow of fish among production and consumption sites (from fry to harvest size fish). 24 day grow out feed chart from 1 ounce to 2 ounces Requirements: Food grade Blue or Nile fingerlings. Once the essential amino acid requirements are fulfilled, Nile tilapia has better growth when feeds contain 30 to 45 percent crude protein (CP), depending on the stage of development. The same occurs with selenium, which at doses four to five times above the recommended minimum for optimum growth (0.25 mg/kg of feed) seems to improve the resistance of some species of fish to bacterial infections. that feed ballooned from 12,804 tonnes to 75,767 tonnes. Such a relationship between feed consumption, and growth and FCR has also been observed in many other fish species. The fact that tilapia need food may seem just a little too obvious, for a guide that assumes its readers have an average level of common sense, but the amount of misinformation about feeding tilapia is appalling at best, and deadly at the worst. Nucleotides also favor the development of beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bacillus to the detriment of pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, it is no surprise that the results of protein requirements of tilapia are varying and sometimes contradictory, as shown in Table 1. Tables 5 and 6 include information on minerals and vitamins, and their recommended minimum levels in complete feeds for tilapia. Numerous introduced populations exist outside its natural range. However, higher dietary doses (above 550 mg/kg) can further improve the fillet properties Fatty acids (FAs) are the forming units of lipids (oils and fats). Studies showed that the inclusion of beef tallow to feed impaired growth, feed efficiency, protein utilization, survival and immune response of juvenile tilapia. This results in some selection of the feed particles to be ingested, but an unnecessarily longer exposure of feed pellets to water. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is important for collagen synthesis (formation of bone matrix, skin and healing processes). Oils (vegetable and fish oils) are liquid at room temperature, as they contain a greater amount of long-chain FAs (18 or more carbon atoms) and with a greater number of double bonds, i.e., the so called polyunsaturated FAs (FAs of the omega-6 and omega-3 families). Consumption of crude protein (CP) per kilogram of weight gain in fish, chicken and swine. For small fish – below 100 to 200 grams – farmers should prioritize growth and feed their fish three to four times per day to close to satiation levels. Specifically for tilapia, a recent study by Stoneham et al. demonstrated the possibility of enriching fillets with omega-3 FAs, in particular DHA and EPA, by adding to feeds marine fish oil or a commercial algae meal Schizochytrium sp. MOS increases mucus production and improves the integrity of the intestinal epithelium, making it difficult for pathogenic bacteria to colonize and penetrate through the mucosa and cause infection. Copyright © 2016–2020 Global Aquaculture Alliance, In Japan, aquaculture is deployed in the defense of endangered species, Pacific white shrimp responses to temperature fluctuations at low salinity, Effect of dietary non-starch polysaccharides on tilapia productivity in ponds, Detección electroquímica de WSSV con electrodo desechable, Surge of off-flavor solutions for RAS continues. Among the main feed additives used to modulate the immunological response of tilapia and other fish species are the products obtained from yeasts and their fermentation metabolites (prebiotics), including the nucleotides, MOS (mannanoligosacharides) and B-glucan. Health agencies recommend a daily intake of 70 ug Se for human adults. Full surface aeration. The expression of growth factors (IGF – “insulin growth factor”) in the blood and liver of the fish was maximum at 30 degrees-C. ... Nutritional requirements vary through the life cycle of each single species. Nile tilapia juveniles (25 grams) tilapia fed diets containing 0.5 percent of garlic had higher leukocyte counts, higher lysozyme activity, and more intense phagocytosis and respiratory burst than fish that received feeds without garlic. Tilapia Culture in Salt Water: Environmental Requirements, Nutritional Implications and Economic Potentials. Therefore, tilapia farmers should find an economic balance between growth rate and FCR. In addition, there was a reduction in the count of Gram-negative bacteria in feces or attached to gut epithelium. requirements of Tilapia are probably different with those of fish such as the trout, carp, chum salmon, and eel. How to feed: For most fish, feeding twice a day is sufficient – at about 10 am and 4 pm. Since 1990, progress has been substantial. In most cases, you will find people withholding feed for 3-5 days when using tilapia for aquaponics before harvest time. Regarding the interval between meals, two studies have shown that tilapias of 150 to 180 grams at a water temperature of 28 degrees-C take four to five hours to empty half of their stomach contents, making enough room in the stomach to accommodate the next meal. The bigger the fish, the slower the feed transit through the digestive tract. the rising cost of commercial tilapia When using commercial fish feed only, your feed costs will be high, and this reduces profitability Nutritional studies are using more and more the nutrigenomics (the science that studies the relationship between human genome, nutrition and health) tools, a line of research that verifies the influence of a particular ingredient, nutrient or substance on the expression of genes that determine growth and immunological responses. Nucleotides can also greatly improve the quality of pre- and grow-out diets, which are usually formulated mostly with plant ingredients that often lack in nucleotides. At a temperature of 29.4 degrees-C, tilapia fed a 42 percent CP feed showed higher blood counts of erythrocytes and leukocyte, and higher levels of hemoglobin compared to fish fed lower protein levels in their diet (Qiang et al 2013). This article – adapted from the original publication at Panorama da Aquicultura – Brazil (Vol. Tropical fishes like tilapia have thermal comfort ranges between 27 and 30 degrees-C. However, tilapia fed on diets supplemented with soybean oil had higher survival (56 percent) after challenged intraperitoneally with Streptococcus agalactiae, when compared to fish fed diets supplemented with linseed, marine fish, corn or olive oils (28, 22, 13 and 0 percent, respectively). Slight variations exist among tilapia species, but nutrient requirements are … Table 1 presents the vitamin requirements of various tilapia. Simple food requirements (feeding on a wide variety of plant and animal matter) Flexible habitat preferences (including the ability to breed in both fresh and brackish water). Food rations for tilapia require a high level of protein, which increases the participation of protein sources, which account for most of the total cost of the food fish require more dietary protein than other animals. Impacts Tilapia have on native fish and habitats include: Competition with native species for food and space; Predation upon the eggs and young of native species For a better experience on this and other websites, we recommend that you enable Javascript. Beef tallow, constituted mainly by saturated FAs, is of little nutritional benefit to tilapia. If a chicken consumes 2 kg of a feed with 20 percent protein to gain a kilo of weight, it is ingesting 400 grams of CP/kg of weight gained. Male tilapia are stocked at 1-3 fish/m2 and grown to 400-500 g in five to eight months, depending on water temperature. They are resistant to pH between 5 and 11 and ammonia concentration of 2.5 mg / L. Although tilapias are freshwater fish, some species can live in salt water and can withstand high temperatures (between 13 ° C and 30 ° C) as well as have low oxygen requirements. AquaMax Grower 400 3/32 sinking pellet. Table 5. A variety of other compounds (often called functional feed additives) act as health factors capable of modulating the immune responses in tilapia and other cultivated fish species (Table 7). 35 - harvest 30 - 32 % Table 2. The identification of constituents and health factors will enable an increasingly precise nutritional refinement of feeds for tilapia and other fish species. Surprisingly, however, juvenile tilapia fed diets supplemented with beef tallow showed improved survival after a bacterial (Streptococcus iniae) infection, compared to fish fed diets containing corn, menhaden or linseed oil. This has more to do with the stability of the powdered feeds on the surface of the water than with the higher levels of protein in the feed. Feed for sea bass; Feed for sea bream; Feed for tilapia; Feed for tuna; AquaSim; Quality . Requirements of Tilapia fish farming in an aquaponics system Tilapia is easy to maintain fish and doesn’t ask for much. Such advances will support the formulation of high-quality feeds to further boost performance and health of fish and farmers profits. Javascript is currently disabled in your web browser. Effect of daily feeding rate on feed conversion ratio (FCR) and weight gain (relative gain) in red tilapia grown in net cages (from Clark, et al, 1990). First feeding fry 45 - 50 % 2. They are; Pelleted feed and Extruded feed To produce pelleted feed, the conditioning temperature must be controlled between 80- 95c The best growth performance of fish is achieved with feeds with a ration with digestible energy/crude protein (DE/CP) ratio of around 8 to 11 kcal DE per gram of protein. After 5-7 days of applying fertilizer, stock 21-28 day old minnow in the pond. Using animal feces as feed wasn’t directly associated with any specific fish in the report. The suitable protein content for Nile Tilapia fingerlings is around 35%-40%, and for Tialpia of above 50g, the protein required is about 20%-25%. Tilapia has a wide range of eating habits, in artificial rearing condition, farmers can feed tilapia all kinds of material, such as wheat, corn, paddy cakes and so on, those are high quality feed for tilapia. … but the content lives on. Thus, aquaculture has the challenge and responsibility of delivering products with sensory and nutritional quality at least comparable to those from fisheries. Tilapia can be fed practically any feed, and still delivers first class fish protein. 4. Dietary protein levels for tilapia post-larvae and fingerlings (up to 30 grams) In controlled laboratory conditions, tilapia growth during the initial phases of sex reversal is maximized using feeds with protein levels between 40 and 45 percent (Table 4). Fry are commonly fed on 55 to 45 percent CP powdered or micropelleted feeds at a daily allowance between 30 to 20 percent of their body weight, divided into eight to six meals per day. Mozambique tilapia reaching an average size of 475 grams over a fourteen-month period under ideal production conditions (i.e. The salts are replenished through feed. Values expressed in IU (international units) or mg/kg of feed. I. Nutrient Requirements for Tilapia There are different species of Tilapia in different growth periods, so their demands for feed nutrients will be slightly different. How to Feed Tilapia in Recirculating Systems The optimum feeding method depends on the physiology of the Information compiled by the author after a comprehensive review of numerous scientific studies. The nutrient co… This article briefly introduces the science of tilapia feed formulation that is currently practicing in Madagascar. Bacterial strains and other increasingly specialized and aggressive pathogens have been causing high sanitary and economic concerns to tilapia producers worldwide. The provision of a more suitable balance of electrolytes in the diet facilitates the replacement of lost salts and reduces the energy expenditure in osmoregulation, directing additional energy for growth and immunity strengthening of fish. BioMar's feed ranges cover the special needs in the full life cycle from egg to harvest of both fresh water and marine fish species, and of shrimp. The best temperature for tilapia is 70-85 ºF; they will die below 50 ºF. Tilapia are feed tolerant. Most tilapia farmers use feeds with 32 to 35 percent CP in the pre-grow-out (30 to 200 grams) and grow-out (above to 200 grams up to 2 kg). Several vitamin requirements of tilapia are known to be affected by other dietary factors and these must be taken into consideration in diet formulations. Nowadays, there are 0.3 to 0.8 mm micropellets with 40 to 45 percent CP that can be used earlier in the sex reversal stage. Considerable loss of water soluble nutrients – such as complex B vitamins and ascorbic acid, proteins and free amino acids, minerals and carbohydrates – may result. This buoyancy favors the consumption by the post-larvae and small fry before too much feed dissolves in the water. Nucleotides are essential for the formation of cells (muscle, blood cells, defense cells such as lymphocytes, macrophages) and are fundamental in the development, maturation and integrity of intestinal mucosa, making it difficult for pathogenic bacteria to go through the gut barrier. In field observations at a commercial tilapia farm in Brazil, tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, Chitralada strain) fed commercial feeds which we balanced with additional sodium, chlorides, potassium and magnesium ions to compensate for an estimated ions losses, showed improved growth (12 to 15 percent, better feed efficiency (+14 to 19 percent), survival (+ 5 to 6.5 percent) and annual net yield (+26 to 44 percent) compared to tilapia fed the same commercial feed without the ionic supplementation (Table 2). The fish that were fed for three months on a feed containing garlic had lower mortality after an experimental infection with the pathogenic bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila, both at the end of summer and at the end of winter. But these decisions should not be made solely based on the price of the feed bag. A study conducted in China with hybrid tilapia (O. niloticus x O. aureus) showed that 0.5 to 2 percent Na supplementation in purified diets (equivalent to nearly 1,25 to 5 percent NaCl inclusion) increased the weight gain of fish by 17 percent and decreased feed conversion ratio by 16 percent, compared to the use of feed without salt supplementation (Shiau and Lu, 2004). Summary of laboratory studies determining ideal levels of crude protein in feeds for Nile tilapia post-larvae and fry. Tilapia is a relatively fast growing fish with low feed requirements. As fingerlings grow and the production phases progress, pellet size increases, the dietary protein levels decrease slightly and the daily feeding rate and the number of meals are gradually reduced. Ferreira et al (2015) also added 5 percent of different lipid sources in feed for tilapia and found no differences in fish performance and survival during the feeding period. Tilapia that have been fed with diets enriched with organic Se (Selplex, Alltech) at a dose of 1 mg Se/kg feed (four times the level recommended by NRC) had 25 ug de Se/100 gramd of fillet, respectively, compared with 15 ug Se/100 grams in tilapia fillets coming from fish fed diets without a Se supplementation or supplemented with only 0.25 mg Se/kg (Nguyen et al 2019). Tilapia have a very efficient feed conversion ratio (1.3-1.8 lbs feed/lb fish) Good dress out percentage (86% with head, 66% without head, and 33% fillet) They adapt to their environment and are able to withstand less than ideal water conditions. The vast majority of tilapia eaten in the U.S. come from farms that adhere to rigorous requirements that take into account food safety, environment and community issues, feed, the use of veterinary drugs, traceability, and more. In controlled laboratory conditions, tilapia growth during the initial phases of sex reversal is maximized using feeds with protein levels between 40 and 45 percent (Table 4). Typical protein requirements for tilapia. The Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is a species of tilapia, a cichlid fish native to the northern half of Africa and the Levante area, including Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon. Tilapia plays a major role in aquaculture, as world production of this tropical species exceeds that of salmon. Several health agencies around the world recommend a daily intake of 250 to 500 mg of omega-3 FAs for adults. The choice of feeds to be used is something very particular to each farmer. 1. Probiotics (live bacterial cells) added to feed can also be used to modulate gut microflora and to improve immune responses in aquatic fish. Basic knowledge of mineral toxicity and interactions among minerals is necessary when Table 8 presents the results of studies that evaluate the effect of feeding rates on the performance of 500-gram tilapia. That is the current status for nutritional research with tilapia and many other cultured fishes. 0.02 - 2.0 g 40% … but the content lives on. Water temperature of 88 degrees fahrenheit. Other observed benefits were lower numbers of dead fish collected from cages daily, higher processing yield (due to less visceral fat and better developed dorsal muscles) and less rupture in the fillets. . Pond culture of tilapia is conducted with a variety of inputs such as agricultural by-products (brans, oil cakes, vegetation and manures), inorganic fertilisers and feed. B-Glucans added to feeds containing mycotoxins (toxins produced by fungi) act as a toxin binder as well as an immuno-modulator, lessening the detrimental effect of such mycotoxins and improving the immunological response of tilapia. They concluded that pellets of about 23 to 28 percent of the fish mouth’s width maximize weight gain and feeding efficiency of tilapia. Oreochromis & Tilapia spp. rich in DHA (Algae Rich®, Alltech). When tilapia are farmed in cages, salt losses can be magnified due to a more intense stress (related to crowding and more aggressive and physical contacts during feeding) compared to pond or tank culture at lower stocking densities. Certifications and standards; Sustainability. Tilapia are awesome fish. Keep a net around the pond to prevent the fish from predators like frogs and snakes. Ali and Al-Asgah (2001) observed that juvenile tilapia of 10 to 40 grams had the worst growth, feed conversion and protein utilization when feeds with 11 and 14 percent fiber were used, compared to fish that received feeds with 8 percent or less fiber. Comparative production results of tilapia farmed in cages and fed commercial feeds with or without ionic supplementation. The complete fish Research on vitamin requirements of tilapia begins in 1982. For GAA individual and corporate members, all 10 program sessions – a total of 15 hours of content – are accessible on-demand in the GOAL 2020 conference platform and GAA member toolkit, as are PDFs of GOAL 2020 presentations. Fish fed every two hours had gastric overload and end up not digesting or assimilating feed very well. Comparative production results of tilapia farmed in cages and fed commercial feeds with or without ionic supplementation. Tilapia fed for eight weeks with a diet containing 8.8 percent Algae Rich® showed concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids around 390 mg/100 grams of fillet, compared with 350 mg/100 grams of fillet of fish fed a diet with 5 percent fish oil, and just 130 mg/100 grams of fillet from tilapia fed a control diet without addition of omega-3 FAs. During breeding, they eat their own young juvenile, therefore, they need to be separated by size. Also, up to 100- to 200-gram fish, the FCR still does not amount to much in the final production cost, as only a small quantity of feed is used in this phase. Within this thermal range, their feed consumption, digestion, overall metabolism, weight gain, feed efficiency and immunity are maximized. General mineral requirements for various tilapia species are presented in table 5. Copyright © 2016–2020 Global Aquaculture Alliance, In Japan, aquaculture is deployed in the defense of endangered species, Pacific white shrimp responses to temperature fluctuations at low salinity, Effect of dietary non-starch polysaccharides on tilapia productivity in ponds, Detección electroquímica de WSSV con electrodo desechable, Surge of off-flavor solutions for RAS continues, 100% all fish could eat (satiation feeding). First of all, keep the minnow of tilapia fish in a nursing pond after bringing them from the hatchery. Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS) and B-Glucans are compounds obtained from the fragmentation of the cell walls of yeasts. Many compounds also improve gut health (increase mucus secretion and the numbers and height of intestinal villi, while reducing gut inflammation) and modulate the composition of gut flora, reducing the number of potentially pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria (such as Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Plesiomonas, Edwarsiella and Vibrio, among others) and increasing the population of beneficial Gram-positive bacteria (such as Lactobacillus). Tilapia grow fast and can reach from fingerling size (50 g) to maturity (600 g) in about 6-9 months. Recommended levels of minerals in feeds for tropical fish (NRC, 2011) and specific mineral’s requirement determined for tilapia. Feed features: - Feed is formulated to meet nutrient requirements of Tilapia for best growth fillet quality, disease resistance. A study by Azaza et al. For a better experience on this and other websites, we recommend that you enable Javascript. In some instances, the feed can have a very high vegetable component, especially Tilapia plays a major role in aquaculture, as world production of this tropical species exceeds that of salmon. Cnaani et al. Dietary protein requirements of several species of tilapia have been estimated to range between 20% and 56% (El-Sayed and Teshima, 1991) and Abo-Elwafa et al. A review of the nutrition and feeding management of farmed tilapia throughout the culture cycle; Nile tilapia - Nutritional requirements; Tilapia: Biology, Culture, and Nutrition × Several factors including fish size or age, dietary protein source, energy content, water This will help the tilapia’s digestive system to be properly cleaned. Fish that were maintained at 28 degrees-C and fed diets containing 38 percent CP had higher survival after challenge with the pathogenic bacterium Streptococcus iniae. In addition to being sources of EFAs, lipids are a concentrated and highly available energy source to fish. Vitamin E-deficient fish exhibited significantly lower weight gains and feed conversion efficiencies compared to the other fish. Allicin (from garlic) is an anti-cancer compound which has an immunomodulating action in various animals and fishes. Many producers believe that the larger the pellets, the less energy tilapia spend feeding. Selenium is an essential micromineral necessary for proper functioning of the immune system in humans and animals, necessary for the production of thyroid hormones and for normal activity of sperm cells. [citation needed]Around the world. However, around 73% of the tilapia imported to the United … Abstract The vitamin E requirement of the blue tilapia, Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner), was evaluated in semipurified diets containing two lipid levels (3% and 6% corn oil) and five levels (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) of dl-α-tocopheryl acetate. In addition, the Gram-negative bacteria bind to the MOS microparticles and are flushed out of the intestine along with the feces, modulating the microbial population in the Gut. In addition, many other substances (classified as prebiotic, herbal extracts, organic acids and probiotics), although not yet considered as essential nutrients, have already been proved to enhance overall condition and health of many aquatic species, including tilapia. Since feed constitutes the major operating cost of tilapia farming, understanding their nutritional requirements, factors that may influence these requirements and implementing the most appropriate feeding management strategy is feed particles passing through a 420 µm screen or 0.42 mm (1 mm = 1 000 µm). Tilapia responds well to the inclusion of oils and fats in its diet. Keywords: Dietary protein level, pantothenic acid; stocking density; growth rate; feed conversion; thyroxin; blood components; water quality, body composition. The sum of these benefits usually overcompensates for the higher price of 35 to 40 percent CP feeds.