Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria
Fingerlings of Clarias gariepinus were fed diets containing 0%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% inclusion levels of Luffa cylindrical seed. After eight weeks of feeding trials in outdoor hapas, it was observed that growth performance indices such as Mean Weight Gain, Feed Conversion Ratio, Specific Growth Rate, and Protein Efficiency Ratio were not significantly affected (P>0.05) across the treatment, however Net Protein Utilization therefore Luffa cylindrica seed can be included up to 25% in the diet of Clarias gariepinus without any negative effect on growth and also reduce production cost of fish since the plant grows in the wild.
Keywords: African catfish, Growth parameter, un-conventional feedstuff, wild cucumber.