Entomo Farm, together with french aquaculture feed laboratory IctyoPharma, have released results of their 3-month study to evaluate the efficacy of graded incorporation levels of insect meal (Tenebrio molitor meal) on the growth performance, body composition and nutrient retention in Nile tilapia juveniles.

The trial was conducted with four dietary treatments: a control diet containing 15% fishmeal and 5% porcine blood meal as major protein sources, and 3 diets in which the insect meal was incorporated at 10, 15 and 20% at the expenses of the fishmeal and porcine blood. All diets were isonutrigenous, isolipidic and isoenergetic.

At the end of the 61 days trial, fish fed 10% incorporation of insect meal showed a significantly higher final body weight and specific growth rate than those fed all other diets. Feed intake was not significantly affected by dietary treatments, which confirms that the graded incorporation levels of insect meal does not impact feed palatability. In the best performing treatment, fishes showed a 9-fold increase of their initial body weight. The various dietary levels of insect meal had no effect on the whole-body composition of the fish.

These data indicate the insect meal could effectively replace 100% of fishmeal and blood meal in the diet of juvenile Nile tilapia.

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