Effects of copra (Cocos nucifera) meal on the growth performance of Cyprinus carpio

Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the optimum concentration of copra meal as a fish meal replacement on the growth performance of Cyprinus carpio. Various concentrations of copra (Cocos nucifera) meal, viz 3, 6, 9, and 12 % were used to determine the final weight, body weight gain (BWG), average weekly gain (AWG), daily weight gain (DWG), specific growth rate (SGR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the C. carpio (Initial body weight 25-25.2 g/fish) and compare with control group (Basal diet) without copra meal replacement and commercial diet (CD). Six groups of C. carpio with three replicates were used and fed with different concentration of copra meal at satiation level five times per day for 12 weeks. At the end of feeding trial, the C. carpio fed 9% copra meal in the diet had higher final weight, BWG, AWG, DWG, SGR than any other groups, except commercial diet (CD). Meanwhile, the highest PER was found on the fish fed CD, followed by fish fed 3 % of copra meal in the diet. However, FCR was not affected by any types of diets. These finding suggested that the 9% replacement of wheat in the diet with copra meal is beneficial to improve growth performance.