Eisenia fetida as protein source for growth enhancement of Heteropneustes fossilis
Rahul Kumar
Abstract
The present study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of different species of earthworms (Eisenia fetida, Eudrilus eugeniae and Pheretima posthuma) as a protein source for the replacement fish meal. Different species of earthworms were used as fish feed. E. fetida proved best replacement for standard feed as it results in the significantly highest increase in fish body weight, length, Average Daily Weight Gain (ADG), Specific Growth Rate (SGR) (66.84 %, 23.49%, 0.22g/day, and 1.48 % per day respectively). It also had the best Feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 0.68. The aforementioned result is further confirmed by the increase in crude protein content in fish fed with E. fetida. Therefore, farmers can use it as an economical and sustainable protein-rich fish feed.