Enhanced Growth Potential of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Through Maggot-Based Feeding in Multi-Trophic Systems

Abstract

Highly nutritious insects, such as black soldier fly (BSF) larvae, also referred toas maggot, have been evaluated as feed in monoculture systems, but their use in multi-trophic systems has not been previously investigated. This study used maggot-based feed in a multi-trophic system on a laboratory scale to evaluate the survival and growth performance of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Tilapia were cocultured with freshwater lobster, freshwater clams, and paddy. Four experimental diets were used including a commercial pellet as a control (CP), live maggots (LM), dried maggots (DM), and supplemented maggots (SM). Tilapia (initial weight, 4.1 ± 0.2 g) and other organisms were reared in plastic tanks (water volume 50 L) and randomly distributed into 12 tanks, each containing 20 individual tilapia. The experimental diets were given four times a day at a feeding rate of 10% tilapia biomass. After 28 days of feeding, the survival and growth of tilapia on the CP diet were 90.0% and 2.8% day-1, LM 93.3% and 2.7% day-1, DM 93.3% and 3.3% day-1, and SM 90.0% and 3.1% day-1, respectively. There was no significant effect (P > 0.05) on the survival performance among the experimental diets. However, the growth confirmed by Specific Growth Rate (SGR) showed a significant effect (P < 0.05). SGR values were found to be significantly higher in the DM and SM diets than in the CP diet. An important finding of this research is the potential of maggot-based feed to increase the growth of tilapia in multi-trophic systems without impairing their survival.