Replacing dietary corn with barley seeds in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.), feed

Four isocaloric-isonitrogenous rations containing 0%, 15%, 30% and 51% of ground barley seeds as a replacement for dietary corn were fed to three replicate groups of Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus) fingerlings with a mean initial weight of 3.5 g. The randomly selected fish were tested for 9 weeks in 60 L circular tanks. Each tank was considered as an experimental unit. The tanks were put together in a water recirculating system using filtered and aerated ground well water (24 ± 3°C). Tilapia weight gain, feed conversion, specific growth rate and protein efficiency ratio were similar in fish fed diets containing 15% and 30% barley and were superior to those fed diets containing 0% control and 51% barley. There were no differences between tilapia fed diets containing 0% and 51% barley. Body moisture, crude fat, crude protein and total ash did not change as the level of barley in the feeds was increased.