Effect of Replacement of Fishmeal With Lima Bean Meal on the Zootechnical Performances of African Catfish ( Clarias Gariepinus ) in the Batié Sub-Division , West Region of Cameroun

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the substitution of fishmeal by Lima bean flouron the growth performance, survival rate and feed cost of Clarias gariepinus between March and May 2018 within the AIO ICG of the Batié District. It also aimed to contribute to the development of alternative sources of animal protein on a global scale. For this purpose, 300 fry of Clarias gariepinus with an average weight of 3 ± 1.41g were divided into five batches and fed three times a day with rations corresponding to 5% of their ichthyobiomass. The rations R0, R25 R50, R75 and R100 respectively corresponded to the substitution rates of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of fish meal by that of Lima bean. The physic-chemical characteristics of the water (pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, nitrites and nitrates) were measured daily. The following results were obtained: The highest weight gains were obtained with the rations R25 (20.56 ± 0.40 g), R50 (20.64 ± 0.32 g), R75 (20.98 ± 0.46 g) and the lowest with the rations of R100 (16.21 ± 0.28 g). The highest average daily gain were 0.36 ± 0.02 g; 0.37 ± 0.01 g ; 0.38 ± 0.01 g respectively for the R0, R50 and R75 rations and the lowest with R100 (0.29 ± 0.01 g). The highest value of the specific growth rate (2.47 ± 0.07%) was obtained with the ration R0 and the lowest (1.61%) with the ration R100. The consumption index reached its highest and lowest values with the rations R100 (4.74 ± 0.42) and R50 (3.57 ± 0.43) respectively, compared to the value of the ration R0 (3.31 ± 0.37) for this parameter. Concerning the condition factor K, the highest value was recorded with the R50 diet (1.11 ± 0.49) while the lowest value was obtained with the R75 diet (0.95 ± 0.45). The cost of producing one kilogram of food was higher with the R25 ration (504.59 FCFA) and lower with the R100 ration (443.20 FCFA). Our results revealed that incorporating 75% Lima bean flour into the feed increases the growth performance of Clarias gariepinus fry and reduces the cost of food production. DOI : Coming Soon Corresponding author: Emile Miégoué, University of Dschang, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Production Animal Nutrition and production Research Unit. Email: migoumile@yahoo.fr


Introduction
Global fish production and demand are steadily increasing and have increased fivefold in less than 10 years (FAO, 2017) 11 .Production increased from 39 million tons in 2010 to 174.1 million tons in 2016 (FAO, 2017) 11 .In addition, its global per capita consumption per year has increased from an average of 9.9kg in the 1960s to over 20kg in 2016 (FAO, 2016) 10 .In sub-Saharan Africa, fish products contribute an average of 50% of GDP in protein intake of animal origin but are still insufficient (FAO, 2012) 9 .In Cameroon, the high protein demand linked to the impetus of the demographic growth of the population is generating interest in fish farming, which represents an alternative that can promote the self-sufficiency of rural populations and food security (Marquet, 1985)  20 .However, fish farming faces many constraints, the main ones being the lack of fry and quality feed, the unavailability of by-products and the high costs of imported food (Hishamunda and Ridler, 2003, Moehl et al., 2006)  14 , 23 .
Because of the high costs of imported feeds and the unavailability of certain ingredients, the protein component mainly made of fishmeal, remains the most expensive (Alphonsus et al., 2009) 5 and it is urgent to find alternative sources available and less expensive.
Thus, several studies have been conducted on the substitution of fishmeal by other protein sources, whether of plant or animal origin (Pouomogne, 1994;   Olaniyi and Salau, 2013)  [25,26,28 ].Hence, this has led to the initiation or the attempt to replace total or partial fish meal with that of Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus).The species Phaseolus lunatus is one of the least used legumes in Cameroon.This bean has an amino acid profile similar to that of common beans (Ologhobo,   1980, Aletor and Aladetimi, 1989)  [27,4] but because of the ignorance of its nutritional potential, its culture is neglected.Thus, in order to get breeders to take an interest in this alternative source of protein, this research work has been initiated with the global objective of contributing to the development of alternative sources of protein in the diet of fish.More specifically, it was undertaken to evaluate the effect of Lima bean flour on the survival rate, growth performance and finally on the economic cost of producing Clarias gariepinus.

Biological Material
Three hundred (300) Clarias gariepinus fry with a mean weight of 3 ± 1.41 g and a mean total length of 7 ± 1.45 cm were used.These fry were divided into five  2013) [32,6] for 56 days during the experiment, and the quantity was readjusted after each control fishery.
Every two weeks, a control fishery was conducted and 25% of the fish in each treatment were individually weighed using an electronic scale of 0.1 gram precision and measured with a 0.1mm precision icthyometer.This made it possible to evaluate the growth characteristics of the fish and readjust the quantity of food to be distributed during the two following weeks.
In parallel with the data collection, the physical and chemical parameters of the water were obtained in situ between 06:00 and 07:00 in each basin: it consisted of taking the temperature, the pH, the ammonia, the nitrites, nitrates and dissolved oxygen from the water respectively using a HANNA mini-maxi thermometer, a Waterproof pH meter, a Tera nitrite chemical kit, and an EUTECH instrument or meter instrument.At the end of the test, all the fish were counted, weighed and measured.

Survival Rate and Growth Parameters
-The survival rate is the ratio (in percentage) between the number of fish at the end of the observation and the initial number of fish.

Loss of survival (%) = (Final number of fish /
Initial number of fish) x100 -Specific growth rate: it helps to evaluate the weight gained by the fish every day from it live weight.

Statistical Analyzes
The growth and biochemical parameters were expressed on mean standard deviation and in percentages.One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the effects of treatment and the Ducan test (at 5% threshold) to separate the means when there was a significant difference.SPSS 20.0 software was used for analysis.

Effect of the Substitution of Fishmeal by Lima Bean Meal in the Feed on the Survival Rate of Clarias Gariepinus
The effect of fish meal replacement by Lima bean flour on the survival rate of Clarias gariepinus is shown in Figure 1.It shows that the highest survival rate (98.4 ± 2.3%) was obtained with the R 50 ration followed by R 75 and R 100 (97.6 ± 2.5%).The lowest value (96.5 ± 2.5%) was recorded with the R 25 diet, although no significant difference was observed between the diets (R 0 , R 25 , R 50 , R 75 and R 100 ).

Effect of Fishmeal Substitution by Lima Bean Flour on the Growth Characteristics of Clarias Gariepinus
The effect of the substitution of fishmeal by Lima bean flour on growth characteristics is summarized in  Effect of Fish Meal Substitution with Lima Bean Meal on     Clarias gariepinus fry.Generally, it appears that the average daily gain increased throughout the study period regardless of the treatment.However, it was significantly (p<0.05)higher with the R 0 (0.36 ± 0.02g), R 50 (0.37 ± 0.01g) and R 75 (0.38 ± 0.01g) rations, while the most less values 0.33 ± 0.01 g and 0.29 ± 0.01 g were obtained with R 25 and R 100 respectively.

Effect of Fishmeal Substitution by Lima Bean Meal on the Condition Factor of Clarias Gariepinus
The effect of the substitution of fishmeal by Lima bean flour on the condition factor K is shown in

Effect of Fishmeal Substitution by Lima Bean Meal on the Consumption Index of Clarias Gariepinus
The consumption index of Clarias gariepinus, as illustrated in Figure 6, was significantly (p<0.05) affected by the substitution of fishmeal with Lima bean flour.Thus, the lowest index value (3.31 ± 0.37) was recorded in the lots that received the R 0 ration followed by R 50 (3.47± 0.43) and the highest (4.74 ± 0.42) was obtained with R 100 .This characteristic tends to increase with the level of substitution.

Correlation between the growth Characteristics of Clarias gariepinus and the Physicochemical Parameters of Water
In general, the growth characteristics were not influenced by the physical and chemical parameters of the water, with the exception of the consumption indices of the R 0 and R 50 diets, which significantly (p˂0.05) were affected by the temperature of the water and the rate of nitrite; and mean daily gain (ADG) that was significantly influenced (p˂0.05) by pH and dissolved oxygen.

Financial Evaluation
The economic evaluation of the different rations is summarized in Table 4.It appears that the R100 ration had the lowest production price (443.2FCFA), followed by R 75 (469.48FCFA) and R 50 (487.09FCFA).
However, the best value for money was obtained with R 75 .(Table 4)

Discussion
The results show that survival rates were not significantly affected by the different percentages of fish

Conclusion
At the end of this study on the effect of the replacement of fishmeal with Lima bean flour, aimed at contributing to the development of alternative sources of animal protein the following conclusions were drawn: -The survival rate of Clarias gariepinus fry was not significantly affected by the substitution rate.
Ø However, the highest survival rate was recorded with

and 10 °
17'0 '' -10 ° 19'31 '' east longitude and at an altitude of 1700 m in the West Region of Cameroon, Haut-Plateau Division, specifically in the Batié Sub-division.The climate is the Sudano-Guinean type and includes a rainy season (mid-March to mid-November) and a dry season (mid-November to mid-March).The temperature and average rainfall are respectively 23 °C and 1621 mm / year.

( 5 )
batches according to the different diets tested.The loading of these fry, resulting from an artificial reproduction made within the GIC, was 20 fry per basin.Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) and agricultural byproducts were purchased from the Bafoussam city market.Production of Lima Bean Flour Fourteen (14) kilograms of beans were boiled 100°c for 2 hours and then dried under the sun to constant weight.It was then crushed and mixed with other agricultural by-products according to the food rations formulated.Experimentation and Data Collection Fifteen (15) circular basins of 1m3 each, filled with drilling water were used.The volume of water in each basin was 900 liters and the water was renewed to two-thirds (2/3) every day.To this, three hundred (300) Clarias gariepinus fry with comparable size and weight were randomly divided into five lots with three replicates per batch.Each batch was randomly assigned to one of the R0, R25, R50, R75 and R100 experimental diets formulated.The compositions and the bromatological characteristics are given in growth rate (%) = [ (final average weight) -(initial average weight)] * 100 / time; ln = natural logarithm -condition factor K: it gives the overweight of fish during the experiment.Condition factor K (%) = (W / LT3) x100 with W = weight in g, L = total length • Consumption index: it is a coefficient which is often used by zootechnicians to characterize the efficiency of feed.Consumption index = quantity of food served / weight gain Financial Evaluation The financial evaluation of the ration was made on the basis of the prices of the different ingredients on the market and on the basis of the cost of production of the kilogram of Lima beans.-Cost of Feed Consumption = Cost of Kg of Feed x Feed Consumption -Production Feed Cost = Feed Consumption Cost x Consumption Index

(
p˃0, 05) to that of the R 0 and R 50 values.With respect to the specific growth rate, the values were comparable (p˃0, 05) with the R 0 to R 75 diets and significantly low with the R 100 diet.With regard to the condition factor K, it recorded the values significantly (p˂0.05)higher with the ration R 50 , R 25 and R 0 and significantly (p <0.05) lower with the R 75 and R 100 .The opposite trend was observed with the consumption index with R 100 having the significantly (p<0.05)higher index value.Effect of Fish Meal Substitution by Lima Bean Meal on Clarias Gariepinus Weight GainThe effect of fish meal replacement by Lima bean flour on the weight gain of Clarias gariepinus fry, as shown in Figure2, shows that the weight gain generally increased over time regardless of the food ration experienced.However, weight gains were significantly greater with the R 75 (20.98 ± 0.46g), R 50 (20.64± 0.32g), R 0 (20.25 ± 0.44g) and R 25(18.56 ± 0.40 g) in contrast to the R 100 diet which was the lowest value (16.21 ± 0.28 g).

Figure 3
Figure 3 illustrates the effect of fish meal replacement by Lima bean flour on average daily gain in

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Effect of the substitution of fishmeal by Lima bean flour on the specific growth rate of Clarias gariepinus at a density of 95 individuals/m 3 and at 1.46 registered by Olayini and Salau (2013)[25,26] in Clarias gariepinus fed with feed containing maggots meal.In this study, the incorporation of Lima bean flour generally increased ingestion in Clarias gariepinus fry relative to the control diet (R 0 ).This observation makes it possible to assume that the feeds tested were more appreciated by the Clarias gariepinus fry than the R 0 control feed though their assimilation has been variable.The R 75 diet represents the best value for money (469.48FCFA per kg of food purchased and 1065 FCFA obtained per kg of fish sold) and is therefore the most efficient bio economically.This result is in accordance with the works of Ajani et al.(2004) 3 which show that the substitution of fish meal by maggots meal at 50 and 100% helps to reduce the production cost of a kilogram of fish at about 18 to 28% due to the low cost of ingredients.

Table 1 .
Food Composition, Bromatological Characteristics and Cost of Different Rations Ca = calcium; P = phosphorus.www.openaccesspub.org| IJAR CC-license DOI : Coming Soon Vol-1 Issue-1 Pg. no.-4Initial average weight -Average daily gain gives informations on the daily growth rate of fry during the experimental period.Average daily gain (g / d) = Weight gain / time (number of days).

Table 2
Regarding average daily earnings (ADG), the lowest significant (p <0.05) value was obtained with the R 100 ration.The latter was comparable (p˃0, 05) to rations R 25 .The R 75 diet gave the highest value but comparable

Table 2 .
Values of zoo technical characteristics according to the substitution rate of fishmeal by Lima bean flour Average Daily Gain of Clarias Gariepinus Fry

Table 4 .
31aluation of the cost of different rations R 0 -R 100 : Rations containing respectively 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of Lima bean flour.Prices with the same letters for the same line are not significantly different (p˃0, 05). in this study was between 0.95 et 1.11.These values are comparable (P> 0,05) to those (0,62 à 1,86) reported by Mlewa et al.,(2004)22in Protopterus aethiopicus and superior to those obtained by par Rukera et al.,31(2005) (0,79 à 0,83% ) in C. gariepinus overweight of fish varies with the treatment (rations) and was greater than 1 for the R 25 and R 50 reflecting a good weight according to Fulton (1902) who reported that when K>1 it means that the fish has a good weight.In fact, the condition factor K obtained in C. gariepinus