Effect of Varying Levels of Dietary Protein on the Growth and Body Composition of the Grey Mullet Liza macrolepis Fingerlings

Abstract

Casein-gelatin based isocaloric purified diets with graded levels of protein (10-60%) were fed to the fingerlings of Liza macrolepis for 60 days to evaluate the growth, feed conversion and carcass composition. Relative growth, specific growth, normalized biomass index and survival rate were higher and feed conversion ratio, lower in fish which received 40% dietary protein. Carcass composition of the fish indicated that protein, lipid, carbohydrate and moisture were significantly different while ash content was not significantly different from the initial values. The studies showed that dietary protein at a level of 40% was optimal for the species.