| Summary: | The present study evaluated Nile tilapia when fed on dried duckweed in combination with commercial feed, aiming at reducing production costs. Three diets, which consisted of commercial feed (40% crude protein), dried duckweed or a combination of commercial feed and dried duckweed were fed to triplicate groups of 20 tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings. Fish weighing 3.2 ± 0.94g were stocked in nine 1-m3 net cages and fed twice a day for 50 days. The final average weights of fingerlings fed commercial feed (21.67g) and50% feed + 50% dried duckweed (19.53g) were not different (p<0.05). Likewise, the specific growth rate did not differ between fish receiving these dietary treatments. Weight gain decreased as water temperature decreased along the experimental period, increasing feed conversion mainly for fingerlings fed on dried duckweed only. Also, when fed alone dried duckweed promoted the lowest weight gain and specific growth rate. It was confirmed that dried duckweed can replace 50% (1:1 dry weight) tilapia fingerling 40% crude protein feed for a period of at least 50 days, without reducing growth.
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