Aquaculture development in Ghana is currently limited by inadequate supply of fingerlings and prohibitive cost of commercial feeds among other challenges. This study tested the feasibility of using low‐cost feeds containing soybean meal instead of fishmeal for nursing Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fry. Three isonitrogenous (~48% crude protein) and isoenergetic (~17 kJ/g) diets with increasing inclusions of soybean meal as partial replacements for fishmeal were formulated. A commercial fishmeal‐based fry feed served as the control diet. Triplicate groups of 225 fish per tank (average initial weight: 2.09 ± 0.14 g) were stocked in a recirculating aquaculture system and fed the experimental diets for 21 days. Afterwards, we investigated the postprandial metabolism, nutrient digestibility, growth and gut histology in Nile tilapia fry. Simple economic analyses were also conducted to assess the cost‐effectiveness of the diets used in the feed trial. The dietary inclusions of the soybean meal significantly reduced feed cost by ~43% relative to the control diet. The growth performance and feed utilization parameters did not vary significantly among the different treatments. The soybean diets elicited significant reductions in villi heights and goblet cell numbers, which corresponded with increasing dietary levels of soybean meal. This study confirms the potential of soybean meal as a partial replacement for fishmeal in Nile tilapia fry diets in terms of lower feed costs, fish growth performance, nutrient digestibility and postprandial nitrogenous excretions. The inclusion of soybean, however, affected negatively the gut integrity of the fry.

中文翻译：

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豆粕日粮对尼罗罗非鱼（Oreochromis niloticus）鱼苗生长性能，氨排泄率，肠道组织学和饲料成本的影响

目前，加纳水产养殖的发展受到鱼种供应不足和商业饲料成本过高等诸多因素的限制。这项研究测试了使用低成本的含豆粕饲料代替鱼粉喂养尼罗罗非鱼的可行性（Oreochromis niloticus）炒。配制了三种等氮（约48％的粗蛋白）和等能（约17 kJ / g）日粮，其中豆粕夹杂物含量增加，可作为鱼粉的部分替代品。以商业鱼粉为基础的鱼苗饲料作为对照饮食。在循环水产养殖系统中放养三组，每箱225条鱼（平均初始重量：2.09±0.14 g），并饲喂21天的实验饲料。之后，我们调查了尼罗罗非鱼鱼苗的餐后代谢，营养物质消化率，生长和肠道组织学。还进行了简单的经济分析，以评估饲料试验中所用日粮的成本效益。相对于对照饮食，豆粕的膳食包含物可将饲料成本显着降低约43％。不同处理之间的生长性能和饲料利用率参数没有显着差异。大豆饮食引起绒毛高度和杯状细胞数量的显着减少，这与豆粕的饮食水平增加相对应。这项研究证实了在降低饲料成本，鱼类生长性能，营养消化率和餐后含氮排泄物方面，尼罗罗非鱼苗日粮中豆粕有可能部分替代鱼粉。但是，大豆的加入对鱼苗的肠道完整性有负面影响。这项研究证实了在降低饲料成本，鱼类生长性能，营养消化率和餐后含氮排泄物方面，尼罗罗非鱼苗日粮中豆粕有可能部分替代鱼粉。但是，大豆的加入对鱼苗的肠道完整性有负面影响。这项研究证实了在降低饲料成本，鱼类生长性能，营养消化率和餐后含氮排泄物方面，尼罗罗非鱼苗日粮中豆粕有可能部分替代鱼粉。但是，大豆的加入对鱼苗的肠道完整性有负面影响。