A Preliminary Study on Oxya fuscovittata (Marschall) as an Alternative Nutrient Supplement in the Diets of Poecillia sphenops (Valenciennes)

Abstract

Growth of the ornamental fish industry is being hindered by the scarcity of low cost feed; hence alternative protein supplements should be explored. In this context the present study aims to evaluate whether the grasshopper Oxya fuscovittata could be used as a supplement for fish meal in the diets of Poecillia sphenops, which is one of the most common ornamental fishes worldwide. The present work is divided into three phases: In the first phase proximate composition of the grasshopper is obtained and five diets are prepared where fish meal is gradually replaced by Oxya meal and named as control, D1, D2, D3 and D4. All the diets are formulated on iso-nitrogenous basis where the protein percentage is fixed at 400 g/kg. The second phase deals with feeding trial and in the third phase all the data of the feeding trial are subjected to a linear model. The feeding trial shows that the control, D1 and D2 fed fishes have almost similar results. The linear model proves that the variation in the indices are mainly due to replacement of fish meal by Oxya meal, not due to the variations of rice husk and mustard oil cake that are also used to formulate the diets of the present study. From the results two Oxya supplemented diets, i.e. D1 and D2 are proved to be almost equivalent to the control diet. Hence it is concluded that Oxya meal is able to replace 25% to 50% of fish meal from the diets of P. sphenops.

Biotic Potential of a Short-Horned Grasshopper, Oxya hyla hyla Serville (Orthoptera: Acrididae) to Assess Its Biomass Producing Capacity

“…Many reports suggest that acridids can be used as protein supplement in formulation of fish and animal feed (Wang et al 2007;Anand et al 2008;Ganguly et al 2014). The major constraint of considering acridid meal as feed ingredient is its uncertain availability.…”

“…Among the edible insects, short-horned grasshoppers have immense potential for biomass production as many of them are cultivable in mass scale under controlled condition (Haldar et al 1998;Anand et al 2008). Many reports have suggested for incorporation of grasshopper meal in fish and livestock feed (DeFoliart 1999;Anand et al 2008;Ganguly et al 2014). However, careful study is required to choose the appropriate species of grasshopper for the success of rearing because biomass producing capacity of an insect depends on several parameters such as host plants, environmental condition, sex ratio, biotic potential, survival rate, weight gain capacity etc.…”

Nutrition in ornamental aquaculture: the raise of anthropocentrism in aquaculture?

“…Insect meals can be an optimal substitute of fish meal (Ganguly et al . ), without competing with use for human consumption. Moreover, artificial selection can also greatly improve the ability to adapt farmed fish to totally vegetal‐based feeds: which is almost a reality in Atlantic salmon farming (Le Boucher et al .…”

“…Fish meal replacement studies have started in ornamental fish nutrition, and soybean meal is the principal fish meal substitute (Velasco-Santamar ıa & Corredor-Santamar ıa 2011), with 30% of maximum inclusion level, depending on the species (Chong et al 2003). Insect meals can be an optimal substitute of fish meal (Ganguly et al 2014), without competing with use for human consumption. Moreover, artificial selection can also greatly improve the ability to adapt farmed fish to totally vegetal-based feeds: which is almost a reality in Atlantic salmon farming (Le Boucher et al 2012).…”

Nutritional evaluation of a short-horned grasshopper‚ Oxya hyla hyla (Serville) meal as a substitute of fishmeal in the compound diets of rohu, Labeo rohita (Hamilton)

“…Studies revealed that grasshoppers are rich in protein, essential amino acids and other nutrients (Ganguly et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2007). Several reports suggested that dietary protein of fishmeal could be partially substituted in the fish diets with different grasshopper meal without compromising their growth, reproduction and feed utilisation efficiency (Balogun, 2011;Emehinaiye, 2012;Ganguly et al, 2014;Johri, Singh, & Johri, 2010). Oxya hyla hyla (Serville) is a multivoltine grasshopper distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent, and this species can be farmed for biomass production (Ghosh, Haldar, & Mandal, 2014, 2015.…”