Effects of Chitosan Nanoparticles on the Growth Rate and Reproductive Performance of the Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

Abstract

The aquaculture industry in Egypt has been developed and well sustained within the last few decades. It is evident that the aquaculture industry; in spite of its successes, still suffers from serious limitations, such as lack of fry, expensive feed (fishmeal) and low resistance to diseases. In fish diets, fish meal is considered as an important ingredient due to its high protein quality, balanced amino acids profile, excellent palatability and digestibility as well as minimum anti-nutritional factors. On the other hand, due to the static production and growing demand, fish meal price has been multiplied. Therefore, many studies targeted at reducing or substituting fishmeal in diets utilizing food additives or alternative protein sources with valuable, feasible, renewable and biologically sustainable materials, which can improve the biological and physiological functions of fish. Several studies postulated that soybean meal (SBM) is regarded as the most convenient alternative protein source to replace fishmeal. However, contradictory results have been noticed upon replacement of fishmeal by dietary SBM in aquaculture, because the levels of SBM that could be utilized without opposing with the growth rate are sensitive to culture systems and species. Moreover, phytic acid in SBM had adverse effects on the feed conversion ratio, fish growth and feed palatability.