Growth Response of African Catfish (clarias Gariepinus but He'll, 1822) Juveniles Fed With Graded Levels of Fermented Indian Sirris (albizia Lebbeck Benth, 1844) Seed Meal

ABSTRACT
This study investigates the growth responses and feed utilization of Clarias gariepinus juveniles fed with graded levels of fermented Albizia lebbeck (Indian siris) seed meal (ALSM). Raw Albizia lebbeck seeds were processed, grounded, fermented for 48 hours, and then the mixture were dried and re-ground into fine powder. Proximate composition and anti-nutritional factors of the fermented and raw seed meal were analyzed. five iso-nitrogenous diet of 40% crude protein were formulated, where Fermented ALSM was used to replaced soyabean meal. A completely randomized design was used, with 150 juvenile catfish of equal size (8.09±0.2g) we're allocated into five treatmens. The fish were fed 5% of their body weight for the period of 12 weeks. The results revealed that fermented ALSM had higher crude protein (40.46%) and lower fat content (6.03%) compared to raw ALSM (32.30% crude protein, 30.30% fat). Significant reductions in anti-nutritional factors, including phytate(59.51%), saponins (94.84), tannins (7.45%), alkaloids (26.85), oxalates (77.38%), flavonoids (13.83%), and cyanide (82.55%), were observed in the fermented ALSM. In the growth trial, no significant differences (P>0.05) were found in initial weight and length across treatments. However, final weight, final length, mean weight gain, and percentage weight gain were significantly higher in the control (0% ALSM) compared to the other ALSM treatments. The highest final weight was recorded in the control (88.69 g), while the lowest was observed in the 75% ALSM inclusion group (45.70 g). Growth parameters such as specific growth rate were significantly higher in the control group (2.126%/day) compared to the ALSM treatments. There were no significant differences in condition factor and survival rate among treatments. This study suggests that while fermented Albizia lebbeck seed meal can be utilized in catfish diets, its inclusion should be limited (should be less than 25% inclusion of ALSM) to prevent negative effects on growth performance. Future studies should focus on investigating alternative processing methods to further reduce the anti-nutritional factors present in ALSM.