Evaluation of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) prepupae oil as meal supplementation in diets for red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis sp.)

Black soldier fly prepupae are a potential lipid source for aquaculture feed with high content of lipid (38.5%). In this study, the effects of black soldier fly prepupae oil (BSO) on growth performances, digestibility, fatty acid composition and hematological parameters of tilapia were investigated. Five experimental diets were formulated with Fish oil (FO) and with partial or complete (25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% BSO, respectively) replacement. The fish were fed with the diets at 5% of their body weight per day for 100 days. At the end of the experiment, tilapia from each experimental diet was individually weighed after fasting for 24 h. The results showed that FO can be successfully replaced with 25%BSO in tilapia diets without affecting fish growth performances. The highest growth (2.27%) and the lowest food conversion ratio FCR (1.39) were obtained in the fish fed with the 25%BSO diet. The BSO contained major lauric acid (35.2/100 g), palmitic acid (25.1/100 g), and oleic acid (19.6/100 g), which can be effectively utilized by tilapia. The prove that freshwater fish like tilapia can convert omega-6 to omega-3 has been shown in fish fed with BSO were higher in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) with (6.1–7.3/100 g) than fish fed with 100% fish FO (5.7/100 g). Fish oil replacement up to 50% showed a high apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) lipid value (90.54–95.72%). There was no palatability problem detected in this study. The values obtained for hematological parameters were within the normal ranged for tilapia. The combination of FO and 25%BSO in the diets had positive effects on red hybrid tilapia.