author(s)
Amrutha Varshini N and Shyama S

abstract
A 64 day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of Anabas cobojius by feeding fermented fruit processing wastes. Grapes, Pineapple and Papaya wastes were used for enrichment by Solid state fermentation employing Brewer’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Four Iso-nitrogenous diets containing 40% crude protein in which fish meal was replaced by fermented fruits at 0%(Tₒ), 5% Grapes (T₁), 5% Pineapple (T₂), 5% Papaya (T₃) were formulated. Fry of Anabas were fed @ 5% of their body weight twice daily. Weight gain, FCR, FCE, SGR and % survival was compared against diet with fish meal (Tₒ) as the sole protein source. Most important water quality parameters were analyzed every week. It was observed at the end of the study that the weight of the fish showed significant difference (P<0.05) between Days and Treatment of fish fed the various diet. There was also significant difference in the SGR, FCR and FCE between treatments (p>0.05). Based on the results, it could be recommended that in practices, 5% inclusion of fermented grapes, pineapple and papaya in the diet is optimal for Anabas cobojius fingerlings without necessarily compromising growth rate or causing deleterious effects on the fish performance.