This study was conducted to evaluate, in the ration, the use of fish meal supplement with amino acids on performance, carcass characteristics, and on hematological analysis in Nile tilapia juvenils. It was used 140 juveniles with an average weight of 14.0 ± 0.14 g, randomly distributed in a complete random design with five levels of fish meal (0; 1.5; 3.0; 4.5; and 6.0%) in the ration, each one with four replicates. The rations were isoenergetic (3,000 kcal of digestible energy) and isocalcium and fish were fed three times a day until apparent satiety for 60 days. It was evaluated the weight gain, feed intake, apparent feed conversion, protein efficiency rate, hepatosomatic index, carcass weight, carcass yield, nitrogen retention, and hematocrit and hemoglobin rates. The levels of fish meal did not change the weight gain, food conversion, ration intake, hepatosomatic level, carcass yield, carcass weight and hemoglobin rate, but they had a quadratic effect on nitrogen retention, humidity, and fat content on the carcass, and on the hematocrit rate. The higher the levels of fish meal, the lowest the protein efficiency rate and the higher the protein and ash levels in the carcass. The 3% level of fish meal does not affect performance neither carcass characteristics of Nile tilapia juveniles.
fish; juvenile; performance; protein feed
