Proximate Composition of Some Fish Feed Samples for Small-scale Aquaculture Farmers in Bobasi Sub-County, Kisii County, Kenya

A study was carried out to assess the nutritional value of fish feed used by small-scale aquaculture farmers in Bobasi Sub-County, Kisii County, Kenya between January and December 2019. Nine samples of fish feeds were collected randomly from different fish farmers and commercial feed dealers from the study area. These feeds were grouped into two categories: starter feeds and grower feeds. Farmers provided four locally formulated feeds: two starter feeds (C and D) and two grower feeds (H and I) while commercial dealers provided five feeds: two starter feeds (A and B) and three growers feeds (E, F, and G). Proximate analysis of these feeds were then carried out at the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Research Institute, Sangoro station, Kenya to assess their nutritional value. The results indicated that the crude protein (CP) content was in the range of 14.7 - 57.2%, ash 6.6 - 14.1%, lipid 2 - 11.2 %, fibre 0 - 10.3%, moisture 8.7 - 13.5% and nitrogen-free extract content 7.5 - 57.3% in commercial and farmer formulated feeds respectively. The results demonstrated that most commercial feeds had more protein content for fish growth compared to farmers’ locally formulated feeds. They also showed that feeds that had lesser CP levels had more nitrogen-free extract content which would result in reduced growth rates and consequently affect the fish yields.