Effect of ipil-ipil leaves (leucena leucocephala) extract on the growth performance of tilapia (oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings

Leucena leucocephala known as Ipil-ipil is a tropical plant species that contain a high level of protein. This plant can be one of a good substitute of protein source in the fish diet. In Malaysia, this plant is known as ‘Petai belalang’ and also known as an aggressive colonizer of ruderal sites and secondary vegetation in many parts of this country. This research study was conducted to determine the effect of adding L. leucocephala leaves extract in the fish feed on the growth performance of tilapia. L. leucocephala leaves was collected and undergo the treatment to remove the mimosine and extracted by using soxhlet method. The extracts were diluted into 10 and 20 % and sprayed into the fish feed. The Nile tilapia fingerlings were cultured into nine tanks with 30 fingerlings in each tank. Three tanks used as Treatment 1 that act as control and three tanks for Treatment 2 with 10 % of leaves extract and another three tanks for Treatment 3 with 20 % of leaves extract. The growth of the tilapia had been observed and the data had been collected and analyzed. The total weight gain of Nile tilapia fingerling for Treatment 1 is 21.38 g, 23.11 g for Treatment 2 and 30.74 g for Treatment 3. The specific growth rate for Treatment 3 shows the highest reading compared to other treatments. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) among the three treatments show an optimum reading and the mortality of the fingerlings during the experimental period is low. Therefore, this research had determined that feed containing 20 % of leaf extract showed the effectiveness in providing optimum level of the Nile tilapia growth.