Digestibility studies in juveniles of the Mexican cichlid, Cichlasoma urophthalmus (Günther)

Abstract. A simple trial is described to determine the effects of brown fish meal, solvent extracted soybean meal, raw wheat meal, raw starch and dextrin on diet digestibility in juveniles of the Mexican cichlid, Cichlasoma urophthalmus (Gümher). The effects of possible anti-nutrients in the feedstuffs used were assessed with the purpose of designing practical diets. The results did not show any effect attributable to anti-nutrients, but showed that high dietary fibre levels reduced digestibility. The carbohydrates of soybean meal were poorly digested compared with the other sources utilized. These results suggest that the substitution of fish meal by soybean meat and other plant proteins could be increased to reduce costs of practical diets for this species.