Effect of Fish Meal Substitution Using Maggot Flour (Hermetia illucens) on Growth Performance, Feed Utilization Efficiency, Protein Retention and Body Composition of the Milkfish (Chanos chanos)

Milkfish is a local Indonesian fish highly demanded by the public for its high protein. The feed quality in milkfish cultivation can affect aquaculture production's growth rate and success. The increased price of fish meals is due to more outstanding aquaculture production and the limited availability of fish meals. One alternative that can replace fish meals is maggot flour. Maggot flour has a crude protein content of 40-54% and a crude lipid content of 15-49%. This study aimed to examine the effect of substituting fish meal with maggot meal in artificial feed on the growth and survival of milkfish fry (Chanos chanos), determining the best dose for ultimate results.  A completely randomized design (C.R.D.) was performed consisting of 5 treatments; namely, A: 0%, B: 30%, C: 35%, D: 40%, and E: 45%/100 g/feed. Milkfish specimens with weights of 3- 3.5g and lengths ranging from 6- 7cm long were subject to study. Fish were reared in fiber tanks (10 fish/tubs) for 35 days. Based on the results of the study, the best dose was found in treatment C (35% maggot flour/100g feed), which was capable of producing TFC (90.40±1.93 g), FCR (1.53±0.21), FUE (57.32±0 .75%), SGR (2.64±0.05%/day), absolute weight (51.82±1.27 g) and absolute length (5,33±0.35 cm). Whereas, the best protein retention results were found in treatment B (76.57%). Based on the nutritional quality analysis results, treatment C recorded the highest yields of protein (49.95%),  fat (18.54%), methionine (7.10%) and EPA (5.07%).