This research is aimed at comparing the nutritional profiles of African catfish fed
with commercial diet in earthen and concrete ponds. A total of 500 fingerlings
were randomly distributed into Earthen (4 x 8m2) and Concrete (1 x 2m2) ponds
with 400 and 100 fingerlings respectively. The fish were fed 5% of their body
weight twice daily for 84days. The fish sampled from each treatment were
smoked-dried and milled into powdered form. The proximate: Protein (Pro),
Moisture (Moi), Fat (Fa), Fiber (Fib), Ash (Ah), Carbohydrate (CHO) and
mineral compositions of the powdered fish were determined using the standard
methods of analytical chemists. Results showed that highest values were
recorded for Potassium K (88.25±0.04), Sodium Na (72.36±0.00) and Copper Cu
(0.36±0.47) in earthen pond and Calcium Ca (240.58±0.04), Manganese Mn
(0.15±0.00), Iron Fe (8.17±0.01) and Zinc Zn (1.26±0.01) in concrete pond
respectively. The ash content showed that there was no significant (p0.05) differences in moisture, fat, fiber, protein and carbohydrate
contents of fish reared in both ponds. The significant differences in the ponds
chemical compositions might be due to the differences in the environment and
nutrient utilizations that they were subjected to. These attributes differing
significantly between earthen and concrete pond shows that they were in good
condition for human consumption, but for better enhancement, fish raised in
earthen pond should be consumed more as it shows higher protein content.