###### Abstract  
The performance of two strains of Nile tilapia (the Nyakabera and Lake Kivu) fed a commercial feed or either a fishheal-based or a fishheal-free feed formulated using local ingredients was evaluated for 99 days in Bukavu, eastern highlands of the DR Congo (Experiment 1). Strain \(\times\) feed interaction was significant (\(p\) < 0.05) for final body weight (FBW) and condition factor (CF). Growth of both strains was best with the commercial feed. Fish-meal free formulated feed resulted in similar or better fish growth than a local fishheal-based formulated feed depending on the strains. Lake Kivu strain had significantly (\(p\) < 0.05) higher FBW when fed the commercial and fishheal-free feeds than the Nyakabera strain, but when fed the fishheal-based feed the difference was not significant. The performance of the other three Nile tilapia strains (the GIFT-Congo Futur, GIFT-RATALBI and Tihange strains) fed a single commercial feed was evaluated for 84 days in Kinshasa, western lowlands of the DRC (Experiment 2). Male GIFT-Congo Futur and GIFT-RATALBI did not differ significantly (\(p\) > 0.05) in FBW and CF, but both performed better than the Tihange. FBW of the female GIFT-Congo Futur was significantly higher than that of the other two strains, while CF was not significantly (\(p\) > 0.05) different among strains in females. aquaculture; Bukavu; feeds; fish strains; Kinshasa 2022  
services, in addition to trade barriers on associated inputs and products [5]. Good, commercial feeds are often imported at a price that is prohibitive for smallholder farmers, and the government extension service is not effective in providing support due to inadequate funding and training [6]. Of the fish species produced in DR Congo, Nile tilapia (_Oreochromis niloticus_) is the most popular [7]. As a result of the limited number of hatcheries in the country, farmers have had to use any seed of apparently good quality available locally or imported from the neighboring countries. Many strains of Nile tilapia have been introduced in the DR Congo, both formally and informally. These fish strains include the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) strain reported to have originated from Zambia, the Tihange strain imported from Belgium, and the Nyakabera strain imported from Rwanda found in Bukavu (Eastern DR Congo). These strains are farmed and bred either among themselves or with local Nile tilapia such as the Lake Kivu strain. Little information is available on the growth performances of the Lake Kivu and Nyakabera strains found in Eastern DR Congo as well as the Tihange and two GIFT-derived strains found in Western DR Congo. A benchmark study to obtain basic information of the performance of the available strains, in different farming contexts, is necessary. The increasing use of aquafeeds is anticipated to play a pivotal role in aquaculture development in Africa [8]. The high cost of commercial feeds prevents most of the smallholder farmers in rural areas from feeding their fish with pellets [9]. The farmers, therefore, often rely on the primary production of natural food in the ponds or the use of low quality mashes made of local ingredient(s) such as unused bread crumbs, distiller's dried grains with soluble (DDGS), and rice and maize brass [10]. A recent survey revealed that many of the conventional ingredients necessary to produce balanced aquafeeds are available in most of the markets in DR Congo [11]. Formulating, testing and validating feeds made of local ingredients, which could be cheaper and readily available to farmers, could directly provide viable feeding options to farmers and indirectly support the sustainable growth of tilapia farming in DR Congo. The objectives of this study were therefore (1) to benchmark the relative performance of Nile tilapia strains currently available in DR Congo and (2) to assess the potential of fishmeal-based and fishmeal-free feeds formulated with local ingredients as compared with imported commercial pelleted feed.