Abstract
Consequence of dietary fish meal substitution with wheatgrass was evaluated by observing growth response, associated feed cost and survival of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodonidella) fingerlings for sixty days. Sprouted wheatgrass (Triticumaestivum) was prepared for its inexpensively rich nutrients. Four isonitrogenous test diets were formulated and applied as treatments (T) in triplicates (R). In the control (T1), basal inclusion rate of fish meal was 30%, of which 10% was replaced with wheatgrass powder in T2 and in T3 replacement was 20%. In contrast, 30% of basal fishmeal was replaced in T4. Grass carp fingerlings (6.38±0.21 cm and 2.83±0.36 g) were stocked in twelve aquaria (60×40×45 cm³) each containing 75 L water, at 10 fish per aquarium, fed test diets at 5% of body weight twice daily. Prominent effect of wheatgrass supplementation was found on food conversion ratio (FCR) and survival rates. The significantly lowest FCR was observed in T3 (2.13±0.42) followed by T2 (2.89±0.99), T1 (3.01±1.53) and T4 (3.05±0.94). Besides, fish survival rate was significantly improved in T2 (90%), T3 (93.33%) and T4 (93.33%) compared to the lowest survival in T1 (83.33%). In conformity, fish tolerance (LT50) to low pH stressor was also increased with wheatgrass supplementation. The other growth parameters among the treatments were statistically similar with highest specific growth rate and fish production in T3 (1.13±0.12 %/day and 2.28±0.13 tons/ha). Dietary wheatgrass did not affect the fish carcass composition rather gave better result to some extents. The significantly highest carcass protein and lowest moisture was retained in T3 (14.13±0.05% and 74.91±0.25% respectively), whereas comparatively higher lipid and mineral (ash) content was found in T1 (7.69±0.02% and 2.35±0.27% respectively). Importantly, feed formulation cost was reduced by 2.61, 4.89, and 7.71% in T2, T3, and T4 respectively compared to T1. Therefore, wheatgrass could be promising in juvenile grass carp diet.
 Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. September 2020, 6(3): 482-490
Highlights
Searching alternative protein sources from non conventional feedstuff to sustain the aqua-feed industry has become a vital trend of research in the aquaculture world
Around 20% wheatgrass powder was retained from the sprouted live wheatgrass
Progressive inclusion of wheatgrass powder in the test diets were well accepted by the grass carp fingerlings as they fed steadily but actively and there was almost no feed left over after twenty minutes of feed delivery
Summary
Searching alternative protein sources from non conventional feedstuff to sustain the aqua-feed industry has become a vital trend of research in the aquaculture world. This experiment wheatgrass (freshly sprouted first leaves of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum) has been investigated as a substitute (plant origin) of fish meal in the diet of grass carp fingerlings to assess its impact on somatic growth and feed cost. Young sprouted wheatgrass are very rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants, minerals (potassium, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, copper, manganese and selenium) and vitamins (A, C, E, K, B1, B6, B12 and pantothenic acid) (Meyerowitz, 1992; Murphy, 2002; Shirude, 2011). It contains a good proportion of basic nutrients viz., lipid, protein and carbohydrates (Devi et al, 2015). The present experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of dietary wheatgrass powder substitution with fish meal on juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)
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