Impact of Supplementary Feeds on the Growth, Enzymatic Activity and Body Composition of <i>Clarias batrachus</i> Hngerlings

Abstract

The fingerlings of Clarias hatrachus were fed on six formulated diets with crude protein (CP) levels of 35-45% over a period of 100 days to study the effect of feeds on growth, enzymatic activity and body composition of the fish. Growth and specific growth rate remained low when fed on low CP levels (35%). Highest growth performance, protein and fat accumulation in fish body and erizymatic activity such as protease, amylase and lipase were observed in groups fed on 40.25% processed soybean (PS) based diet in comparison to fish groups fed on 40.25% fishmeal (FM) based diet. An increase in dietary protein level (beyond 40.25%) repressed growth. The results showed that out of two protein sources used in these studies, soybean gives the better results. Therefore, the use of soybean is recommended as a cost-effective dietary protein source in the diets of Clarias hatrachus.