Abstract
ABSTRACTThe effect of dietary Telfairia occidentalis leaf meal on growth, haematological profile, and body composition was investigated in African catfish Clarias gariepinus. Fingerlings of (5.12 ± 0.06 g) average weights were fed diets supplemented with four concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20 g of T. occidentalis leaf powder/kg feed) for 56 days. Fish fed supplemented diets showed significantly improved growth performance, haematological parameters and feed utilization over the control (0 g T. occidentalis leaf meal/kg feed) treatment. The highest specific growth rate (7.33 ± 2.37% day−1) and best food conversion ratio (0.86 ± 0.06) were obtained in the 5 g T. occidentalis leaf meal/kg feed treatment. Protein efficiency ratio was higher in fish fed with T. occidentalis leaf meal and lowest in the control. No differences occurred in fish carcass moisture, protein, or ash content among the treatments (p > .05). The results suggest that dietary supplementation with T. occidentalis leaf powder improved the growth, feed utilization, and survival of C. gariepinus fingerlings.
Highlights
The African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, is the most extensively cultured food-fish species in Nigeria
The results suggest that dietary supplementation with T. occidentalis leaf powder improved the growth, feed utilization, and survival of C. gariepinus fingerlings
The results suggest that dietary T. occidentalis leaf at all concentrations promoted the growth of C. gariepinus fingerlings
Summary
The African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, is the most extensively cultured food-fish species in Nigeria. Several kinds of plant-based additives for aquafeed that are used to improve the performance of fish have been studied: plant products such as Astragalus radix and Scutellaria radix (Yin et al 2006); Allium sativum (Sahu et al 2007); mango (Awad & Austin 2010); and Nigella sativa (Awad et al 2013). These plants have been examined in fish to replace antibiotic growth promoters. Phytogenic feed additives have been examined in African catfish (Dada & Oviawe 2011) and Tilapia (Dada 2012), and results show improvements in WG, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and blood indices
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