ABSTRACT

Fish meal is the primary protein source for aquaculture diets because of its high protein content, well balanced amino acid and fatty acid composition, high digestibility and palatability. Fish meal, on the other hand, is the most expensive ingredient and is in high demand by other animal sectors. Because pelagic fishes are the primary source of fish meal, the demand for it will continue to rise as the aquaculture sector grows. This will have a negative impact on pelagic fishes. Replacement of fish meal with alternative, less expensive animal or plant-protein sources is one way to reduce the use of fish meal. A less expensive protein source should be possible to come by in large enough numbers to meet demand. It should also meet fish's basic amino acid requirements and be sufficiently pleasant to avoid rejection by the fish. In this respect, macro and micro algae have been employed as dietary supplements to help a variety of farmed fish species improve their health and nutritional performance. Many studies have evaluated the inclusion of various algae species in aquafeeds. Hence the study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Gracilaria edulis as feed additives on morphometry and nutritive indices of Catla catla for 90 days. The fish were fed with an algae-free control diet and three experimental diets which replaced conventional fish meal with varying levels of dried G. edulis (10%, 20% and 30%). The growth parameters of length - weight, Specific Growth Rate, Food Conversion Ratio ,Food Conversion Ratio, survival and metabolic rate was significantly increased(P < 0.05) at 20 % of Gracilaria edulis incorporated diets at 30, 60 and 90 days. The marine algae Gracilaria edulis incorporated diets showed very good response in terms of growth and feed utilization of C. catla. These results indicate that incorporation of less than 20% red algae, Gracilaria edulis could be feasible in the diet of Catla catla and further studies are recommended to optimize the level of algae to improve growth performance. Keywords: Gracilaria edulis, Catla catla, Specific Growth Rate, Food Conversion Ratio, Food Conversion Ratio
Publication date: 01/11/2021

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2021/November/MS_IJBPAS_2021_NOV_SPCL1111.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2021/10.11.1111