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Dietary inclusion of the brown seaweed Sargassum ilicifolium meal in diets for the endemic Iranian cichlid Iranocichla hormuzensis: effects on growth performance, feed utilization and whole-body composition
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Sh. Dadgar *   , R. Fallahi , Sh. Masaeli , M. Hafezieh |
| Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute (IFSRI), Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran |
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Abstract: (24 Views) |
The Iranian cichlid, Iranocichla hormuzensis Coad, 1982, is an endemic cichlid of Southern Iran with potential value as a native ornamental and aquaculture species. This study evaluated the effects of dietary inclusion of dried meal of the brown seaweed Sargassum ilicifolium, collected from the Chabahar coastal area of the Gulf of Oman, on growth performance, feed utilization, somatic indices and whole-body composition of I. hormuzensis. Fish with an initial mean body weight of approximately 51 g were fed for 56 days with four experimental diets containing 0%, 5%, 10% or 15% S. ilicifolium meal. The diets were formulated to provide approximately similar crude-protein concentrations. Fish receiving the 5% seaweed diet showed the highest numerical final body weight, weight gain, relative weight gain, survival and protein efficiency ratio and the lowest numerical feed conversion ratio. However, according to the reported statistical results, differences among treatments in growth performance, survival and feed-utilization indices were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Hepatosomatic, viscerosomatic and gonadosomatic indices were also not significantly affected by dietary seaweed inclusion. Whole-body moisture, crude protein and crude lipid contents did not differ significantly among treatments, whereas a significant difference was reported for whole-body ash content. Overall, low-level inclusion of S. ilicifolium meal, particularly at 5%, appeared to be well tolerated by I. hormuzensis under the experimental conditions and produced the most favourable numerical growth response. However, the absence of statistically significant differences in most production variables does not support a definitive growth-promoting effect. The findings are consistent with the broader evidence that responses to dietary macroalgae are strongly dependent on fish species, seaweed species, inclusion level and diet formulation. Further experiments using clearly independent replicate tanks, digestibility measurements and characterization of mineral, contaminant and bioactive-compound profiles are required to establish the nutritional and functional value of S. ilicifolium for this endemic cichlid.
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| Keywords: Iranocichla hormuzensis, Sargassum ilicifolium, Brown seaweed, Macroalgae, Dietary inclusion, Growth performance, Feed conversion ratio, Whole-Body composition, Ornamental fish, Aquaculture |
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Full-Text [PDF 398 kb]
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
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