Authors: Khan, Mukhtar A; Abidi, Shabi Fatma

Source: Aquaculture Research, Volume 40, Number 9, June 2009 , pp. 1000-1010(11)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

Dietary histidine requirement of fry African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (2.57 ± 0.02 cm; 0.22 ± 0.03 g) was quantified by feeding casein-gelatin-based isonitrogenous (40% crude protein) and isocaloric (17.90 kJ g⁻¹ gross energy) amino acid test diets with graded levels of histidine (0.25%, 0.30%, 0.35%, 0.40%, 0.45% and 0.50% dry diet) in eighteen 80 L indoor circular aqua-coloured troughs provided with the flow-through system for 12 weeks. Maximum absolute weight gain (2.66), best feed conversion ratio (1.29), highest protein efficiency ratio (1.94), protein retention efficiency (34%) and energy retention efficiency (70.4%) were achieved at 0.40% dietary histidine. Broken-line and non-linear regression models were adopted to assess dietary histidine requirement for C. gariepinus. When analysed using broken-line regression model these parameters were also best at 0.40% dietary histidine corresponding to 1.0% protein, respectively, whereas using second-degree polynomial regression analysis, histidine requirement was obtained at 0.42%, 0.41%, 0.40%, 0.41% and 0.41% of dry diet, corresponding to 1.05%, 1.02%, 1.0%, 1.02% and 1.02% protein respectively. Based on the broken-line and second-degree polynomial regression analyses of the growth and nutrient retention data, optimum histidine requirement of fry C. gariepinus was found to be in the range of 0.40-0.42% dry diet, corresponding to 1.0-1.05% of dietary protein.

Keywords: Clarias gariepinus fry; growth; histidine requirement; protein and energy retention efficiencies; body composition; histidine-balanced diet

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2109.2009.02164.x

Affiliations: 1: Fish Nutrition Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

Publication date: 2009-06-01

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