Dietary Inclusion Influence of Aphrostyrax lepidophyllus Bark on Growth, Feed Nutrients Utilization and Body Composition of Clarias gariepinus juvenile (Burchell, 1822)

Abstract

Aims: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary inclusion of the bark of Afrostyrax lepidophyllus on growth and body composition of Clarias gariepinus. Study Design: This study was carried out from April to May 2022 in the Agro-ecological Farm of Bilone at Obala Lekié Division, Center Region of Cameroon. Methodology: Juvenile weighing 9.29 ± 0.15 g were divided into four triplicate treatments before being fed with diets containing 0 g (T0 or control), 1 g (T1), 1.5 g (T2) and 2 g (T3) A. lepidophyllus diet for 56 days. Fishes were fed at the rate of 5% body weight and every 14 days, intermediate sampling was done during which juveniles per treatment were counted, measurements were taken on a representative sample and the feeding rate was adjusted. The main water parameters were recorded daily before feeding. Results: Adding the bark of A. lepidophyllus in the diet significantly enhanced growth, feed nutrients utilization and body composition of juvenile C. gariepinus independent of the inclusion level. Fish fed T3 diet recorded final weight, weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) significantly high (P < 0.05) to those recorded in fish fed with the control diet. The same trend was observed with macro-nutrient retention as compared to the control. Conclusion: This study clearly showed that dietary inclusion of the bark of A. lepidophyllus powder improves growth performances, feed nutrients utilization and body composition of juveniles C. gariepinus.