Vol. 11, Special Issue 11 (2022)

Author(s):
Gamit SA, Kapila Manoj, Bengani R, Gamit DN, Lende SR, Vasava RJ, Solanki VK, Vadher DR and Mevada JN

Abstract:
Colour is the most important indicators of quality in ornamental fish, making the exploration to find new sources of pigments in ornamental fish is growing. The experiment was aimed to study the impact of natural β- carotene vegetable sources viz., carrot (Daucus carota) and three flowers (rose, marigold and palash) for inducing colouration in an ornamental fish molly. The feeding trial was conducted for 60 days in plastic tanks. The study was planned using Completely Randomized Design with five treatments and its triplicates. Each tank was stocked with 5 fish of uniform size. One control and four treatments setup were organized for colour enhancement test. The result of the experiment showed difference in ABWG (Absolute weight gain) and SGR (Specific growth rate) of the fish. However, carrot fed fishes showed higher absolute weight gain (5.4567±0.89 gm) than the other treatment groups. 100% survival of fish was recorded in control diet (T1) and carrot diet (T5), while 86% in palash (T2), 93% in rose (T3) and 80% in marigold (T4). Water quality during the research were in optimal condition. Total body length of molly (3.5052 cm) was higher in rose petal meal diet as compared to other treatment and control. The body colouration and total carotenoid concentration of muscle tissue (48.4 µg/g) was higher in fish fed with rose diet. The study showed that incorporation of rose in diet was found to provide better growth performance and colouration in molly. The study concluded that the easily available natural sources incorporated feed can be used as a colour enhancer of ornamental fish which can be prepared at a lower cost that can be boon for ornamental fish farmers.