Dietary Effect of Corchorus olitorius Seeds on Growth Performance of Oreochromis niloticus Fingerlings

Incorporating feed additives in diets of cultured fish is aimed at improving growth performance, immunity and carcass quality. Growth performance and some haematological parameters of Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings fed varying inclusion levels of Corchorus olitorius seeds were assessed in the study. O. niloticus fingerlings of initial mean weight 9.35±0.01g were evaluated for a period of 56 days. Five experimental diets were formulated at varying inclusion levels; 0g/100g (control), 0.5g/100g, 1.0g/100g, 1.5g/100g and 2.0g/100g of C. olitoriusseeds. All diets were isonitrogenous with each treatment having triplicates. O. niloticus fingerlings fed 1.5g/100g diet of C. olitoriusrecorded the best growth performance in terms of weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and specific growth rate (SGR). There was a significant increase in growth and nutritional performance of O. niloticus fingerlings with increasing inclusion of C. olitorius seeds (P<0.05). Significant increase in packed cell volume, white blood cell and haemoglobin were observed in treated O. niloticus fingerlings and there was no adverse effect of C. olitorius seeds on the haematological parameters of the fish. The study showed that C. olitorius seed at 1.5g/100g significantly improved survival rate, weight gain and feed conversion ratio as well as reduced mortalities in the treated groups.