Dietary Effects of Carotenoid on Growth Performance and Pigmentation in Bighead Catfish (Clarias macrocephalus Günther, 1864)

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of supplemental carotenoid pigments on growth and color performance in bighead catfish (Clarias macrocephalus). Two experiments were undertaken to determine the appropriate types, feed duration, and dose of astaxanthin (As), canthaxanthin (Ca), and xanthophyll (Xa) pigments individually and in combination. In the first experiment, fish were fed with one control diet (basic diet), six experimental diets comprised of three diets of As, Ca, and Xa at a 100 mg/kg rate of supplementation, respectively, and three diets combinations of As + Ca, As + Xa, and Ca + Xa at a supplement rate of 50 mg + 50 mg/kg. The results showed no significant difference in weight gain (WG), specific growth rate (SGR), survival rate (SR), and feed conversion ratio of fish among treatments (p > 0.05) after 6 weeks. The L* (Lightness) and a* (redness) values in the Xa diet were significantly lower than other treatments, while b* (yellowness) was significantly higher than in the control and others treatments (p < 0.05). These values peaked after 4 weeks and remained stable until the end of the experiment. Consistently, the highest muscle carotenoid content (16.89 ± 0.60 mg/100 g) was found in the fish fed with the Xa diet. The Xa diet was selected for the second experiment. This experiment consisted of four Xa supplemented diets at rates of 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg and a basal diet without any Xa supplementation. The results showed that there was no difference in the SGR or SR of fish fed various Xa levels (p > 0.05). Fish fed the Xa diet of 75 mg/kg were the most preferred by consumers for the natural “yellowness” of muscle. Thus, the results suggested that additional carotenoid pigments did not affect the growth performance of fish. Farmers and feed producers could utilize Xa at an optimal dose of 75 mg/kg to enhance color performance in the market size of bighead catfish for at least 4 weeks prior to harvest.

Enhancement of Growth Performance and Body Coloration Through The Inclusion of Torch Ginger Powder in The Feed of Red Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.)

“…The results could be related to the potassium content of torch ginger, which promotes the digestibility and palatability of the feed (Andra, 2023). Other than that, a previous study stated that supplementation of carotenoids in the feed shows the efficiency of feed utilization in fish (Hien et al, 2022). Survival rate was found to be between 55% to 56% throughout the experiment period and no significant difference was observed.…”

Effect of Insect Meals on the Growth Efficiency, Survival and Total Carotenoid Content of an Ornamental Fish Xiphophorus maculatus (Gunther, 1866)

“…Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) is a freshwater brilliantly coloured ornamental fish because of their chromatophores and colour pigment containing cells which are found in skin of platy [2]. Different shades of red and orange (carotenoid), yellow (xanthophylls), and brown of platy are the results from the utilization of carotenoids as principal resource of fish skin pigmentation [3,4] but they cannot be synthesized by fish de novo [5] and then they need taken through enriched diets with carotenoids, then absorbed and sometimes convert to other carotenoids, and later taken into different tissues and are deposited in their skin [6].…”

Comprehensive Comparison of Effects of Antioxidant (Astaxanthin) Supplementation from Different Sources in Haliotis discus hannai Diet

“…Carotenoid is a kind of natural functional pigment that has been used as a dietary antioxidant supplement for aquaculture, playing other important biological functions besides colorants [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Among the carotenoids, astaxanthin (3,3′-dihydroxy-β,β-carotene-4,4′-dione) is the most representative, and is widely distributed in microorganisms and marine organisms [ 10 ].…”