PLANT DERIVED OILS AS SUBSTITUTE FOR FISH OIL IN DIETS FOR ROHU (LABEO ROHITA): EFFECTS ON GROWTH PARAMETERS, NUTRIENT DIGESTIBILITY AND WHOLE-BODY COMPOSITION Authors: Syed Makhdoom Hussain, Abdullah Ijaz Hussain, Nisar Ahmad, Majid Hussain, Danish Riaz, Umar Rashid, Zeeshan Yousaf, Hafiza Hina Shafqat Journal: Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences (JAPS) ISSN: 1018-7081 (Print), 2309-8694 (Online) Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Pages: 1065-1072 Year: 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2024.4.0788 URL: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2024.4.0788 Publisher: Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum Abstract:

A study was carried out on Labeo rohita fingerlings to assess the effects of various plant oils as a substitute for fish oil (FO) for 70 days. A total of 270 fingerlings (15 fish/tank) were distributed in V-shaped tanks each with three replicates. Total six experimental diets were formed. Test diet-I (control) consisted of FO, whereas test diets-II, III, IV, and V comprised of sunflower, corn, canola and palm oils, respectively, and test diet-VI composed of mixture of all four plant oils. Results of this study showed that plant oil mixture based test diet-VI fed fingerlings showed maximum specific growth rate (1.92±0.001), weight gain (19.16±0.01 g) and lowest feed conversion ratio (1.32±0.02). While test diet-IV (canola oil) showed least growth performance. The fingerlings fed with test diet-VI had maximum digestibility i.e., crude fat (CF) (82.20±0.30%), crude protein (CP) (74.79±0.14%) and gross energy (GE) (73.51±0.21%). The lowest nutrient digestibility values for CP, CF, and GE were noticed in fingerlings fed with test diet-IV. In the case of body composition, test diet-VI showed maximum CP and ash values while having the least moisture and fat values. The outcomes of this research revealed that using plant oil mixture as a substitute for FO improved all growth parameters, carcass composition, and digestibility of L. rohita.

Keywords: Plant oils, Fish oil, Feed conversion ratio, Crude protein, Body composition