Research Information System
Israeli Journal of Aquaculture - Bamidgeh, vol.62, no.3, pp.139-145, 2010 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
A 90-day feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of supplemental exogenous enzymes on growth performance in juvenile tilapia Oreochromis aureus (0.22±0.01 g). A multi-enzyme complex containing fungal xylanase, β-glucanase, pentosonase, α-amilase, fungal β-glucanase, hemicellulase, pectinase, cellulase, and cellubiase was included at levels of 0.0 (control), 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 g/kg diet in four test diets. After 90 days, survival ranged 94.44-97.22%, with no statistical differences between groups. The growth rate was significantly higher in fish fed supplemented diets than in the control. Tilapia fed the 0.75 g/kg diet had a significantly higher growth rate than those fed the control or 0.25 g/kg diet while the best specific growth rate was observed in the group fed the 0.5 g/kg diet. Likewise, the food conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, and apparent net protein utilization were significantly better in the 0.5 and 0.75 g/kg groups than in the control and 0.25 g/kg groups. Protein contents in fish fed the 0.5 and 0.75 g/kg diets were significantly higher than in fish fed the control or 0.25 g/kg diet. The highest protein content (20.08%) was in the 0.75 g/kg group. Results suggest that enzyme supplementation can significantly improve growth performance and feed utilization in juvenile tilapia.