Haematology of <i>Heterobranchus longifilis</i> fingerlings fed different dietary levels of <i>Leucaena leucocephala</i> leaf meal

Abstract

This study evaluated the haematological parameters of Heterobranchus longifilis fingerlings fed different dietary levels of Leucaena leucocephala leaf meal. Five hundred (500) H. longifilis fingerlings of mean weight 6.56g ± 0.47 were randomly distributed into treatment tanks and fed twice a day at 3% body weight for 36 weeks. Experimental diets were compounded with each diet containing 10% (SW10), 20% (SW20), 30% (SW30) and 40% (SW40) inclusion of L. leucocephala leaf meal whereas fishmeal based diet (SWC) and commercial diet (SWCF) served as control. The determination of haematological parameters followed standard procedures. Results obtained showed that SWC and SWCF were significantly high (P<0.05) for packed cell volume (PCV) while SW30 and SW40 were significantly (P<0.05) the least in terms of red blood cell (RBC). The Haemoglobin (HB) concentration for SWC, SWCF and SW20 was higher than the rest of the treatments. White blood cell (WBC) count was significantly higher (P<0.05) for SW30 and SW40. MCH, MCV and MCHC values in all the treatments were not significantly different (P>0.05). The haematological result revealed that fish fed diet containing 20% L. leucocephala leaf meal inclusion level did not adversely affect the blood parameters of H. longifilis fingerlings.  

Key Words: Blood parameters, nutrition, leaf meal, plant protein, Leucaena leucocephala, Heterobranchus longifilis