Performance of African Catfish (<i>Clarias gariepinus</i>) juvenile fed <i>Morinda lucida</i> (Oruwo leaf)

Abstract

Many medicinal plants including Morinda lucida (Oruwo leaf) have shown promising findings when included in aquaculture rations as a feed additive. Growth and survival of Clarias gariepinus juveniles fed with a Morinda lucida feed were observed for 8 weeks. The proximate composition, growth performance, economics of the feeds and water quality of the cultured tanks were assessed. Fish fed with T2 (25% Morinda lucida) showed significant (P<0.05) higher weight increase, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio and low feed conversion ratio than other groups. Significant (P<0.05) higher mortality was recorded in fish fed with T5 (100% Morinda lucida) inclusion. The growth performance was a reflection of the proximate composition of the feeds with T5 (100% Morinda lucida) feed having low crude protein (15.14%), ether extract (3.64%) and ash (2.31%) when compared to T2 (25% Morinda lucida) which had 25.11% crude protein, 5.77% ether extract and 4.87 % ash with protein being most significant. Carbohydrate (61.00%) and crude fibre (6.16%) were higher in T5 feed than in T2 with an imbalance in carbohydrate and lipid ratio. Mortality was attributed to stress resulting from the poor quality of the feed. Cost of feeding with T5 (100% Morinda lucida) inclusion to a weight gain of 48.20g was ₦2000, while the cost of feeding with T2(25% Morinda lucida) to a weight gain of 84.87g was ₦2350. It was concluded that Morinda lucida inclusion could be incorporated into the diet of Clarias gariepinus up to 25% without posing health hazard on the fish.