Effects of different dietary levels of vitamin E supplementation on the growth and ovarian development of Climbing Perch, Anabas testudineus

Abstract

Vitamin E is one of the most important micronutrients that influence the performance of fish reproduction. The experiment was carried out for 3 months in an aquarium with recirculation facilities in the wet laboratory adjacent to the Faculty of Fisheries, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University to observe the effects of different dietary levels of vitamin E on the growth and gonadal development of Anabas testudineus. One and a half months aged 300 A. testudineus were stocked and divided into five treatments, each having three replicates. The fish were fed with feed having different levels of vitamin E viz. 0 mg (as control), 50 mg, 100mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg vitamin E/kg feed as treatment-1 to treatment-5, respectively. Fish fed with 50 mg vitamin E/kg feed (under T1) showed the highest (9.12±0.23 g) weight gain in terms of body growth while fishes treated with 0 mg vitamin E kg^-1 feed (under T0) gave the poorest result (6.85±1.32 g). There was no significant difference (p>0.005) between the treatment groups. Gonado-somatic index (%) was highest (0.696±0.44) in fish treated with 100 mg vitamin E/kg feed (under T3) while 400 mg vitamin E/kg (under T5) showed the poorest effect (0.311±0.03). No significant difference (p>0.005) was found between the treatment groups. The results of this experiment suggest that the inclusion of 100 mg vitamin E/kg feed is the best dose for enhancing the gonadal development of A. testudineus. The findings indicate that vitamin E content may have a positive impact on the gonadal development of this species. The present results also imply that the inclusion of a higher level of vitamin E exerts an antagonistic effect in terms of growth and gonadal development of this species.