ABSTRACT
Plant extracts with phytobiotic properties have been added to feeds to improve feed utilization and overall growth of animals including fish species. Little is known about the impact such plant extracts would have if they were added to the culture medium of fish, for the absorption of the bioactive components through the gills and skin. This study investigated the impact of the aqueous leaf and root extracts of the Moringa plant on the overall performance of African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fingerlings, by the addition of aqueous extracts to the culture water. The experiment was laid out as a factorial experiment with 4 treatments, with 3 replicates each, in a completely randomized design, where T0, T1, T2, and T3 represented the control (extract free), treatment with aqueous leaf extract, treatment with aqueous root extract, and treatment with both aqueous leaf and root extracts in equal proportions, respectively.The results revealed considerable variations in the overall performance of fish across various treatments. For feed intake (FI), T2 (treatment with aqueous root extract) performed best (16.43g), followed by T0 (control) and T3 (treatment with both leaf and root aqueous extracts)which had similar results, with no significant difference (p<0.05); (14.64g and 13.76g respectively). T1 (treatment with aqueous leaf extract) had the lowest feed intake (11.45g). For total weight gain (TWG), T2 had the highest value (55.84g), followed by T0 and T3 which had similar results, with no significant difference (p<0.05); (49.60g and 47.44g), and T1 having the lowest result (34.40g). For average daily weigh gain (ADWG), T2 had the highest value (1.597g), followed by T0 and T3 which had similar results, with no significant difference (p<0.05); (1.420g and 1.357g), and T1 having the least value (0.983g). In the aspect of specific growth rate (SGR), T0 and T2, performed typically the same; with no significant difference; p<0.05 (5.830%/day, and 6.223%/day respectively). T3 was not significantly different from T0 (p<0.05; 5.63%/day and 5.83%/day respectively). T2, on the other hand performed the least with SGR of 5.05%/day.. In the area of relative weight gain (RWG), performance (in decreasing order) was as follows: T2 (784.6%), T0 and T3, having similar results, with no significant difference; p<0.05 ( 653.5% and 622.2%), andT1 (486.8%).
This study concludes that aqueous root extracts of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) when added to the culture medium of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fingerlings, can enhance feed intake, utilization and growth performance.
