THE EFFECT OF TURMERIC ENRICHED PELLETS ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND BLOOD PROFILE OF FISH (CLARIAS GARIEPINUS)

The African catfish (C. gariepinus) is the most cultured species in Nigeria due to its resistance to stress, high fecundity, fast growth, high market acceptability and easy larval production in captivity. A three-month study was conducted to investigate the growth and assess the blood profile of C. gariepinus fed turmeric enriched pellets. A total of sixty (60) C. gariepinus were purchased and divided into four groups with varying mean length and weight, comprising fifteen (15) fish each. The fish (Groups A, B, C, and D) were fed with feed formulated locally with varying levels of turmeric (3%, 5%, and 7%) inclusion, while Group D was used as the control group. The fish were fed with the respective formulated diets in a divided ration, twice daily (9:00 am and 4:00 pm). The water in the concrete tanks was changed at least twice in a week to remove the foul smell developed by the waste and excreta of the fish. The result of the study fish fed with 3% and 5% of turmeric supplemented feed had the best growth performance although 7% supplementation group also performed significantly better. The haematological profile of the fish showed that the turmeric supplemented diet was good for the fish and were within range irrespective of their different values across the concentration. This was true for all the parameters apart from the lymphocytes and HCT which were the lowest in the fish control (74.59 ± 41.03, 12.94 ± 4.59) respectively compared to the fish fed varying levels of turmeric supplemented diet which is an indication that the fish may produce antibodies to fight against infections. The study showed that the addition of turmeric in fish feed had a potential of increasing growth performance of C. garienpinus. It was concluded that turmeric supplemented feed improved the growth performance and the immunity of the fish at 5% and 7% inclusion of turmeric as supplement.