Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) has been gaining ground in cultivation and sale in Bangladesh but due to price hike of fish feed the culture of this fish faced many challenges. In the present study, the optimal level of dietary moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf powder was used as feed supplement to determine the growth performances, some selective blood parameters and bacterial load in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Commercial diet containing moringa leaf powder at 0g/kg, 100g/kg and 200 g/kg diet was used. The diet containing 100g moringa leaf/kg diet resulted in increased weight gain, average daily gain, specific growth rate, condition factor and survival rate. A significant (p<0.05) reduction in RBC and WBC were found as the moringa leaf inclusion increased in the diets but no significant (p<0.05) differences were observed among the three different rearing conditions. In most of the cases, the diet containing 100g moringa leaf powder/kg diet displayed lower amount of bacterial count but no significant improvement was found in bacterial load among the different treatment conditions. The results suggest that dietary moringa leaf powder could be included in the diet of Nile tilapia at possibly not over 100 g/kg diet for the betterment of growth, survival, immune response and microbial challenge.
Bangladesh J. Zool. 48(1): 151-166, 2020
Influence of vitamin C feed supplementation on the growth, antioxidant activity, immune status, tissue histomorphology, and disease resistance in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus