Responses by hybrid carp, Barbonymus gonionotus ♀ × Hypsibarbus wetmorei ♂, FED diets containing selected leafmeals

In a 56-day feeding trial, the effects of dietary inclusion of four fibre-rich-leaf meal-based diets (Napier, alfalfa, Gliricidia, or Ipomea) on growth, haemato-biochemical parameters, and histology of the intestine, liver, and kidney in hybrid lemon fin barb fingerlings were investigated. Each of the leaf meals was included at 10 g 100 g⁻¹ in five dietary treatments. As a control, a diet with no leaf meal was used. Each diet was randomly allocated to three tanks and the hybrid fish were also randomly stocked in 60 L glass tanks at 15 fish per tank. When compared to the control group, the leaf meal-treated groups performed better in terms of growth, which was significantly (p < .05) higher with Ipomea- and Napier-fed groups. Ipomea-fed fish had the best performance among the leaf meal groups. The leaf meal-based groups had numerically greater haematological profiles than the control fish but shared statistical similarities (p > .05) with the control group. The PCV, RBC, Hb and WBC levels in fish fed an Ipomea-based diet were the highest. The serum biochemistry of fish fed different dietary treatments showed significant differences (p < .05). With the exception of the fish fed Ipomea, there were statistical similarities (p > .05) in the total protein, albumin, and globulin contents between fish fed the leafmeal-based diets and control diets. The intestinal morphology of fish fed test leaf meal-based diets was normal. The livers of fish given the test leaf meal-based diets showed moderate to severe widespread vacuolization of the hepatocytes, as well as localized nuclei, with very slight erosion of the mucous membrane at the tips of the villi.