Aquafat-O® as a Growth and Physiological Enhancer Agent for Hybrid Red Tilapia, ♂Oreochromis niloticus (L.)×♀Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters)

Background and Objective: Fatty acids are considered one of the most important components in fish diets which fish need it for essential functions including growth, reproduction, immunity and maintenance of healthy tissues.Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the appropriate levels of Aquafat-O® as a novel commercial source of lipid and fatty acids, through evaluation of the effects of Aquafat-O® on growth, physiological and immunity responses of hybrid red tilapia.Materials and Methods: Four isonitrogenous (331 g kgG 1 protein) and isocaloric (19 MJ kgG 1 ) diets were formulated to contain 0, 2, 4 and 6% Aquafat-O® kgG 1 .The diets were fed to triplicate groups of juvenile hybrid red tilapia (11.11 g average body weight), 2 times daily for 14 weeks.One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Tukeyʼs post hoc test is used for data analysis.Results: Growth performance and feed utilization parameters, haematological parameters, total antioxidant capacity and hepatic superoxide dismutase were significantly improved with increasing Aquafat-O® levels.Moreover, the dietary addition of 6% Aquafat-O® led to the reduction in lipid content of the whole fish body, serum glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride and hepatic lipid peroxidase.Conclusion: Thus, the addition of 6% Aquafat-O® kgG 1 diet had positive effects on growth performance, physiological and immune responses of hybrid red tilapia.Consequently, it could be concluded the practical using of Aquafat-O® at this level as a growth and physiological enhancer agent or an immunostimulant feed additive in fish farms.