Effects of supplementary fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) essential oil in diet on growth and reproductive performance of the ornamental fish, Convict cichlid (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum)

This study evaluated the effects of diet containing 0 (C: control), 75 (D1), 100 (D2), 125 (D3) and 150 (D4) mg kg−1 F. vulgare essential oil on growth and reproductive performance of C. nigrofasciatum. A total of 225 Convict cichlids female with mean weight (1.65 ± 0.02 g) were distributed into 15 glass aquaria (15 fish tank−1) in triplicate treatments. During 40 days of experimental period, fish fed at 3% of their body weight daily. At the end of experiment, growth indices, gonadosomatic index and reproductive indices were determined. The best feed conversion ratio was obtained in D4 (1.19 ± 0.03, P 0.05). F. vulgare essential oil has no negative effect on survival rate of C. nigrofasciatum. There were no significant differences among protein content of fish body (P > 0.05). The lowest value of fat content (26.5 ± 0.5%) was observed in D2, and it had significant difference with control and other groups (P 0.05).