WEST BENGAL UNIVERSITY OF ANIMAL AND FISHERY SCIENCES

FACULTY OF FISHERY SCIENCES

A seminar on “Nutritional Requirement in Different Life Stages of Rohu”

Submitted to:Dr. T. K. GhoshDept. of FAQCourse: FAQ-213

Submitted by:Krishna Pada SinghaRoll No.- FS-11/13B. F. Sc-2nd Year

INTRODUCTION Nutrients are very essential for fish, like any other

animals to stay active, alive, healthy and to grow. Nutrients play numerous roles. They are the building blocks of all tissues of animals and are involved in all the chemical reactions that facilitate life processes.

The types of nutrients required by the fish are the same as those required by the humans and other animals. Nutrients can be provided by various products of plant or microbial or animal origin or can be chemically synthesized. In nature, fish obtain nutrients from various types of food items, these being determined both by the feeding behavior or preference of the animal and the items availability.

Nutrients: Nutrients are the components in

foods that an organism utilizes to survive and grow.

Nutritional Requirement: The amounts of various substances

in food needed by an organism to sustain healthy life.

Nutrients are basically two types- 1. Organic nutrient 2. Inorganic nutrient Organic nutrients include carbohydrates,

fat, proteins(amino acid). Inorganic nutrients include dietary

minerals, Vitamins.

PROTEIN AND AMINO ACIDS:

Proteins are polymers consisting of amino acids bound together by peptide bond. Amino acid is a relatively simple organic acid that on the carbon atom next to the acid group (carboxy group -COOH) carries an amino group (-NH2).

A peptide bond is formed by removal of water between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another.

Fish have a very efficient system for excretion of waste nitrogen from protein which is catabolized for energy and therefore high protein diets are not harmful.

Protein is most expansive source of energy in manufactured diets and should be kept to a minimum, consistent with good growth and feed conversion.

Protein has a ME (metabolizable energy) value of about 4.5 kcal/g for fish, which is higher than that for mammals and birds.

Amino acids are mainly two type- essential and non essential. Incase of Labeo rohita ten essential amino acids are- arginine,

histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.

Two non essential – cystine and tyrosine required for growth of Labeo rohita.

Source: FAO

Amino Acids (g per 16 g of amino-N) (g per kg feed)

Arginine 6.0 24

Histidine 1.8 7

Isoleucine 2.2 9

Leucine 3.9 16

Lysine 5.0 20

Methionine + Cysteine 4.5 18

Phenylalanine + Tyrosine 5.1 21

Threonine 2.2 9

Tryptophan 0.5 2

Valine 3.2 13

CARBOHYDRATE:

Carbohydrates are the cheapest and most abundant source of energy for fish.

Most of the plant material is carbohydrate. Carbohydrate in feeding material range from easily digested sugars to most complex cellulose molecule which cannot be digested by animals.

It is only through their symbiotic relationship with bacteria that ruminant animals can utilize large amounts of cellulose.

There is controversy as to the value of carbohydrate in fish feeds. It appears, however, that digestible carbohydrate can be well utilized as an energy source if it is kept in proper balance with other nutrients.

The ME values of carbohydrates for fish range from near zero for cellulose to about 3.8 kcal/g for easily digested sugars. Raw starch ranges from 1.2 to 2.0 kcal ME/g, cooking of starch can increase the ME to about 3.2 kcal/g.

They are classified into four groups-Monosaccharide, Disaccharide, Trisaccharide and Polysaccharide. It can act as either an immediate energy source or as a rapidly available energy reserve store as glycogen in liver and muscle in Labeo rohita.

It can also work as pellet binders. Heat and moisture associated with pelleting process improves the digestibility of starchy feed materials.

LIPIDS:

Ordinarily lipids, whether of plant or animal origin, consists of esters between one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of long-chain fatty acids.

Lipid contains more energy per unit weight than any other biological product. The inclusion of lipid usually increases the palatability of a feed.

Generally lipids are well digested and utilized by fish. It is usually estimated that lipid provides 8.5 kcal ME/g in fish. Dietary lipids help in absorption of fat soluble vitamins. Lipids are important in textural and flavour properties of Labeo rohita. The fatty acid composition of L. rohita is affected by temperature, salinity, maturity and also diet composition.

MINERALS:

Animal body demands mineral elements to carry out many body functions. The functional role of each mineral element in body tissues of fish is prominent.

Minerals in their ionic states in body fluids are indispensable for maintenance of acid-base equilibrium and osmotic relationship with the aquatic environment and for integration activities involving the nervous and endocrine systems.

Mainly calcium and phosphorus is required. Labeo rohita absorb a good quantity of calcium from

water and rest from diet but most of the phosphorus should be provided in diets. Other minerals required for fish are Mg, Na,Cl, K etc.

Trace elements required for growth stimulation, improving protein assimilation and survival rates of Labeo rohita.

VITAMINS:

Vitamins are a chemically diverse group of organic substances that are either not synthesized by organisms or are synthesized at rates insufficient to meet the organisms’ needs.

They are constitute only a minute fraction of the diet and are more catalytic in their function.

L. rohita meet their vitamins requirements from natural food in ponds.

It helps to maintain the most physiological and metabolic processes of fishes. These are to be supplied in artificial complete feed and supplementary feed.

They are two types – 1. Water soluble vitamins(vitamin B complex, and C) 2. Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K) Vitamins requirement of L. rohita are affected by size, age

and growth rate, environmental factors and also by nutrients.

ROHU FISH Labeo rohita (Rohu) is an Indian Major Carp. Rohu is an

omnivorous fish, it is column and also bottom feeder. Systematic position: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cypriniformes Family: Cyprinidae Genus: Labeo Species: L. rohita,F. Hamilton, 1822 Distribution: North and central India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tarai

region of Nepal, Burma. Rohu is natural inhabitant of freshwater section of rivers of North India.

LIFE STAGES OF ROHU:1. SPAWN2. FRY3. FINGERLINGS4. JUVENILES5. ADULT6. BROODSTOCK

SPAWN: Newly hatched rohu larvae are 3.5 – 4.5 mm in length. The

yolksac is absorbed within three to four days at which stage the fish are 6.0 to 7.5mm in length.

5th day after hatching, spawn start feeding on plankton. The initial food items have been observed to be mainly zooplanktonic(90%) and remaining are phytoplanktonic (10%) content. Cladocerans supplemented with copepods and insect larvae are the main content of zooplanktonic food.

Nutritional requirement of Spawn:1. Protein: The optimum protein requirement for spawn varies from

35–45 percent (Sen et al., 1978) and the performance in terms of growth rate, protein utilization and conversion efficiency have been reported to be the best when rohu has been fed with diet having 40 percent protein (Mohanty et al.,1990a&b).

2. Carbohydrate: Spawn of rohu require 45% of carbohydrate for survival and

better growth.

Contd……3. Lipid: 5 to 15% of crude lipid is required for growth and

survival of spawn of rohu. Requirement of n-3 fatty acid and phospholipid is 1% and 4% respectively.

4. Minerals: Cobalt and manganese is essential for growth of

spawn. Cobalt chloride and manganese at 0.01mg/day/fish gave high rates of survival and growth of spawn of Labeo rohita.

5. Vitamins: Vitamin C deficiency causes scoliosis and lordosis

(deformities of spinal column) in rohu particularly if spawn is derived of vitamin C from the beginning of rearing period. The quantity of vitamin C should be 200mg/kg diet prevents occurrence of scoliosis and lordosis in rohu spawn.

FRY: The 3-4 day old spawn are stocked into nursery ponds and reared for a

period of 15 – 20 days by which time they reach 20 – 25 mm in size and are then called fry.

It was remarked that when rohu fry begins taking external food they consumed more zooplankton (90%), while microcystis was only phytoplanktonic item recorded from the gut contents during the first nineteen days of feeding.

Nutritional requirement of Fry:1. Protein: The optimum protein requirement for rohu fry varies from 35–45

percent (Sen et al., 1978). Essential amino acid is supplied through synthetic diet for rohu fry is 27.4% having 1.58 % methionine & cystine and 3.83% lysine.

2. Carbohydrate: Diets containing 45 percent gelatinized starch and 30 percent

crude protein have been reported to be well utilized by rohu fry (Mohapatra et al., 2003). In general diets with higher carbohydrate levels lead to improved performance in terms of percent weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio.

Contd……3. Lipid: Requirement of lipid of rohu fry is same as spawn. 5 to

15% of crude lipid is required for growth and survival of fry of rohu. Requirement of n-3 fatty acid and phospholipid is 1% and 4% respectively.

4. Minerals: Calcium as calcium lactate and phosphorus as disodium

hydrogen phosphate is mostly supplied. The ratio should be 0.19:0.75 for fry. Cobalt chloride and manganese at 0.01 mg/day/ fish gave high rates of survival and growth of fry of rohu.

5. Vitamins: The quantity of vitamin C should be 200mg/kg diet

prevents the occurrence of scoliosis and lordosis in rohu fry. Vit-E is also essential for fry.

Under laboratory conditions the optimum requirements of rohu fry for vitamins A, C and E have been reported to be 2 000 IU/kg, 1 409 µg/g and 131.91 mg/kg dry diet, respectively (Rangacharyulu et al., 1999; Mitra and Mukhopadhyaya, 2003; Sau et al., 2004).

FINGERLINGS: Most of the information on the nutritional requirement of rohu has been

generated using fingerlings under laboratory conditions. Under experimental conditions fry can be grown to fingerlings with an average size of 106.6 mm.

Nutritional requirement of Fingerlings:1. Protein: The optimum protein requirement for fingerlings has been reported at

40 percent (Swamy and Mohanty, 1990; Satapathy et al., 2003). The growth rate of rohu fingerlings feeding on artificial feeds having

iso- protein level (29 – 30.8%). 100% increase in growth rate of rohu fingerlings if they are feed with 50% fishmeal+50% wheat powder diet (crude protein 29.5%). The optimum requirement of essential amino acid (methionine + cystine) requirement of rohu fingerlings is high 3.1% per 100 gm of protein.

2. Carbohydrate: Since carps in general, and rohu in particular, are generally herbivorous,

carbohydrates can be used as a cheap energy source. It has been reported for rohu fingerlings that a minimum level of 40

percent dietary carbohydrate is required (at a protein level of 35 percent) for optimum growth, feed conversion and nutrient utilization (Saha and Ray, 2001), while Dalal et al. (2001) demonstrated that at a dietary protein level of 40 percent the carbohydrate requirement decreases to 35 percent.

Contd……3. Lipid: The optimum lipid requirement for rohu fingerlings was

found to be in the range of 12-15 percent (Gangadhara et al., 1997; Satapathy et al., 2003). However, lipid requirement has been shown to be temperature dependent.

Mishra and Samantaray (2004) reported that at 21 oC, the lipid requirement for rohu fingerling was  8 percent, whereas  at 31 oC the requirement was 13 percent. Mohanty (2006) considered a range of 7–9 percent dietary lipid to be optimum for Indian major carps including rohu.

4. Minerals: Cobalt chloride and manganese at 0.01mg/day/fish gave

high rate of survival and growth of fingerlings of rohu.5. Vitamins: Fingerlings require vitamins as similar as fry. It requires

vit-A, E, C etc.

JUVENILES AND ADULT: In the juvenile and adult stages rohu is essentially an herbivorous

column feeder, preferring algae and submerged vegetation. Furthermore, the occurrence of decayed organic matter and sand and mud in its gut suggests its bottom feeding habit.

The nibbling type of mouth with soft fringed lips, sharp cutting edges and absence of teeth in the bucco-pharyngeal region helps the fish to feed on soft aquatic vegetation which do not require seizure and crushing. The modified thin and hair-like gill rakers also suggest that the fish feed on minute plankton through sieving water.

Nutritional requirement of Juveniles and Adults:1. Protein: In Juvenile stage 30 to 35% of Crude Protein is required in

diet. Adults require 25 to 30% of Crude Protein in diet. Like other Finfish rohu require 10 EAA.

2. Carbohydrate: The optimum carbohydrate (as dextrin) requirement of rohu

juvenile and adult is 26% in the diet.

Contd……3. Lipid: Supplementing the feed of juvenile rohu with 1

percent n-3 PUFA is reported to enhance immunity against bacterial pathogens (Mishra et al., 2006).

The fat content of adult rohu diet should be generally about 5-10% providing PUFA(Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acid) sources having n-3 and n-6 series.

4. Minerals: Calcium (0.19%) and Phosphorus (0.75%) is added

to the feed at the ratio Ca:P is 1:4. Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Iron, Manganese, Zinc, and Cobalt is also supplied with feed.

5. Vitamins: Vitamin A, E, C and other vitamins should be

provided with diet for better survival.

BROODSTOCK: Broodstock, or broodfish, are a group of mature individuals used

for breeding purposes. Broodstock management involves manipulating environmental factors surrounding the broodstock to ensure maximum survival, enhance gonadal development and increase fecundity.

Nutritional requirement of Broodstock:1. Protein: Khan et al. (2005) reported that rohu broodstock require a

dietary protein level of 25 percent for optimum reproductive performance and egg quality.

2. Lipid: Supplementation of broodstock diet with n-3 and n-6 PUFA has

been reported to positively influence gonadal development, egg quality and larval survival (Mohanty, 2006).

3. Vitamins: Vitamin E increases gonadosomatic index and is required for

vitellogenesis (process of yolk formation) and proper maintenance of n-6 fatty acids in oocytes.

Other requirement such as carbohydrate, minerals are as same as adults. 

NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES:

NutrientsLife Stages

Spawn Fry Fingerling

Juvenile Adult Broodstock

Protein 35-45% 35-45% 40% 30-35% 25-30%

25%

Carbohydrate

45% 45% 40% 26% 26% 26%

Lipid 5-15% 5-15% 12-15% 5-10% 5-10% 5-10%

Minerals Co & Mn

Ca, P, Co & Mn

Ca, P, Co & Mn

Ca, P, Co, Mn, Mg, Fe, Na etc.

Ca, P, Co, Mn, Mg, Fe, Na etc.

Ca, P, Co, Mn, Mg,

Fe, Na etc.

Vitamins Vit-C Vit- A, E, C

Vit- A, E, C

Vit- A, E, C

Vit- A, E, C

More amount of Vit- E, with Vit- A & C.

FEED FORMULAE OF COMMONLY USED AND SUGGESTED FORMULATED FEEDS FOR DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES OF ROHU:

1. Spawn:Sl. No. Ingredients Composition (%)

1. Groundnut oil cake 40.0 32.02. Soyabean meal (roasted) 20.0 10.03. Fishmeal 20.0 20.04. Rice bran 10.0 30.05. Fresh liver 50.06. Starch 30.07. Bioboost forte 1.0 30.08. Vegetable oil 4.09. Fish oil 3.0

10. Vegetable oil:fish oil (1:1) 2.011. Cod liver oil 5.012. Vitamin and mineral premix 2.0 2.0 2.013. Phospholipid 4.0

2. Fry:Sl. No. Ingredients Composition (%)

1. Groundnut oil cake 28.0 26.0

2. Azolla powder 60.0

3. Groundnut oil cake 13.9

4. Soyabean meal (roasted) 20.0 23.0 19.0

5. Sesame oilcake 4.0

6. Fishmeal 16.0

7. Meat meal 20.0

8. Rice bran 30.0 33.0 2.0

9. Vitamin and mineral premix 2.0 2.0 1.0

10. Attractant 0.1

3. Fingerlings and Adults:Sl. No. Ingredients Composition (%)

1. Groundnut oil cake 25.0 28.0 30.0 40.0 62.0

2. Soyabean meal (roasted) 25.0 20.0 7.0 20.0

3. Mustard oil cake 35.0

4. Fishmeal 7.0 8.0

5. Fermented silkworm pupae 6.7

6. Meat and bone meal 20.0

7. Rice bran 35.0 30.0 26.0 30.0 19.3

8. Vegetable oil 5.0 5.0

9. Groundnut oil 5.0

10. Fish oil 2.0

11. Vitamin and mineral premix 1.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 2.0

12. Binder 5.0

4. Broodstock:Sl. No. Ingredients Composition (%)

1. Groundnut oil cake 35.0

2. Soyabean meal (roasted) 20.0

3. Fishmeal 10.0

4. Rice bran 30.0

5. Vegetable oil 2.7

6. Fish oil 0.3

7. Vitamin and mineral premix 2.0

Sl. No. Ingredients Composition (%)

1. Soybean meal 15.0 7.0 7.0 10.0

2. Groundnut oil cake 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0

3. Mustard oil cake 26.0 35.0 43.0

4. Rice bran 33.0 25.0 26.0 25.0

5. Vitamin and mineral mixture 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0

Contd……

Data source: Mohanty et al. (1995); Mohanty (2006); Mukhopadhyaya (2003); Paul et al. (1999).

Sl. No. Ingredients Composition (%)

1. Fishmeal 5.0 15.0 20.0 30.0 50.0

2. Groundnut oil cake 44.0 39.0 36.5 31.5 19.0

3. Soybean cake 44.0 39.0 36.5 31.5 19.0

4. Rice bran 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

5. Dicalcium phosphate 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

6. Common salt (Nacl) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3

7. Vitamin and mineral mixture 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

CONCLUSION: For survival and proper growth of rohu, all

nutrients should be required in optimum level. The gross protein requirement level have been

reported to decrease with increase of age and size of fish and in general, 25–30 percent protein has been reported to be optimum for practical diets for herbivorous fishes like rohu under pond conditions (Mohanty, 2006).

Methionine & cystine requirement is necessary for adult stage.

Contd…… Very few studies have been undertaken to study the

nutritional requirements of rohu under field conditions. Nandeeshsa et al. (1994) evaluated the effect of pond fertilization rates (10 and 20 tonnes poultry manure/ha) on protein requirement and growth.

They showed that at a fertilization rate of 10 tonnes of poultry manure/ha growth increased with increasing dietary protein up to a level of 25 percent protein. At a fertilization rate of 20 tonnes poultry manure/ha optimum growth was recorded at a dietary protein level of 15 percent. Hence, it is important to consider the contribution by natural food in diet formulation for rohu.

Minerals are important for normal bone, tissue, blood, plasma, haemoglobin formation & for many enzymatic reactions. Mainly calcium & phosphorus is required.

Vitamins are organic compounds required in trace amounts. Mainly vitamin C is required in all stages of Rohu.

REFERENCES:1. www.google.com2. www.fao.com3. www.wikipedia.com4. “Fish Nutrition in Aquaculture” by Sena S.

De Silva and A. Anderson.5. “Biology, Culture and Production of

Indian Major Carps” by Dr. N. M. Chakrabarti.6. “Fish Nutrition” by John E. Halver and Ronald

W. Hardy.7. “Aquaculture Principles And Practices

(Second Edition)” by T.V.R. Pillay and M.N. Kutty.8. “Nutrition in Aquaculture” by A.S. Ninawe

and G.D. Khedkar.

Thank you……