The Effects of Rosemary Extract (Rosemaria officinalis) as a Feed Additive on Growth and Whole-body Composition of the African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822))

Abstract

A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the Rosemary extract (Rosemaria officinalis) on growth performance, feed utilization and body composition of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus, Burchell, 1822). Fish with an average body weight of 10.59±0.31 g were fed with different concentrations (0, 0.25 and 0.5 %) of Rosemary extract at dietary for 60 days. At the end of experiment, the highest values of weight gain, specific growth rate and food conversion rate were 17.23±0.08 g, 1.93±0.07 and 1.16±0.06 at 0.5% Rosemary extract dosage group respectively. The highest survival rates were 100% at 0.25% Rosemary extract dosage groups. No significant differences were shown in whole body protein and lipid content among the dietary treatments. These results indicate that treatment of Rosemary extract has positive effect on growth in African catfish with no apparent effects on health status.