Impact of Different Colors of Artificial Light on Pigmentation and Growth Performance of Hybrid Red Tilapia (Oreochromis mosambicus × O. hornorum) Reared in Saline Well Water

Abstract

See, stats, and : https : / / www. researchgate . net / publication / 317389210 Impact Pigmentation Hybrid (Oreochromis . . . Article DOI : 10 . 4172 / 2155 - 9910 . 1000229 CITATIONS 0 READS 262 4 , including : Some : IMTA ebrahim_omar80@yahoo . com Hadir National 3 SEE Mohamed - Rahim National 13 SEE Ayman National 5 SEE All - Rahim . The . Abstract Four light colors (red , white , green and blue) were tested to evaluate their effects on both body color enhancement and growth performance of Florida red tilapia (Oreochromis mosambicus × O . hornorum) . Fish were stocked in 12 fiberglass tanks , (each of 2 m3 water volume) , at a stocking rate of 100 fish per tank with average initial weight of 2 . 66 g / fish , three replicates for each treatment . Fish were fed on a commercial diet containing 25% protein , two meals per day with a daily feeding rate of 7% in the first two weeks , then reduced to 5% until the end of the experimental period (6 weeks) . The results of this study reveals that there are no significant differences (p>0 . 05) in growth performance indexes between treatments . However , fish exposed to red color showed highest growth values . With the same trend , results of survival percent and condition factor showed no significant differences between treatments . Significant differences (p≤0 . 05) are observed in the whole body chemical composition between treatments . Fingerlings that are exposed to blue color has the highest value of dry matter content , while , the lowest value is observed in fingerlings exposed to red color . Feed utilization (FI , FCR and PER) do not significantly affect the lighting color , while protein and energy utilization (PPV and EU) are significantly affected . Concerning the red color accumulated in the fish body , the fingerlings which are exposed to the blue color achieved the best β - carotene value (211 . 25 IU / 100 g fish) with highly significant differences compared with other treatments . The content of β - carotene in blue color treatment is 8 , 9 , and 16 folds comparing with green , white , and red colors , respectively . Also , Red tilapia fish with black spots in the blue treatment were 12% , compared with 29% in green , 56% in white and 52% in red colors . It could be concluded that cultivating Red tilapia in a full saline well water using the artificial blue color will significantly improve not only the pigmentation of Red tilapia , the quality of fish in terms of the content of dry matter , but also the protein and the energy utilization of the consumed feed .