Aditivo a base da fruta de morinda citrifolia em rações para betta splendens

Abstract

The search for species that combine a set of beauty, few requirements and rusticity guaranteeing good results to the breeding, makes Betta splendens one of the most requested for ornamental fish farming. This study aimed to evaluate the use of powdered extract of noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia) as a feed additive for B. splendens. During the experimental period of 60 days, the productive performance, the antioxidant activity of the liver, the morphometric, physiological parameters, and the economic viability of the rations were evaluated. All these data were used to make a commercial product with the appropriate level of the additive. For the experiment, 40 males of B. splendens were used, individually conditioned in experimental aquariums with an effective capacity of 1.5L of water. The water was changed in approximately 50% of its total volume on alternate days, by siphoning. Four levels of the additive (dehydrated noni fruit) were tested in the diet (0%; 0.25%; 0.50% and 0.75%) with ten replicates each treatment. The feeding went until the apparent satiety of the animals, carried out in three daily feedings (8: 00h, 12: 00h, and 16: 00h). At the end of the experiment, all animals were weighed and measured to collect data on zootechnical performance and five animals at random from each treatment to collect the liver for the oxidative stress data. For performance evaluation, regression analyzes were performed (P> 0.05) and for the other results, descriptive analysis. For the evaluation of antioxidant activity, the animals were euthanized and the liver was collected, the homogenate was made and the activity of the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) was measured. The SOD showed a reduction in its activity in the liver of the animals, expressing a difference in the treatment with the inclusion of 0.75% compared to the 0.0% treatment. The reduction in the activity of the SOD enzyme may indicate that the use of noni (M. citrifolia) as an additive in the diet of B. splendens fish has a positive influence on the antioxidant action of animal metabolism. The performance evaluation showed the best result of the animals that were fed 0.50% of noni fruit powder dehydrated in the feed, as well as the treatment that showed the Best economic viability. Keywords: Ornamental fish farming. Feed. Betta splendens. Liver.