Effects assessment of Butea monosperma flower as a feed ingredient in the diet of Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio L, 1758) on their growth performance and coloration impact

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Butea monosperma flowers as a feed ingredient in thediet of koi carp to assess their growth performance and coloration impact over a period of 90 days under controlled conditions. The experiment comprised four treatment groups with three replicates: Control (feed without added palash flower powder), T1 (feed with 0.5% palash flower powder), T2 (feed with 1% palash flower powder) and T3 (feed with 1.5% palash flower powder) and followed a completely randomized design (CRD). Twelve aquarium tanks were used as experimental units and each of thetanks 10 healthy fingerlings with an average initial weight of 2.02±0.01 g, was stocked and fed a 28% crude protein diet at 3% body weight. The results demonstrated that treatment T3 (10.46±0.12 µg g–¹) showed the highest carotenoid content, followed by T2 (9.72±0.04 µg g–¹) and T1 (8.64±0.02 µg g–¹) and the lowest carotenoid content was observed in the treatment T0 (4.19±0.07µg g–¹). The highest growth performance was observed in the treatment T3, followed by T2, T1 and a lower value was observed inthe control (T0) group. The survival rate ranged from 98±0.00 to 100±0.00, and statistical analysis showed no significantdifference (p>0.05). The water quality parameters, including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, total ammonia, total alkalinityand total hardness, remained stable throughout the culture period and statistical analysis showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). The findings of the present study concluded that the inclusion level of B. monosperma supplementation for koi carp is 1.5%, resulting in considerable improvement in growth performance and coloration. B. monosperma is recommended as acost-effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable natural feed additive for colour enhancement in koi carp.