Abstract

Ninety-days feeding trial was conducted to determine the growth performances and reduction of ammonia by adding of dietary bamboo charcoal (BC) of pangasiid catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus. Four levels of BC (0, 0.5, 1, and 2% treated as T₀, T₁, T₂ and T_3, respectively) were supplemented to the test diet composition. The growth performance and ammonia elimination were influenced by feed type. The mean value of ammonia were 1.5±0.08 mg/L, 0.67±0.16 mg/L, 0.25±0.06 mg/L and 0.42±0.08 mg/L; mean weight gain (g) of the P. hypophthalmus were 51.13±0.87, 68.27±0.88, 77.93±0.88, 68.60±0.58; average daily weight gain (g) were 0.57±0.01, 0.76±0.01, 0.86±0.01, 0.76±0.01; specific growth rate (SGR) (% day^-1) were 1.05±0.003, 1.26±0.01, 1.32±0.01, 1.26±0.01; feed conversion ratio (FCR) were 2.59±0.02, 1.87±0.02, 1.83±0.02, 1.88±0.01; survival percentages were 87±0.58, 91±0.58, 94±1.15, and 92±1.15 in treatment T₀, T₁, T₂ and T_3, respectively. Water quality parameters especially ammonia elimination, weight gain, specific growth rate and survival rate of fish fed 1% BC diet (T₂) were significantly (P< 0.05) higher than other compositions. Ammonia nitrogen excretion over a subsequent 12 h period decreased with increasing dietary BC. In conclusion, the diet supplemented with 1% BC was found to have a suitable level to fulfill the better growth performance and to decrease the ammonia nitrogen of P. hypophthalmus, under the conditions applied in this study.

Key word: Bamboo charcoal powder, ammonia, growth, feed conversion ratio, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus.