The effects of synthetic pigments on pigmentation of Pethia conchonius (Hamilton, 1822) |
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| Authors: | Mahdi Teimouri Abdolsamad Keramat Amirkolaie |
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| Affiliation: | Department of fisheries, Faculty of animal science and fisheries, Sari Agricultural and Natural resources University, Sari, Iran |
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| Abstract: | This study evaluated the effects of diets containing 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 mg kg?1 diet astaxanthin or canthaxanthin on Pethia conchonius (Hamilton, 1822) pigmentation. A completely randomized experimental design was developed with ten treatments and three replicates. Three hundred rosy barb with a mean weight of 0.92 ± 0.06 g were assigned to thirty aquaria for period of eight weeks. Carotenoid contents of fish fed canthaxanthin were always lower than those fed astaxanthin. Yellowness (b*) was not affected by pigments. While Luminosity (L*) decreased in fish fed astaxanthin diets, this parameter increased by feeding on canthaxanthin. The most pronounced effect was higher a* values in fish fed astaxanthin. Astaxanthin retention rate was higher than that of canthaxanthin. The present results demonstrate that canthaxanthin cannot be considered as a proper replacement with astaxanthin. Inclusion of 80 and 100 mg astaxanthin kg?1 diet can be suitable dietary levels to ensure pigmentation and this condition may improve market value of rosy barb. |
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| Keywords: | pigmentation astaxanthin canthaxanthin
Pethia conchonius
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