Effects of dietary Carotenoid on pigmentation of Peacock cichlid (Aulonocara baenschi)

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary carotenoid supplement on pigmentation of peacock cichlid, Aulonocara baenschi. Two types of carotenoid (astaxanthin and β-carotene) either individually or mixed, at two level (40 and 100 mg/kg) were spread on commercial diet. Control group had also no carotenoid. Fish with an average weight of 4 to 6 g were fed twice daily for 8 weeks at a rate of 2% of their body weight. Feeding with complementary foods with carotenoids there was a significant difference among dietary treatments in terms of total carotenoids (P<0.05). The higher rate of total carotenoids in dietary treatments containing 100 mg astaxanthin and 100 mg of beta-carotene, showed that diet with 100 mg of astaxanthin and beta-carotene pigment composition had the highest percentage of pigmentation and had the most pigmentation among treatments. Totally, The amount of total carotenoid in skin and pigmentation increased as the content carotenoids in diet increased.