The effects of different levels of dietary curcumin on growth performance and biochemical parameters of Oscar fish Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz, 1831)

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of different levels of dietary curcumin on growth performance and biochemical parameters of Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus). A total number of 150 fish with initial average weight of 5.19±0.01 g and average total length of 6.32±0.06 cm were randomly distributed into 5 treatments. Fish were fed with diet containing different levels of curcumin, including control group without curcumin (C0), 5 (C5), 10 (C10), 15 (C15) and 20 (C20) g curcumin kg-1 diet for 56 days. Growth indices were measured every 2 weeks interval. Significant differences were observed in the fourth week. The results showed that highest final body weight, final length, weight gain, body weight gain, daily growth rate, specific growth rate and the lowest FCR were observed in C5 treatment compared to those fed the control diet (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in condition factor between control and other treatments (P>0.05). The lowest plasma glucose and cholesterol levels were measured in C15 and the lowest triglyceride level was found in C5 treatment (P<0.05). There was no mortality during the trial. The results showed that using curcumin can cause effective results in the growth performance and some biochemical parameters in Oscar fish.