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¹ Department of Fisheries, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran
² Department of Animal Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran DOI : 10.4194/1303-2712-v13_3_12 Viewed : 4959 - Downloaded : 5558 Zeolite and perlite are natural volcanic rocks with ion exchanging properties. This experiment was carried out to determine the effects of different dietary levels of natural zeolite and perlite on growth performance, apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter and protein, ash contents of bone and scales as well as blood parameters in common carp Cyprinus carpio. Five experimental diets tested were a control diet, and zeolite and perlite additions at levels 2.5 and 5%. Each treatment was tested in 3 replicates tanks using fish with an initial average weight of 30±0.5 g. Fish were hand-fed, twice a day for 8 weeks. The results showed that the dietary perlite and zeolite had no an influence on the fish condition factor (P>0.05). There were improving effects of the dietary additions, particularly at 5 %, on growth performance of fish compared to the control. The dry matter and protein apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC; means± S.D) for the experimental diets were, respectively, Z 2.5 (Zeolite 2.5): 83.0±0.89 and 91.99±0.28; Z 5 (Zeolite 5): 87.48±0.76 and 95.14±0.92; P 2.5 (Perlite 2.5): 84.87±0.71 and 93.42±0.64; P 5 (Perlite 5): 87.92±1.27 and 95.80±0.57. Significantly higher ash contents were found in bones and scales of fish fed with the experimental diets in comparison with the control diet (P<0.05). The increase of dietary zeolite resulted in a significantly higher concentration of Ca in serum. While the zeolite and perlite diets did not affect serum Mg, P and total protein contents of serum, a significantly enhanced glucose value was observed in fish fed Z 5. The Na and cholesterol content of serum decreased with adding perlite and zeolite, although K content increased (P<0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that dietary supplement of zeolite and perlite can be used as a new aquafeed ingredient for commom carp. Keywords : Cyprinus carpio, dietary zeolite, dietary perlite, digestibility, growth performance, blood parameters