Efficacy of date pits and fungi-degraded date pits as a feed ingredient for liza ramada fingerlings

Abstract

© 2020, Egyptian Society for the Development of Fisheries and Human Health. All rights reserved. This study aimed to perform a comparison between date pits (DP) and Trichoderma. Reesei fermented (fungi degraded) date pits (FDP) as a dietary component, to use it as a cheaper high-energy feed ingredient to increase the growth rate, and to determine the probiotic possibility of FDP supplementation for fingerlings Liza ramada. Diets contained different concentrations of date pit (DP), and fermented DP diets (FDP) as a replacement for dietary corn, were used to feed Liza ramada fingerlings (0.65 g initial weight) for 6 weeks. The specific growth rate remained unchanged at a concentration of 5% with DP, then, it was decreased by increasing the concentration of DP. A highly significant increase in growth rate was detected by increasing the concentration of FDP (p <0.001), reaching its maximum at 450 gkg-1. Hemoglobin depletion occurred comparing to the control during the DP feeding, whereas, it was inclined with increasing the FDP concentrations. Serum glucose levels showed no significant change during feeding with DP but it was increased during FDP feeding. Serum triglycerides of fish fed with FDP was highly increased, that explained the increase in muscle lipid. Serum cholesterol levels were decreased in fish fed with DP, while increased with that fed FDP. It is worth mentioning that no previous studies were examined pathogen resistance of cultured Liza ramada associated with DP and FDP supplementation in a diet. This study enhanced the necessity to use FDP in diets to lessen the intestinal harmful bacteria (Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Shigella spp. and E. coli) count, and to support fish health and increase growth rates.