The effect of marigold (Tagetes erecta) as natural carotenoid source for the pigmentation of goldfish ( Carassius auratus L.).

摘要

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of diets containing 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg ofcarotenoid/kg diet from marigold meal on skin pigmentation, growth, feed utilization and survival of goldfish(Carassius auratus), with average initial weight of 1.8 g for a rearing period of 63 days. The pigmentationdegree in skin of goldfish increased significantly with increasing inclusion of marigold meal at 200 mg ofcarotenoid/kg diet. However, the marigold inclusion over that level did not lead to more total carotenoidaccumulation in the skin of fishes. No significant difference was observed in the survival, growth or feedutilization of the fishes. The present results demonstrate that marigold meal can be successfully used as analternative natural carotenoid source in goldfish diets. Our data indicates that 200 mg of carotenoid/kg diet frommarigold meal is a suitable dietary level to ensure good pigmentation, acceptable growth and feed utilization ingoldfish.