Dietary zinc requirement of Labeo rohita juveniles fed practical diets

The present study was designed to estimate the zinc (Zn) requirement of Labeo rohita juveniles fed practical diet. Treatments used for the study were consisted of six experimental diets supplemented with graded levels of Zn (0, 21, 42, 63, 84 and 104 mg/kg diet) from Zn gluconate. For each experimental diet, two replicates were allocated, and 18 fish were stocked in each replicate. The feeding trial was lasted for 90 days. Results showed that final weight, absolute weight gain, weight gain% and specific growth rate increased with increasing dietary Zn levels up to 42 mg/kg and started to decrease with further increase in dietary Zn level. Quadratic regression analysis of weight gain% data indicated that L. rohita juveniles required 62.58 mg/kg Zn for normal growth. Maximum Zn absorption was observed in fish fed diet supplemented with 42 mg/kg Zn compared with other dietary treatments. Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) activity in kidney and spleen of L. rohita juveniles increased with the increase in dietary Zn levels up to 42 and 63 mg/kg, respectively. Conclusively, supplementation of graded levels of dietary Zn-gluconate improved the growth performance and increased the Zn bioavailability and ALP activity up to a certain limit in L. rohita juveniles.