Dietary Influence of Amino Acids on Growth of Neon tetraParacheirodon innesi
A study was conducted to determine the effect of dietary amino acids on the growth performance of neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi). Eleven purified diets were prepared using crystalline amino acids, and their effects on growth, survival and feed performance of P. innesi (0.0506±0.001 g mean initial weight) were evaluated. Control diet contained all ten essential amino acids, while in other diets one essential amino acid was deleted and that amino acid was replaced with alanine. Fishes were fed by hand to apparent satiation, twice a day, for 90d. Fish fed with the control diet resulted in the highest weight gain, specific growth rate, food conversion efficiency and protein efficiency ratio and it differed significantly (P<0.05) with other diets. This indicated that all ten amino acids were found essential for growth of P. innesi. Lowest growth was observed in lysine, arginine, leucine, valine and threonine deficient diets. From the growth data, it was evident that the growth rate reduced in absence of each of the chosen amino acids and it thus proved that they were more essential for this species. It is concluded that appropriate and balanced incorporation of each amino acid in the diet of P. innesi is necessary for the efficient feed utilization and better growth for its mass production.