869568743

INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL RUDIMENTS OF ANIMAL DISEASES 30 Głęboka. Lublin

Hcad: Prof. ordin. Dr. habil. Andrzej Wernicki

SUB-DEPARTMENT OF FISH DISEASES AND BIOLOGY

Akademicka 12. Lublin

Hcad: Prof. extraordin. Dr. habil. Antonina Sopińska

RESEARCH STUDIES (SUMMARIES)

Leszek Guz, Antonina Sopińska, Tomasz Oniszczuk

EFFECT OF Echinacea purpurea ON GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF GUPPY

(Poecilia reticulata) CHALLENGED WITH Aeromonas bestiarum.

The effects of Echinacea purpurea supplementation on growth perfonnance, nutrient utilization, body composition and disease resistance were studied in the omamental fish Poecilia reticulata. Five diets were used, each differing in Echi-nacea content (0 g kg'¹ diet — control, 5 g kg'¹ diet - group 1, 10 g kg'¹ diet -group 2, 20 g kg'¹ diet - group 3, 30 g kg'¹ diet - group 4 and 60 g kg'¹ diet -group 5), and the fish were fed twice daily at a ratę of 30 g kg'¹ body weight per day for 67 days. The gain in the body weight and the condition factor were sig-nificantly increased in groups 2-5, whereas specific growth ratę and feed conver-sion ratio were significantly increased in all supplemented groups (P < 0.05). Cumulative mortalities after challenge infection with the fish pathogen Aeromonas bestiarum were the lowest in the groups supplemented with Echinacea. Log-rank tests showed significant differences between the supplemented groups 1, 2,

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