Effect of fenugreek as a feed additive on the growth,body composition and apparent nutrients digestibility of striped catfish Pangasius hypophthalmus fry

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of fenugreek as a feed additive on the survival,growth and body composition of striped catfish pangasius hypophthalmus. the experiment was conducted in fiberglass tank having capacity of 18 l water with a stocking density of 25 fish fry per aquaria. there were two treatment groups; t1,t2 and a control (t0) each was replicated twice. fenugreek as an additive was added in experimental feed at the rate of 0.5% in t1 and 1.0% in t2 while control t0 was without fenugreek supplementation. fish was fed for six days a week at the rate of 4% of its body weight twice a day. results showed significant (p<0.05) higher growth performance among the three treatment groups. highest weight gain (5.07±0.72g),increase in total length (24.25±4.31 mm) was observed in t2. better feed conversion ratio (fcr) 1.8 and specific growth rate 1.4 were observed in t1. proximate analysis revealed significant differences (p<0.05) among treatments and control for crude protein while rest of the parameters remained same. apparent digestibility of crude protein and fat was found non-significantly different among treatments. it is concluded that addition of fenugreek in fish feed can improve growth performance and also protein content of the fish meat as well. copyright 2017 zoological society of pakistan.