Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition

A 84-day growth trial was conducted to determine the vitamin E requirement of catla (Catla catla) fry in relation to growth performance, carcass composition and erythrocyte fragility. Five semi purified diets containing 19.5, 64, 118, 166 and 215 mg vitamin E (DL-a-tocopheryl acetate)/kg diet were fed to 15 fish (initial weight 0.39±0.01g/fish) in triplicate in each group. Specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio were significantly higher and feed conversion ratio were lower in fish fed 118 mg vitamin E/kg diet than the other diets. Addition of vitamin E to the basal diet did not significantly affect the whole body CP, EE, ash and moisture. But, the addition of vitamin E in basal diet significantly increased the deposition of vitamin E in the fish tissue, which reduced erythrocyte fragility. It was concluded that the dietary vitamin E requirement of catla was 98 mg/kg dry diet.