Evaluation of growth development and pigmentation of Heros severus cultured in a biofloc system with enriched pigment diets

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Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the development and the increase in the skin pigmentation of the organism Heros severus cultured in a biofloc system with diets enriched with carotenoid pigments. The culture was made in 80 L water tanks with 20 juvenile organisms of H. severus; each treatment was made by duplicate. Four experimental diets were used: a) trout feed, El Pedregal®; b) TetraColor®; c) carrot and d) beetroot. The diet that obtained the highest values regarding the growth of the fish was the control diet. Regarding the coloration of the fish, the beetroot diet was the diet that presented the highest values with 9.55 μg of total carotenoids in tissue, presenting significant differences (P = 0.001) concerning the other diets, proving that a diet based on beetroot can be a good option for the culture of ornamental fish. Because it allows the organisms to have a survival rate above 90%, have similar growth to the control group, and a significant improvement in coloration, being a natural carotenoid low-cost source to improve the commercialization of organisms. Nevertheless, it did not present significant differences (P = 0.005) regarding beetroot and TetraColor® diets, while it presented significant differences with the carrot diet.

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