Impact of Dietary Duckweed (Lemna minor) on Growth Performance of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella, Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1844) Fingerlings

An attempt was made to assess the impact of duckweed (Lemna minor) on the growth parameters of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). A 60-day trial was conducted using one control group (C) and three experimental groups with varying duckweed inclusion levels: 5 percent (T1), 10 percent (T2), and 20 percent (T3). Two hundred fingerlings were stocked in four pond and fed at the rate of 5 percent of body weight twice a day (10:00 am and 17:00 pm hours) for 60 days. The weight gain (g), per cent weight gain and specific growth rate were significantly higher in treatment T2 (79.00 and 0.70) followed by T3. Significantly, the improved feed conversion ratio was also observed in T2 and T3, which showed a similar trend. Present study use of the duckweed (L. minor) in basal diet promotes growth, with the highest growth enhancement in treatment T2. It is concluded that duckweed can be used as a feed supplement to grass carp (C. idella) for superior growth performance.