Effects of Aloe vera extract on growth and some hematological parameters of shirbot, Tor grypus (Heckel, 1843)

A feeding trial was conducted for sixty days to determine the effect of dietary Aloe vera on parameters related to growth rate, health status and hematological parameters of shirbot (Tor grypus). Two hundred and forty fish weighing 50-60 g were randomly subjected to four different treatments, including a control, T1 (0.1% of A. vera), T2 (0.2%) and T3 (0.5%) in triplicate. Hematological parameters and some growth parameters, including the body weight, total length, condition factor, feed conversion ratio, feed efficiency, specific growth rate and protein efficiency ratio were measured. Administration of fish to different concentrations of A. vera extract led to significant (p<0.05) increase in total erythrocyte count, packed cell volume, and hemoglobin when compared with the control group. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration were increased only in T2 and T3 in comparison with the control. When animals received 5% of A. vera daily, they showed a significant increase (29%) in white blood cells (p<0.05). Growth parameters were improved with the addition of different concentrations of A. vera to fish food. According to the results obtained, it might be concluded that feeding this species with A. vera extract could likely enhance growth rate and also hematological parameters.