Investigation of the effects of commercial feeds commonly used in aquarium fisheries on the growth and certain biochemical parameters of doctor fish (Garra rufa)

Doctor fish (Garra Rufa) is a species nowadays commonly used in Alternative Medicine. Doctor fish are used in the treatment of some skin diseases such as wounds, eczema, psoriasis and some skin care centers. Since the demand for doctor fish were increased, natural stocks could not meet the increasing demand and as a result in 2016, the hunting of doctor fish in their natural environments was prohibited. For this reason, it is necessary to cultivate the doctor fish and therefore to meet the increasing demand. Considering the usage areas of the doctor fish, it is predicted that the cultivation will be further developed and increased in the future. In this study, absolute height increase (AHI), proportional height increase (PHI), absolute weight gain (AWG), proportional weight gain (PWG), daily live weight gain (DLWG), specific growth rate (SGR), condition factor (C) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) of doctor fish fed with four different feed (sardine paste, Çamlı Trout Feed, Sera Granugreen, Tetra Pro Algae) at water temperature of 26 ± 1°C were investigated. After the first thirty days of feeding, it was determined that AWG, PWG, DLWG, SGR and FCE growth parameters of the doctor fish fed by Sera Granugreen brand were significantly higher than the other groups (p <0,05). At the end of the second thirty day feeding period, the group fed with Çamlı Trout Feed showed that the growth parameters of AHI, PHI, AWG, PWG, DLWG, SGR and FCE were significantly higher than the groups fed with other feeds (p <0.05). Blood parameters of Leukocyte (WBC), Erythrocyte (RBC), Hemoglobin (HGB), Hematocrit (HCT), Mean erythrocyte volume (MCV), Mean amount of hemoglobin (MCH), Mean hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), Mean erythrocyte distribution width (RDW), Platelet (PLT), Mean platelet volume (MPV), Platelet distribution width (PDW) and Platocrit (PCT) of doctor fish fed by different feeds were examined and a significant difference between the groups (except the first and third groups) was not determined. It was determined that RBC and HBG values of live feed-fed (first group) fish were significantly lower than the fish fed with Sera Granugreen brand (Third Group) (p <0,05).