The Effectiveness of Cosmos caudatus Enriched Pellets to Improve Growth and Survival of Pangasianodon hypopthalmus Reared in Dark Saline Media

Cultured Pangasianodon hypopthalmus may face water quality related problems that weaken the fish and increase the risk of pathogen infection. Provision of health promoter plant Cosmos caudatus enriched pellets may improve the fish health. A CRD method with 4 treatments and 3 replications/treatment, namely Negative Control/ NC (no C.caudatus, no infection), Positive Control/PC (no C. caudatus, infected with A. hydrophila), T1, T2 and T3 (10g, 15g and 20g of C. caudatus powder in 1kg of feed pellets and infected with A. hydrophila) were applied. P. hypopthalmus fingerlings (4-6cm TL, 4-5g BW) were reared in dark plastic tanks filled with 100L of 5ppt saline water, 30 fishes/tank. They were reared for 60 days and fed 3 times/day, ad libitum. On the 61^st day, they were infected with A. hydrophila.  On the 75^th day, the growth and survival of the fish were investigated. Results showed that provision of C. caudatus positively affects the fish’s growth and survival. On the 60^th day, the best growth was obtained in T1 (10g/ kg feed), 24.23g BW, 7.03cm absolute length, 3.16% specific growth rate, 83.11% FE and 1.20 FCR. There was no difference in the survival rate of all fish treated (91.11 to 96.66%). On the 75^th day, however, the survival of PC was dropped into 38%, while that of the treated fish ranged from 78.89 – 92.22%. Data obtained indicated that the addition of C. caudatus was effective to improve growth and enhance the survival of P. hypopthalmus infected with A. hydrophila.