Effects of substituting melon seed peel meal for yellow maize meal on haematological and serum biochemical indices in Clarias gariepinus fingerlings

A feeding trial was conducted to assess the effects of substituting melon (Citrullus lanatus) seed peel meal (MSPM) for yellow maize meal on the haematological and serum biochemical indices of Clarias gariepinus fingerlings for 56 days. Fifteen fish each were stocked in eighteen plastic bowls (50-litre capacity) and fed six iso-nitrogenous diets at graded MSPM levels of 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% twice daily at 5% of their body weight. Selected haematological and serum biochemical parameters were determined by standard procedures and data analyzed using analysis of variance at p = 0.05. The results showed that the fish fed with diet 6 had the highest PCV (45.00%), Hb (15.03 gm/100mL), RBC (4.81 x 1012/mL), Platelets (34.73 x 109/mL), MCH (31.32 μg/mL), total protein (74.00%) and albumin (40.00%). The fish fed with diet 4 had the highest WBC (12.68×109/mL) and globulin (35.00%) while those fed diet 3 had the least WBC (9.36×109/mL) and globulin (33.00%). Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) increased and varied (p < 0.05) between 10.00 - 30.67 mg/dL and 11.00 –17.05 mg/dL respectively. Blood glucose significantly (p < 0.05) increased in fish fed with diets 3 to 6. This study revealed that melon seed peel meal can replace yellow maize meal in the diet of C. gariepinus without adverse effects on its haematological and serum biochemical indices