Effect of Durio zibethinus Murr. cv. Monthong Rind as a Dietary Ingredient in Feed on the Growth Performance and Disease Resistance Against Aeromonas hydrophila in Red Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus x Oreochromis mossambicus)

Monthong durian is a durian species mainly cultivated in Thailand. The rind makes up about 60-75% of whole fruit and is often discarded. Here, we evaluated the effect of durian rind, specifically the inner white peel, as a supplement for a fish diet on the growth performance and disease resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila in Red Tilapia. Fish with an initial average weight of 42.68 ± 0.11 g were fed diets supplemented with durian rind at 0, 10, 15, and 20% for 140 days. Subsequent results showed that growth performance in terms of weight gain, average daily gain, length gain, and specific growth rates were not significant among treatments (P > 0.05). In addition, the feed conversion ratio and survival rate of fish fed with diets supplemented with durian rind were also not significantly different from the control (P > 0.05). After the 140-day feeding trial, fish were injected intraperitoneally with A. hydrophila, and the cumulative mortality was recorded for 14 days. The survival rate of fish-fed durian rind-supplemented diets at all levels was higher than that of the control. The highest survival rate and relative survival percentage were fish fed with 10% and 15% durian rind in the diet. Taken together, the white peel of the durian rind can be a potential fish feedstuff and can act as a natural antibiotic to improve fish resistance against A. hydrophila. Recommended level of durian rind supplementation is 10%-15% in the diet which will not affect growth but can enhance disease resistance to A. hydrophila.