Effect of Body Size and Condition Factor on Proximate Composition of Clarias batrachus Under Different Concentration of Ammonia

This study is focused on examining the proximate body composition (water, fats, proteins, and ash) of Clarias batrachus, exposed to different concentrations of ammonia. Fish were kept in different groups with ammonia concentrations of 0 mg/L (T-0), 0.25mg/L (T-I), 0.5mg/L (T-II), 0.75mg/L (T-III), and 1mg/L (T-IV) for 3 months.  At the end of the trial, a total of 50 samples of C. batrachus (10 from each treatment group) were taken to analyze the body composition. Mean (±SE) values of water, ash, fat, and protein contents in % wet body weight of C. batrachus were found 77.07±0.80% to 82.23±0.55%, 2.98±0.03%to 3.34±0.17%, 3.90±0.19% to 4.58±0.30% and 10.53±0.40 to 15.36±0.56 in the different studied treatment groups. Water and protein contents were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the exposure of ammonia to C. batrachus. Significantly highest level of protein content was found in the fish group which was not treated with ammonia exposure (T-0). Whereas ash and fat contents showed no significant (P>0.05) difference between the ammonia-treated groups and the control group. Regression analysis showed a clear effect of fish size on water and protein contents in C. batrachus reared in different treatment groups. While ash was found correlated only in T-0 (p<0.001; r=0.939), and fat in T-0 (p<0.001; r=0.929) and T-III (p<0.05; r=0.636). However, the condition factor remained constant with the proximate composition of C. batrachus. This study would be helpful in the measurement of the body composition of fishes with the size of fishes affected by different concentrations of ammonia to analyze the nutritional value of C. batrachus.