Abstract

An experiment was conducted to test the effects of feeding Clarias gariepinus juveniles with graded levels of Ficus exasperata leaf meal on the hematological profile of Clarias gariepinus juveniles. Five iso-nitrogenous (40% crude protein) experimental diets were prepared with 0.00%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15% and 0.20% Fiscus exasperata leaf meal inclusion respectively as an additive, while the diet with no inclusion of Ficus exasperata leaf meal was the control diet. The prepared experimental diets were fed to C. gariepinus juveniles in each of the dietary groups for 70 days. The fish were stocked in 15 glass tanks (60cm x 30cm) at the rate of five fish per tank and were fed at 5% of their body weight per day, in equal installments, each treatment with three replicates. Analysis showed that hematological parameters varied significantly (P

Key words: Ficus exasperata, Clarias gariepinus, Hematology, Juveniles