ENHANCING GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND FEED EFFICIENCY OF JUVENILE GOURAMI Osphronemus gouramy FED A PAPAIN ENZYME AND PROBIOTIC-SUPPLEMENTED DIET

Abstract

Gourami (Osphronemus gouramy) farming faces challenges, including slow growth rates and
high feed costs. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of probiotics, papain enzymes, and
their combination on the growth performance and feed utilization of gourami. The study was
conducted using a completely randomized design with four treatments and three replicates
each. The treatments consisted of a control group (feed without papain enzyme or probiotics),
treatment A (feed supplemented with 8 mL/kg probiotics), treatment B (feed supplemented
with 32.5 g/kg papain enzyme), and treatment C (feed supplemented with a combination of
0.25 g/kg papain enzyme and 15 mL/kg probiotics). Juvenile gourami with average weight of
5.82±0.09 g/fish were kept in nine fiberglass tank (3 m diameter and 1.2 m height) for 42 days
with a stocking density of 15 fish/m2. After 42 days of rearing, treatment C exhibited
significantly higher specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and protein retention than the
other treatments (P<0.05), with values of 3.03±0.15%/day, 2.78±0.20%, and 44.71±3.06%,
respectively. The lowest feed conversion ratio was also observed in treatment C, with a value
of 0.94±0.06 (P<0.05). In conclusion, supplementation with 0.25 g/kg papain enzyme and 15
mL/kg probiotics in the feed enhanced growth performance and feed utilization in gourami.