Type: Articles

Growth, physiological and histopathological responses of red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) fed dietary protein levels under saline groundwater conditions

Authors

Corresponding Author

Mohamed Elhamamy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64636/ar.48

Abstract

It is important to define what is the exact protein requirement to ensure that the economic and environmental sustainability of the tilapia aquaculture, particularly in saline systems, whereby osmoregulation augments metabolic demand. This experiment used a multi-biomarker, holistic methodology in indicating the optimal dietary crude protein content of juvenile red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) reared in saline groundwater (33 ppt) in concrete tanks. Isogenic diets with 25, 30, 34 and 38 percent crude protein were fed to fish to a 90-day period. Although the CP diet of 38% was found to give a higher growth performance and feed efficiency, it initiated a drastic physiological trade off which was represented by a drastic reduction in the survivability (51.1%). Detailed hemato-biochemical and histopathological investigations showed the price paid under the carpet by this high protein diet, systemic dysregulation with extreme cases of anemia, hypercholesterolemia, hepatic steatosis and necrosis, damage to the branchial, and activation of the intestinal immune response. The opposite extreme of this was the 34% CP diet which made the strong growth as well as retention of high survival (75.6) and homeostatic regulation among physiological and tissue wellness variables. Thus, we can deduce that the ratio of 34% crude protein in the diet is the optimum compromise afforded by having maximum zoo technical performance and a balance between physiological integrity and long-term sustainability of juvenile red hybrid tilapia under saline concrete tank culture.

Keywords:

Red hybrid tilapia, protein requirement, growth, physiological stress, histopathology, sustainable aquaculture
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Published

01-03-2026

Competing Interest

There is no conflict of interest to declare.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): Animal Reports | Current issue

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Copyright (c) 2025 Mohamed Elhamamy, Tarek Mohamed Ahmed Srour , Mohamed Abd El-Razek Essa, Ahmed Mohamed Ashry, Mohamed Mohamed Toutou

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Elhamamy, Mohamed, Tarek Srour, Mohamed Abd El-Razek Essa, Ahmed Mohamed Ashry, and Mohamed Mohamed Toutou. 2026. “Growth, Physiological and Histopathological Responses of Red Hybrid Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) Fed Dietary Protein Levels under Saline Groundwater Conditions”. Animal Reports 2 (1): 67-95. https://doi.org/10.64636/ar.48.

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