Evaluation of dietary administration of oxitriptan to control cannibalism in juvenile Asian seabass Lates calcarifer

Abstract

Cannibalism is a clear example of a predatory trait between similar species in a population that is triggered by aggressiveness. This study definitively shows that increasing serotonin in the body can suppress aggressiveness. 5-HTP (oxitriptan) is the name of the substance used in the study to achieve this, as it acts as a precursor for forming serotonin. The serotonin pathway is a hormonal pathway that reliably reduces aggressive behaviour. The study will evaluate the effect of oxitriptan on cannibalism of juveniles sea bass. The research method was an experimental, completely randomised design, with 5 treatments and 3 replications for each. It did not include l-tryptophan and oxitriptan (K), 5% l-tryptophan/g fish (T5), 5 µg oxitriptan/g fish (O5), 10 µg oxitriptan/g fish (O10), and 15 µg oxitriptan/g fish (O15). The juveniles seabass used were 30 days old, with an average length of 3.48 ± 0.15 cm and an average weight of 1.00 ± 0.1 g. The juveniles are maintained in a flow-through system for 30 days, with a feeding rate of 15%. The results showed that oxitriptan supplementation reduced the level of cannibalism (P<0.05). The 10 µg (O10) treatment was undoubtedly the most effective, reducing cannibalism by 20.67% and improving survival rate by the same amount (P<0.05). Oxitriptan is the solution to reduce cannibalism and increase the survival of juveniles seabass.

Keywords: cannibalism, oxitriptan, seabass juvenile, survival rate