Natural astaxanthin extracted from shrimp waste for pigment improvement in the Orange clownfish, Amphiprion percula

This study aimed at evaluating the effect of natural astaxanthin extracted from shrimp shells on the growth and skin pigmentation of the Orange clownfish, Amphiprion percula. Astaxanthin diets (with serial concentrations of 0-150 mg kg(-1) feed) supplemented to the Orange clownfish were set up to improve their performance. Our data revealed that the astaxanthin feed did significantly affect the Orange clownfish skin pigmentation. After 8 weeks on the 75-150 mu g g(-1) concentration astaxanthin diet, the high redness (a*) value was measured at 14.40-14.95 (Minolta, CR400), while the control group had an a* value of 10.53 +/- 0.26 (p < 0.05). The highest carotenoid level was also determined in fish skin (UV-vis spectrophotometer) of 44.20 +/- 2.12 mu g g(-1) tissues at the carotenoid concentration of 150 mu g g(-1). The higher values of the growth of this specie were also observed in the groups with feed added astaxanthin compared with the control group. Our findings suggest that natural astaxanthin from shrimp shells could be applied in the field of aquaculture to improve the skin pigmentation and growth of the Orange clownfish.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the effects of natural astaxanthin extracted from shrimp shells on the growth and skin pigmentation of the Orange clownfish. The results showed that the astaxanthin feed significantly affected the skin pigmentation of the fish and improved their growth.