Effects of Different Types of Feed on Domesticating the Wild Betta Fish Betta rubra Perugia, 1893

Betta rubra is an ornamental fish endemic to Aceh Province, exhibiting significant developmental potential. This fish possesses a significant market value. Moreover, it presents challenges for domestication and exhibits slow growth rates. This research evaluated the growth performance, histological structure of gut villi, and growth patterns of B. rubra fish subjected to four distinct types of differences in feed for domestication purposes. The experimental design utilized a completely randomized approach, comprising four treatments and three replications, involving 120 fish with an average initial length of 3.325 ± 0.017 =cm and an average initial weight of 0.338 ± 0.007 grams. The treatments consisted of commercial pellets (P0), Tubifex sp. (P1), Daphnia sp. (P2), and Artemia sp. (P3), administered over 50 days. This research examined the parameters of growth performance, histology of gut villi, and growth patterns in B. rubra fish. The growth performance data were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS version 25.0, applying a 95% confidence interval. Treatments demonstrating significant differences underwent further evaluation through the Duncan test. The histology of gut villi and growth pattern data were analyzed using descriptive methods. The findings demonstrated that the provision of Tubifex sp. significantly influenced (P<0.05) the growth performance of B. rubra fish. B. rubra fish-fed Tubifex sp. (P1) exhibited the highest average values for both villi length and width of gut villi. Commercial pellet feed for fish (P0) and Daphnia sp. (P2) exhibited a negative allometric growth pattern, whereas fish-fed Tubifex sp. (P1) and Artemia sp. (P3) showed a positive allometric growth pattern. In conclusion, the provision of Tubifex sp. (P1) resulted in optimal growth performance and the highest average measurements of gut villi length and width in B. rubra fish. Variations in feed treatments resulted in distinct growth patterns of B. rubra fish.