Abstract
Tilapia farmers would benefit tremendously if they could decrease
aggression among fish. Conspecific aggression affects growth, feed
conversion and general wellbeing of fish. Previous studies established
an inverse relationship between blood cholesterol levels and aggression
in fish, whereby a decrease in cholesterol led to an increase in
aggression. The present study assessed the effect of an increase of
dietary cholesterol on blood cholesterol and possible decrease in
aggression of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Nile tilapia
were stocked in an outdoor recirculation system then offered one of five
diets: 0% cholesterol, 0.5% cholesterol, 1% cholesterol, 1.5%
cholesterol and 2% cholesterol. Five fish of each treatment were moved
to a glass tank and monitored for signs of aggression for 10 minutes,
twice a day. This experimental procedure was repeated five times using a
new set of fish every time. Results show an increase in cholesterol
levels in the blood but that there are no significant differences in
aggression among treatments. Accordingly, the present study suggests
that an increase in dietary cholesterol increases blood cholesterol in
fish but does not have a significant effect on antagonistic patterns in
Nile tilapia.