Background and objective: Vannamei shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei is an economically valuable aquaculture commodity but still faces problems due to disease and growth performance. Buton forest onion extract Eleutherine bulbosa (Mill.) Urbhas been shown can protect the shrimp from disease. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of the Buton forest onion extract on the growth of vannamei shrimp in tarpaulin pond.
Materials and methods: The experiments were conducted for 90 days by adding Buton forest onion extract in feed at a dosage of 40 g kg-1. The Buton forest onion bulbs was extracted by maceration method using 96% ethanol. The test feed was made through the re-pelleting method. Treatment include supplementation of Buton forest onion extract diet supplemented with Buton forest onion extract diet at twice a week (treatment A) and control was without Buton forest onion extract(treatment K). Parameter measurement include final weight, average daily growth (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), survival rate and water quality (temperature, salinity, turbidity and pH).
Results: This study was demonstrated the addition of Buton forest onion extract on feed with a frequency twice a week in significantly improve the growth performance of vannamei shrimp by improving the final weight and average daily growth at 65 and 90 days of maintenance. Water quality during the study was still within the optimum range for L. vannamei shrimp growth.
Conclusion: This study showed that supplementation of Buton forest onion extract was able to improve the growth performance of shrimp in tarpaulin ponds.
Keywords: Buton forest onion extract; growth performance; tarpaulin pond; vannamei shrimp.