2.1. Fish
Live and healthy specimens of Labeo rohita (average weight: 29.07 ± 1.06 g) were procured from a local fish farm (Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India) and treated with 0.01% potassium permanganate solution for 1 min to avoid any dermal infections. Prior to experiments, fish were acclimatised to laboratory conditions for 2 weeks in 500-L tanks at 23–25 °C. All the fish were fed with a basal diet [19] during the acclimatisation period. Approximately 20% of the water was exchanged daily, and 100% of the water was exchanged weekly.