An Enhanced Fish Feed Supplemented with Probiotics and Spirulina Formulation for Commercial Production

Karthik C; Anand K; Athishparsuram SB; Aneesh Nair; Florida Tilton

Abstract

In recent years, the probiotics isolated from fish gut microbiota is used in aquaculture practices as there is a demand to improve the quality of life of fishes. The aim of the study is to isolate probiotic microbe from the gut of Etroplus suratensis and to evaluate the most suitable probiotic for feed formulation. Two bacterial isolates from the gastrointestinal tract (GI) of Etroplus suratensis was evaluated for probiotic properties. Two isolates exhibited high tolerance to bile and pH and also demonstrated high resistance to antibiotics. Based on the better probiotic features, one isolate was selected for feed formulation along with spirulina using sodium alginate encapsulation technique. The viability of this encapsulated isolate was tested in simulated gastric fluid. PCR and sequencing studies showed that the two bacterial isolates displayed 96.44% and 81.95% homology with Klebsiella pneumoniae and Aeromonas hydrophila respectively. The isolate Aeromonas hydrophila has tolerance to bile salt, low pH, antibiotic resistant and ability to survive in in-vitro simulated gastric fluid. Fish feed can be formulated with probiotic Aeromonas hydrophila and spirulina which helps to produce high quality fishes.

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