Effect of dietary inclusion of microencapsulated probiotics on some zootechnical parameters in red tilapia fingerlings (Oreochromis sp.)

Abstract

The use of probiotics in aquaculture is one of the strategies to reduce consumption of antibiotics and mitigate the impacts on the environment. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of the dietary inclusion of microencapsulated probiotics on some zootechnical parameters in red tilapia fingerlings (Oreochromis sp.). At the experimental station of the University Corporation Lasallina, two separated groups of fingerlings were given a diet with 42% of crude protein, 86% of digestibility and energy 4765,8 Kcal/Kg, but to one of the groups, 1% of microencapsulated probiotics was included. The fry of both groups were weighted and measured at three times, and the zootechnical variables such as feed conversion (FC), specific growth rate (SGR), weight gain (WG), size gain (SG), and survival percentage were statistically analyzed. The results showed p<0.05 statistical significance and confirmed that the fish fed with probiotics had a better performance of the parameters analyzed.

Key words: red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.), conversion, probiotics, microencapsulation