Effects of dietary probiotic on growth performance and feed utilization of white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of probiotic Bacillus spp. on growth performance and feed utilization of white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). A probiotic strain, Bacillus sp. was added to the shrimp diet at four concentrations: 0% (control), 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2%. The experiment lasted for 70 days. A decrease of mortality was observed in white leg shrimp which was administered with probiotic diets compared to the control diet. Shrimp receiving the diets supplemented with probiotics showed significantly better growth performance than those fed the control. However, feed intake (FI) of shrimp in control was higher than others (p<0.05) and there was no significant difference between probiotic diets. The probiotic treatment group had a significantly higher protein efficiency ratio (PER) compared to the control. While the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of probiotic treatments was significantly lower than the control diet. Finally, the supplementation of probiotic (Bacillus sp) with a concentration of 0.05% in the diet improved the growth, feed utilization; reduced the feed intake and the feed cost per kg of white leg shrimp produced.