Dietary sodium butyrate improves growth performance of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) reared in biofloc system
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Shailesh
Tribhuvan University/IAAS
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9726-0922
Abstract
This study evaluated the effects of dietary sodium butyrate (SB) supplementation on the growth performance and intestinal morphology of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) cultured in a biofloc system. A 120 day experiment was conducted using a completely randomised design with five treatments: control (biofloc only) and four SB supplemented diets (0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%), each in triplicate. Fish (Initial mean weight 4.9±0.2 g) was stocked at a density of 40 fish per 0.4 m³ in each tank. The results indicated no significant differences (p>0.05) in survival, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among the treatments. However, final mean weight, total harvest weight and net fish yield were significantly higher (p<0.05) in treatments fed 1.5% and 2% SB supplemented diets. Water quality improved in SB supplemented treatments, with significantly lower ammonia and nitrate levels and higher floc volume. Bacterial and phytoplankton abundance increased significantly with higher SB inclusion, whereas zooplankton abundance remained unaffected. Histological analysis revealed enhanced intestinal villi length in SB fed treatments, indicating the improved nutrient absorption. Overall, the integration of sodium butyrate with biofloc technology demonstrated the synergistic effects by improving bacterial abundance, phytoplankton abundance, zooplankton abundance, water quality and fish growth. The study suggests that 1.5–2% dietary SB is optimal for enhancing productivity of Nile tilapia in biofloc system.
Keywords: Aquaculture nutrition, Biofloc technology, Microbial dynamics, Phytoplankton abundance
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References
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