article · Aquaculture Research
A 60-day feeding trial evaluated the effects of Bacillus-based probiotic feed additives on Nile tilapia fingerlings. The trial compared an unsupplemented basal diet against feeds containing either single-strain Ecobiol or multi-strain Sanolife PRO-F FMC at two distinct inclusion rates. Fish fed diets with 0.002 percent Sanolife PRO-F FMC showed significantly improved growth performance compared to the control group, alongside elevated levels of leukocytes, lymphocytes, and neutrophils. The 0.001 percent Sanolife PRO-F FMC treatment produced the highest intestinal weight and enhanced haemoglobin and haematocrit values. Both levels of this multi-strain additive improved gut structure by lengthening intestinal villi and increasing goblet cell numbers, whilst elevating lysozyme and phagocytic immune activity. Probiotic additions also upregulated several genes that regulate growth hormones and appetite, showing that dietary Bacillus supplementation improves overall growth, immune status, and gut health.
Aquaculture producers continually seek feed strategies that enhance fish productivity and natural disease resistance without relying on prophylactic antibiotics. Demonstrating that specific single- and multi-strain Bacillus probiotics enhance gut integrity, growth rates, and immune defences provides fish farmers and feed formulators with practical dietary options to support healthier, more resilient Nile tilapia fingerlings during critical early life stages.
The findings are directly relevant to aquafeed manufacturers and commercial tilapia hatcheries seeking validated microbial additives to improve juvenile performance. Because the study represents applied testing of specific, existing commercial formulations (Ecobiol and Sanolife PRO-F FMC) at defined dosages, the route to use is relatively direct. However, field validation under varied commercial farming environments and densities remains necessary before broader operational adoption.
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This study assessed the impact of dietary supplementation of single- and multi-strain Bacillus-based probiotics on growth performance, intestinal morphometry, blood parameters, immune-oxidative status and transcriptomic response of Nile tilapia for 60 days. Fish (N = 150, 1.632 ± 0.035 g) were allocated into five experimental groups: (1) Control group (CG) that was fed on a basal diet; (2) Eco. 0.01%, received basal diet with 0.1 g/kg Ecobiol; (3) Eco. 0.02%, received basal diet with 0.2 g/kg Ecobiol; (4) Pro-F FMC 0.001%, received basal diet with 0.001 g/kg Sanolife PRO-F FMC; (5) Pro-F FMC 0.002%, received basal diet with 0.002 g/kg Pro-F-FMC. Fish received Pro-F FMC 0.002% displayed higher growth performance than CG (p < 0.05), while Pro-F FMC 0.001% exhibited the highest intestinal weight. Sanolife PRO-F FMC supplementation improved intestinal villi length and goblet cell number while decreased inter-villi space (p < 0.05). The best haemoglobin, haematocrit and monocyte per cent were observed in Pro-F FMC 0.001%, whereas Pro-F FMC 0.002% revealed the best leukocyte, lymphocyte and neutrophil contents. Pro-F FMC-supplemented groups showed better phagocytic activity, phagocytic index and lysozyme activity than Ecobiol-supplemented groups and CG. Pro-F FMC 0.001% enrichment induced the highest upregulation level of NPYα, AgRp-2, ghrelin and GH-1, whereas Pro-F FMC 0.002% significantly upregulated IGF-1 and IGF-2 gene expression. Eco. 0.02% induced the highest upregulation level of orexin and galanin gene expression. Conclusively, dietary enrichment with single- or multi-strain Bacillus-based probiotics is likely to improve growth, immunological parameters and transcriptomic response of Nile tilapia.
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DOI: 10.1111/are.15671
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