article · Aquaculture Reports
Testing dietary supplements in monosex Nile tilapia showed that combining sodium butyrate and Spirulina platensis enhances growth and physiological condition over a two-month feeding period. Fish receiving a diet supplemented with both 350 milligrams of sodium butyrate and one gram of Spirulina platensis per kilogram achieved superior weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency, and feed conversion compared to control fish or those fed single additives. Fish fed the combined diet also reached the greatest body length and highest carcass lipid content. Blood analyses revealed increased total protein and globulin alongside decreased white blood cell counts, triglycerides, and liver enzymes. Furthermore, intestinal structure improved markedly, exhibiting increased villi length, expanded villi surface area, and higher goblet cell counts, confirming the synergistic benefits of these additives for tilapia nutrition and gut health.
Efficient feed additives are essential for improving the productivity and health of farmed fish. Demonstrating that combining sodium butyrate and Spirulina platensis enhances nutrient absorption, gut structure, and growth rates provides concrete evidence for refining aquaculture feeding strategies. These findings help fish producers support animal health and optimise feed conversion without compromising fish development.
This research represents applied experimental work tested at a small scale over a two-month trial. The results could inform aquafeed manufacturers and commercial fish farmers looking to formulate functional feeds that boost tilapia growth and feed efficiency. Moving toward commercial use would require validation at larger scales, assessment of production costs, and verification in diverse operational farming conditions.
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The present study evaluated the possible synergistic impacts of sodium butyrate and Spirulina platensis as a feed additive on growth performance, carcass composition, blood health, and intestinal histomorphology of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). A control and three treated diets were supplemented with sodium butyrate (SB) 350 mg, Spirulina platensis (SP) 1g and a mixture of 350 mg SB and 1g SP/kg diet (SB/SP) respectively, were fed for monosex Nile tilapia (12.5± 0.50 g, n=120) for two months. The results revealed higher growth performance (final weight, weight gain, weight gain rate, SGR and PER) compared to control group (CG) (P<0.05), with higher values being observed in fish fed SB/SP, and significant improvement in FCR and ECR values with the lowest values being recorded in fish fed SB/SP followed by SP, SB and CG. Biometric indices showed no significant effect except for fish length, the longest fish length was recorded in fish fed SB/SP followed by SP, SB and CG. There was a significant correlation (P<0.05) between the length and the weight among the experimental groups. Carcass composition showed highest value of total lipid content in fish fed SB/SP. Hematological parameters showed no significant differences except for the WBCs which decreased significantly in fish fed SB or/and SP in respect to CG (P < 0.05). Biochemical parameters of Nile tilapia showed the highest values of total protein and globulin in fish fed SB/SP and the lowest values of triglycerides, AST and ALP in fish fed SB/SP. Intestinal histomorphology showed significant increase in the intestinal villi length, villi surface area and goblet cells count and decreased inter-villi space in SB or/and SP in respect to CG. Conclusively, results revealed the importance of both SB and SP in tilapia diets to enhance the growth, intestinal histomorphology and fish health.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.aqrep.2021.100637
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