Economic feasibility of probiotic use in the diet of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, during the reproductive period

• Main Authors: Danielle de Carla Dias, Fernanda de Paiva Badiz Furlaneto, Fábio Rosa Sussel, Leonardo Tachibana, Giovani Sampaio Gonçalves, Carlos Massatoshi Ishikawa, Mariene Miyoko Natori, Maria José Tavares Ranzani-Paiva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editora da Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Eduem) 2020-01-01
• Series: Acta Scientiarum: Animal Sciences
• Subjects: bacillus subtilis; fish farming; feed additive; profitability; spawning
• Online Access: http://www.periodicos.uem.br/ojs/index.php/ActaSciAnimSci/article/view/47960

This work examines the economic advantages of probiotic use in the diet of Nile tilapia broodstock during the reproductive period. For this purpose, Bacillus subtilis was applied as a feed additive. The experimental design was completely randomized with three treatment groups: the T0 control (without probiotic), the T1 continuous probiotic intake, and the T2 alternate probiotic intake at a dose of 0.50 g kg-1 of feed (1010 CFU g-1) with four replicates. For the reproduction assay, 118 females and 48 males of Nile tilapia (proportion 4 males:9 females. hapa-1) (weight 527.65 g ± 185.98 g and length 30.16 cm ± 3.57 cm) were distributed into 12 hapas (3.5 × 2.0 × 1.5 m). Reproductive variables (spawning female percentage, egg production, and fry production) were used to calculate the economic feasibility indexes (total cost of nutrition [TcN], gross revenue [GR], and total operational profit [ToP]). The results show increasing values for spawning female number, collected eggs, and surviving fry in the probiotic groups. We recommend continuous intake of probiotic (feed with addition of probiotic) at a dose of 0.5 g kg-1 of feed (1010 CFU g-1) during the breeding season of Nile tilapia, due to the suitable reproductive indexes and profitability.