Effect of lactic acid bacteria administered orally on growth performance of Penaeus indicus (H. Milne Edwards) juveniles

Abstract

To evaluate the nutritional quality of LAB and their possible effect on growth and survival of juvenile Penaeus indicus four commercially available cultures viz., L. acidophilus, S. cremoris, L. bulgaricus-56 and L. bulgaricus-57 were orally administered via a moist feed base (cell concentration 5x106 cells g-1 of diet) to four treatment groups in three replicates and designated as D1, D2, D3 and D4 at 12% of the body weight for a period of 35 days. A control group devoid of bacteria designated DO served as control. The diets contained 55% protein and 4.25% crude fat. All the treatment groups recorded higher weight as compared to the weight gain of 21.32% recorded in control group of shrimp (p<0.05). Specific growth rates and survival rates were also better in all the treatment groups as compared to control (p<0.05). Feed D2 recorded the lowest and best FCR of 0.64 as compared to 3.28 recorded on the control diet. The same was the case with PER, K1 and K2 showing S. cremoris to be the most efficient nutritionally. The probiont incorporated diets recorded higher digestibilities ranging between 93.98 to 82.15% as compared to 70.46% obtained on the control diet (p<0.05). Total Plate Count of the gut microflora revealed localization of LAB. The present investigation clearly demonstrates the beneficial role of LAB probionts orally monitored via compounded feed on growth in P. indicus juveniles.