Evaluation Of Probiotic Supplementation In Improving Growth Performance, Survival Rate, And Water Quality In Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Culture

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementation on growth performance, survival rate, and water quality in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture. A completely randomized design (CRD) was employed with four dietary treatments consisting of different probiotic supplementation levels: P0 (control without probiotics), P1 (5 mL probiotic/kg feed), P2 (10 mL probiotic/kg feed), and P3 (15 mL probiotic/kg feed), with three replicates per treatment. A total of 240 Nile tilapia fingerlings with an initial average body weight of 10.25 ± 0.48 g were reared for 60 days in fiberglass tanks under controlled culture conditions. The evaluated parameters included final body weight, weight gain, Specific Growth Rate (SGR), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), Feed Efficiency (FE), Survival Rate (SR), and water quality parameters, including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and nitrite. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at a significance level of p < 0.05. The results demonstrated that probiotic supplementation significantly improved all evaluated parameters compared with the control treatment. The P2 treatment produced the best performance, with a final body weight of 68.57 g, weight gain of 58.33 g, SGR of 3.15% day⁻¹, FCR of 1.24, feed efficiency of 80.37%, and a survival rate of 98.33%. Moreover, probiotic application effectively reduced ammonia concentration to 0.11 mg/L and nitrite concentration to 0.05 mg/L, indicating a substantial improvement in water quality. These findings demonstrate that dietary supplementation with 10 mL probiotic/kg feed is the optimal dosage for improving growth performance, feed utilization, fish survival, and environmental conditions in intensive Nile tilapia culture. Therefore, probiotic supplementation represents a sustainable and environmentally friendly strategy for enhancing aquaculture productivity while reducing dependence on antibiotics and synthetic chemical inputs.