Assessing the impact of Bacillus strains mixture probiotic on water quality, growth performance, blood profile and intestinal morphology of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a commercial probiotic, Sanolife PRO-F, on water quality, growth performance, blood profiles and intestinal morphometry of monosex Nile tilapia. A field trial was conducted for 10 weeks in which tilapia fingerlings (20 +/- 1.26 g) were randomly distributed into three replicate ponds which were subdivided into three treatment groups, receiving Sanolife PRO-F at 0 (B0), 0.1 (B1) and 0.2 (B2) g/kg diet, respectively. The results showed a significant improvement in growth performance, feed conversion ratio and blood profiles in tilapia fed on treated diets. The whole intestinal lengths, anterior and terminal intestinal villi heights and anterior goblet cells count were greater in tilapia fed on treated diets. There were no noticeable differences in growth and intestinal morphology between tilapia fed on B1 and B2 diets. The ammonia concentration in water was lower with B1 diet while electric conductivity, salinity and total dissolved solids were higher with the B2 diet. The pH level of pond water was enhanced by both diets, B1 and B2. In conclusion, application of Sanolife PRO-F at 0.1-0.2 g/kg diet might have beneficial effects on growth, immunity, stress responses and gut health and function as well as the water quality of farmed Nile tilapia.