Evaluating commercial, dietary pre-, pro- and synbiotics in hybrid catfish

Authors: Peterson, Brian; Bosworth, Brian; LI, MENGHE - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Global Aquaculture Advocate
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/2018
Publication Date: 6/4/2018
Citation: Peterson, B.C., Bosworth, B.G., Li, M.H. 2018. Evaluating commercial, dietary pre-, pro- and synbiotics in hybrid catfish. Global Aquaculture Advocate. p. 1-6.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Aquaculture is currently the fastest growing food production sector in the world. High disease losses and pressures to find alternatives to antibiotics are a few of the constraints to its continued expansion. Concerns of antibiotic use in aquaculture include the development and transfer of antibiotic resistance to fish and human pathogens as well as the potential for accumulation of residual antibiotics in aquaculture products. As the demand for aquaculture products increases, so does the search for environmentally friendly alternatives to antibiotics. Channel catfish is the single largest aquaculture species in USA. In the last 5 years, hybrid catfish (channel x blue F1 hybrid) have become increasingly popular as a culture fish due to increased growth performance, increased availability, and adaptability to intensive pond culture systems. With a large presence of catfish aquaculture, there is growing interest in using dietary pre-, pro-, and synbiotics as strategies to promote growth rates and prevent diseases. These dietary feed additives have been shown to enhance both growth efficiency and disease resistance in a variety of aquatic species. However, before industry makes the change to using dietary feed additives, their efficacy must be demonstrated, mechanisms of action will need to be defined, and the products must be commercially available and cost effective.