A 90-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of probiotics on the growth and gut health of Silver barb (Puntius gonionotus) yearlings. Four iso-nitrogenous diets (32% crude protein) with different probiotic levels were tested: T1 (control), T2 (4% Lactobacillus sporogenes), T3 (4% Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and T4 (2% each of L. sporogenes and S. cerevisiae). Fish (initial weight: 63.42 ± 1.13 g to 64.42 ± 0.66 g) were reared in 300-liter aerated tanks, with 12 fish per replicate in triplicate groups. They were fed at 3% of body weight twice daily. At the end of the trial, body weight gain was highest in T4 (73.07 ± 1.72%) compared to T1 (30.55 ± 3.40%), T2 (40.64 ± 1.83%), and T3 (55.91 ± 3.29%). The T4 group also showed the highest final weight (110.31 ± 1.58 g), body weight gain (46.58 ± 1.30 g), specific growth rate (0.61 ± 0.01%/day), and protein efficiency ratio (1.35 ± 0.04), with the lowest feed conversion ratio (2.75 ± 0.09) (p < 0.05). Gut microbial analysis revealed higher L. sporogenes counts in T2 (21,366.67 ± 185.59) and T4 (12,100.00 ± 152.75), while S. cerevisiae was highest in T4 (232,333.33 ± 6,661.92) and T3 (198,333.33 ± 1,201.85) (p < 0.05). S. cerevisiae colonized the gut after 15 days, but L. sporogenes did not. The findings suggest that dietary supplementation of L. sporogenes and S. cerevisiae at 2% each enhances growth and gut health in Silver barb

Dietary supplementation, gut health, Silver barb, Growth performance, Feed.

The study demonstrated that feeding Silver barb yearlings with a combined probiotic diet containing L. sporogenes and S. cerevisiae at 2% each resulted in notable improvements in growth and feed conversion ratio. The findings suggest that incorporating these probiotics at a total rate of 4% (2% each) in Silver barb diets supports enhanced growth and balanced gut microbiota. Further research is recommended to explore the mechanism behind probiotic supplementation, focusing on its impact on feed digestibility, immune response, and stress tolerance in Silver barb. Further study may also be done for multiple species of probiotic microbes application in Aquaculture to meet the cost effective aquafarming

N. Das, S. Dash and B.K. Khuntia (2021). Study of Probiotic on Growth Performance of Silver Barb (Puntius gonionotus). Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(2): 1602-1609