June 17, 2021
Agriculture
Aquaculture in Bangladesh and Use of Probiotics for Fish & Shrimp
Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today. For a large population living in different parts of the world, fish is the main source of nutrient, and thus it is integral to the dietary culture.
However, different kinds of disease outbreaks and poor water quality have been plaguing aquaculture and affecting its production rate.
Although conventional solutions like antibiotics are used, there is a growing concern about their extensive use and related adverse effects on the aquatic ecosystem and aquatic living beings.
Probiotics for fish and shrimp farming have emerged as an environment-friendly method to control diseases and one of the promising water treatment solutions in aquaculture.
Probiotics
Probiotics are microorganisms, mostly beneficial bacteria, that are capable of providing better health to fish and shrimp by adding them to the water.
In shrimp farming and fish farming, it is well known for boosting the immune system. Additionally, it causes the growth of microbiota, inhibits pathogens and strengthens the natural defence of fishes, thereby helping in the fight against diseases.
As per recent studies, probiotics are also known to enhance water quality by sequestering matter into carbon dioxide. For instance, it is now established that the bacteria Bacillus reduces nitrite, nitrate, and ammonium concentration in ornamental fish water.
Furthermore, probiotics for fish directly contribute to their development and growth. It is achieved by increasing the efficiency of feed conversion as well as protein efficiency.
Multiple researchers have found high growth rates, increase in body weight, high protein digestibility, and low feed conversion ratio in a variety of fishes due to the use of probiotics.
Resources on Probiotics In Aquaculture:
- Role of Beneficial Bacteria Beyond Probiotics In Aquaculture
- Antibiotic Overuse And Probiotic Use In Aquaculture
- Probiotics And Aquaculture
Aquaculture in Bangladesh
Aquaculture in Bangladesh has significantly grown in the past decades. Today, it is considered one of the top contributors to food production. Fish and shrimp farming has intensified in recent times due to the ever-increasing population in Bangladesh.
According to estimates, there are more than 2 lakh farmers practicing shrimp farming in rural areas.
Most of the shrimp and fish farming done in the coastal regions of Bangladesh is divided into mainly three categories: Extensive culture, Semi-intensive and Intensive culture.
The main difference is how they are grown in ponds. Shrimp and fish depend on natural food in extensive culture, whereas in semi-intensive culture, they depend on natural food, as well as fertilizer and supplementary feed. Intensive culture depends completely on artificial feed.
Different factors like salinity, pH, photosynthesis, and dissolved oxygen affect the growth, metabolism, and physiological processes of aquatic living organisms.
During the culture period, it is commonly seen that water quality deteriorates due to metabolic waste, leftover feed, and biotic substances.
It can stress the system and affect the survival of fish and shrimp. More often, farmers have to spend a lot of money on water exchange systems and other infrastructure to prevent or control diseases caused due to it.
Disease management remains a major challenge for farmers, and many depend on antibiotics. The use of antibiotics and antimicrobials has caused another problem of drug-resistant bacteria, which is quite alarming.
The use of probiotics for fish and shrimp, on the other hand, is a better preventive approach, which helps in preventing diseases and keeping fishes and shrimps healthy.
Various studies conducted in Bangladesh have also shown that probiotics for fish are useful in the prevention of diseases, better biological control, and nutrition.
The use of probiotics has shown that all parameters are in the acceptable range. Also, improved water quality was observed due to the action of gram-positive bacteria on organic matter.
Organica Biotech is one of the leading companies with a wide variety of aquaculture probiotics products, which consist of multiple strains of microbes that perform various functions to improve the aquatic ecosystem of fish and shrimp.
Different probiotics for fish and shrimp available are Bioclean Aqua, Bioclean Aqua Plus, Biogut Aqua, Bioclean Aqua Hatchery, and Bioclean Aqua Fish.
The cost-effective range of products can be used for different purposes, such as helping to increase the body weight of fish and shrimp, maintaining healthy water quality always, reducing toxicity levels, and boosting the immunity to fight against diseases.
For a developing country like Bangladesh, Organica Biotech’s probiotics products can help in boosting growth, increasing survival rate, minimizing pathogens and maintain environment friendly culture system.
It will eventually help farmers to increase production and better economic returns. Also, using probiotics for fish can help Bangladesh to meet the future food demand by increasing fish and shrimp farming productivity.
Also Read:
Recent Blogs
