Nutritional profiling reveals the effects of dietary zeolite on Asian seabass Lates calcarifer

Abstract

As costs for nutrition in aquaculture farming escalate, using affordable feeds that provide an optimal combination of nutrients for the fish species of choice is paramount. Natural zeolites have been applied in aquaculture as early as 1977 including feeds in animal nutrition, and moisture and ammonia control of animal manure. In this study, five experimental diets: control, Z1, Z2, Z4 and Z8 containing 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8% of dietary zeolite respectively were investigated for growth performance and immune responses in Lates calcarifer. In general, dietary zeolite supplementation boosted overall growth performance, particularly with Z4 of 4% zeolite supplementation showing the highest Body Weight Gain (BWG) over the other diets. Feed Conversion Ratios (FCR) and Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) of fish were found to be significantly improved (P < 0.05) by the supplementation of zeolite. Furthermore, no significant changes in the immune and stress responses of fish at both 4% and 8% zeolite supplementation were exhibited, indicating that the presence of zeolites did not impair the immune state of L. calcarifer. This study suggests the suitability of dietary zeolite supplementation and recommends 4% zeolite supplementation to be the most ideal for improved growth performance for L. calcarifer.