Probiotics are defined as intact microbial cells that give benefits to their host animals. It can balance the microbiological conditions of the host, modify the association form with the host or other microbial communities, increase the utilization of feed nutrients or their nutritional value, boost the host’s immune defenses against pathogens, and improve environmental quality.
In shrimp farming, probiotics are living microorganisms that can give benefits for shrimp health and maintain water quality. Probiotics maintain shrimp health by suppressing the growth of disease-causing pathogenic bacteria and boosting the growth of beneficial bacteria in ponds, thus helping to maintain water quality.
Benefits of Probiotics for Shrimp Farming
Probiotics have several crucial benefits for shrimp farming, both for the shrimp and its habitat:
Improve the Shrimp Immune System
Probiotics stimulate the production of immune molecules, such as antimicrobial peptides, which strengthens the shrimp immune system. Furthermore, probiotics improve the function of immune cells like phagocytes and lymphocytes, resulting in a stronger immune response to infections.
Improve Water Quality
Probiotics can improve water quality by decomposing organic waste in ponds that comes from feed waste, molting residues, and other organic waste that might lead to phytoplankton blooms. When organic matter decomposes, the pond's water quality improves and toxic substances accumulate less. As a result, the pond ecosystem becomes more balanced.
Probiotics can also manipulate the microorganism population and process excessive organic waste. The organic waste in question are ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, total organic matter (TOM), and many more.
Improve Shrimp Intestine Health
Probiotics help to maintain the balance of shrimp intestine microbiota by boosting the population of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. It lowers the risk of infection from pathogenic bacteria while also increasing the efficiency and nutrient absorption.
Alternative to Antibiotics
In shrimp farming, probiotics can be used as an alternative to antibiotics. This is because probiotics are more ecologically friendly and can inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria while leaving no harmful residues in the shrimp's body, making them safe to consume.
Increase Shrimp Growth and Survival
Studies have demonstrated that probiotics can improve shrimp survival and growth rates. Tingkat kelangsungan hidup udang yang tinggi dan sistem pencernaan yang sehat merupakan faktor penting dalam keberhasilan budi daya. High survival rates and a healthy digestive system are important factors for successful shrimp farming.
Prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria
Probiotics protect shrimp from disease outbreaks, including Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) and early mortality syndrome. It inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria that cause disease, resulting in a safer and healthier environment for shrimp.
How Probiotics Work
Probiotics’ ability to prevent or lower the possibility that shrimp will be infected with diseases caused by bacteria is called the quorum quenching mechanism. It is a mechanism for breaking quorum sensing, which is a communication pathway between bacteria, by destroying signal molecules, restricting the production of signal molecules, or sabotaging the detection of signal molecules.
Probiotics also maintain shrimp health through mechanisms that improve shrimp health and immunity. By using probiotics, farmers can keep the bacteria in the intestine balanced and eliminate any dangerous bacteria. The following is the mechanisms:
- Exclusionary competition with pathogenic bacteria in the digestive system.
- The cell wall components of probiotic bacteria stimulate shrimp’s immune system.
- Probiotic bacteria can produce antibacterial enzymes and compounds.
- Producing beneficial vitamins for shrimp that will improve the nutritional value of feed indirectly.
As a measure to handle disease and maintain water quality, the practice of applying probiotics is more environmentally friendly than administering medicines or antibiotics. Probiotics application can minimize residues or waste substances in the farm ecosystem or shrimp body. Residues or waste substances inside the shrimp’s body cause the shrimp to be unsafe for consumption and therefore difficult to be approved as export products.
The numerous benefits of probiotics for shrimp farming make it a very important component. According to Amiin et al. (2023), the practice of administering probiotics has been widely conducted in the shrimp industry by supplementing it through feed. However, farmers must also pay attention to probiotic types based on the bacterial composition, dosage, and administration technique.
Types of Probiotics for Better Shrimp Health
There are four types of probiotics that can improve shrimp health in farms. Those four types include:
Lactobacillus spp.
Function: Promotes shrimp intestine health and aids in the digestion of feed.
Dosage: Lactobacillus spp. dosage ranges from 1-3 ppm in water, or it can be mixed into feed, depending on manufacturer recommendations.
Bacillus spp.
Function: Decompose organic materials, enhance water quality, and inhibit pathogenic bacteria, such as Vibrio.
Dosage: The dosage varies by product, but it is typically around 20 mL per kilogram of feed.
Nitrosomonas dan Nitrobacter
Function: Contributes to the conversion of ammonia to nitrate through the nitrification process, which is critical for maintaining pond water quality.
Dosage: The specific dosage typically depends on the pond conditions and product utilized.
Rhodobacter spp.
Function: Decomposes complex organic compounds, producing pigments that are beneficial for shrimp.
Dosage: The dosage may vary depending on the product formulation used.
How to Apply Probiotics
As one of the crucial treatments in shrimp farming, probiotics can be applied through two media: pond water and feed. You can add probiotics directly into the pond water with the determined dosage. You can also mix probiotics with feed according to the recommended dosage.
Conclusion
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria which have some significant benefits for shrimp farming. Those benefits include:
- Improve the shrimp immune system
- Improve water quality
- Improve shrimp intestine health
- Alternative to antibiotics
- Increase shrimp growth and survival
- Prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria
Probiotics application is one of the crucial treatments in shrimp farming and has long been implemented by farmers. To ensure the efficiency of this treatment, make sure to keep track or record it regularly.
JALA App, the shrimp farm management application from JALA, is ready to accommodate the recording of cultivation treatments. Since it is easy to use, you can record treatments and more than 40 parameters in JALA App anytime, anywhere.
Interested in using this smart application? Register today at app.jala.tech and download the mobile version to ensure controlled farm conditions!
References
Amiin, M., et al. (2023). The role of probiotics in Vannamei Shrimp Aquaculture Performance–A Review. Veterinary World, 16(3), 638-649. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.638-649
