G. Kokilam, S. Vasuki and D. Babitha
In the present investigation, the influence of dietary supplementation of sodium alginate (extracted from Turbinaria decurrens) on the gut flora of the Fenneropenaeus indicus(Indian major shrimp)was studied. Shrimps were cultured in the laboratory for 30 days and various concentration of sodium alginate along with commercial diet was tested. The total heterotrophic bacterial load ranged from 4.4 × 102 CFU/g to 11.2×102CFU/g of gut sample. The maximum number of colonies were found in the gut of shrimp fed with Type 4 diet (1% sodium alginate) and minimum in control. The dominant strains isolated were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus badius and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The protein, carbohydrate and lipid values were significantly different between the different concentrations of sodium alginate diet (P < 0.05).The water quality variables that most influenced the tank water were the total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and silicate (Si). The present study clearly showed that diets containing sodium alginate influence the numbers of beneficial gut microflora and biochemical composition in shrimps.
