Effect of dietary probiotic level on the reproductive performance of female platy Xiphophorus maculatus

Abstract

A commercial probiotic, Primalac was incorporated in fish feed at four different concentrations of 0.0, 0.04, 0.09 and 0.14% and fed to platy Xiphophorus maculatus for a period of 26 weeks to observe the effect of dietary probiotic supplementation on their reproductive performance. Results indicated that female broodstock fed the diets supplemented with Primalac showed enhanced Gonadosomatic Index (GSI) and fry production compared to the control group (p<0.01). There were no significant differences in the percentage of deformed fry and fry weight among the dietary treatments (p>0.05). The results also showed that fecundity, fry survival (%) and length of fry were significantly (p<0.01) higher in experimental groups (except the group fed 0.04% Primalac mixed diet) compared to the control group (p<0.01). It can be conducted that the probiotic Primalac we used in this study can improve the reproductive performance of female platy-fish broodstocks during reproductive stages. © Medwell Journals, 2011.