Role of oligosaccharides as biological additives in cultured Oreochromis niloticus

Abstract

The present study was carried out on 350 Oreochromis niloticus randomly collected alive from private freshwater fish farms at Eltal Elkbir-Sharkia governorate. The fish were subjected to clinical, postmortem and parasitological examination. The isolated external parasites were found belonging to the protozoa of genera Trichodina, Epistylis and Chilodonella, as well as monogenea of genera Cichlidogyrus and Ancyrocephalus. The efficacy of mannan-oligosaccharides (Bio-Mos®) was evaluated on growth performance, haematological parameters, total proteins content and the Serum Lysozyme activity. Bio-Mos® appears to be of importance as growth promoter at level of 4 g/Kg of fish diet, with consequent improving the general fish health and increasing the total fish gain. The efficacy of Bio-Mos® as a biocontrol agent for present external parasites in examined fish are needed more study to determine the role of mannan-oligosaccharides concerning the specific treatment and control of external parasitic infections in fishes. © 2013 Mohamed SM, et al.