Synergistic Effects of Probiotics and Oligosaccharide Prebiotics on Water Quality and Growth Performance of Litopenaeus vannamei

Abstract

The increasing intensification of shrimp aquaculture, particularly of Litopenaeus vannamei, necessitates sustainable strategies to enhance growth performance while maintaining optimal water quality. This study investigates the synergistic effects of dietary supplementation with probiotics and prebiotics—specifically Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), and Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS)—administered individually and in various combinations on the growth, survival, feed utilization, and water quality parameters in L. vannamei cultured under controlled biofloc conditions. Twelve experimental diets were formulated: a control diet (T1), basal diets supplemented with either probiotics or individual prebiotics (T2–T5), and various synbiotic combinations of probiotics with one or more prebiotics (T6–T12). The feeding trial was conducted for 80 days using triplicate groups per treatment, with regular monitoring of growth indices (final weight, specific growth rate [SGR], feed conversion ratio [FCR], survival rate) and key water quality indicators (dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia-N, nitrite-N, nitrate-N). The results revealed that all synbiotic treatments significantly outperformed the control and individual supplement treatments (p < 0.05), with the highest final weight (15.21 g), SGR (3.40%/day), survival (93.5%), and the lowest FCR (1.38) observed in T12, which received a combination of MOS, FOS, XOS, and probiotics. Furthermore, water quality parameters in synbiotic treatments remained within optimal limits throughout the study, with T12 showing significantly reduced ammonia and nitrite concentrations and improved dissolved oxygen levels, indicating enhanced microbial activity and nitrification processes. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating synbiotics, especially triple oligosaccharide blends with probiotics, into shrimp diets as a sustainable strategy to boost aquaculture productivity and water quality management. The study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting functional feeds in promoting eco-friendly and economically viable shrimp farming.