EFFECT OF WATER MICROBIAL DENSITY ON GUT MICROBIOTA OF TILAPIA LARVAE Oreochromis niloticus REARED INACTIVE SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

摘要

In aquaculture, fish live, feed, and excrete in the same water, which provides favorable environment for the growth of microbes. The microbial density increases with increasing nutrient load, which can reach very high concentrations in intensive aquaculture system. Within the microbiota there is an active competition for nutrients and adhesion sites. Besides the water column and tank surface, fish guts also constitutes a large surface for microbiota to colonize and proliferate. To which extent a highmicrobial load in the rearing water affects gut microbiota and whether it affects growth during early life stages, is not well documented. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of microbial density in water, on gut microbiota of Oreochromis niloticus larvae. Furthermore, to account for the influence of microbiota in feed, both sterilized and non-sterilized diets were fed.