Work

Effects of Dietary Kombucha Supplementation on Growth Performance and Feed Utilization of Clarias sp.

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Feed efficiency and growth performance remain important factors in catfish culture systems.Probiotic supplementation has been applied as a nutritional approach to improve nutrient utilization and fish growth.Kombucha contains mixed microbial populations, including Komagataeibacter, lactic acid bacteria, and yeast that support digestive processes and physiological performance in fish.This study evaluated the effects of dietary kombucha supplementation on growth rate (GR), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), absolute growth, and survival of Clarias sp.The study employed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of four treatments and three replications.Experimental diets consisted of commercial feed supplemented with kombucha at 0 mL/kg (control), 4 mL/kg, 8 mL/kg, and 16 mL/kg of feed.A total of 144 juvenile Clarias sp. with an initial average body weight of 8.04 ± 0.12 g were cultured for 28 days.To maintain the stability of the supplemented diets, fresh feed batches were prepared weekly throughout the experimental period and stored under refrigerated conditions until use.All feeds were prepared using the same coating and drying procedures to ensure consistency among treatments.GR, SGR, FCR, absolute weight gain (AWG), absolute length gain (ALG), and survival rate (SR) were evaluated.Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by LSD tests at p < 0.05.Dietary kombucha supplementation significantly affected GR, SGR, FCR, AWG, and ALG (p < 0.05).Fish receiving 16 mL/kg supplementation produced the highest growth performance among treatments.Treatment C (16 mL/kg feed) generated GR of 0.412 ± 0.022 g day⁻¹, SGR of 3.141 ± 0.133% day⁻¹, FCR of 1.447 ± 0.175, AWG of 11.530 ± 0.609 g, and ALG of 3.93 ± 0.252 cm.SR showed no significant differences among treatments (p > 0.05) and remained above 94%.Dietary kombucha supplementation improved growth performance and feed utilization efficiency of Clarias sp.under the present experimental conditions.Among the supplementation levels evaluated, 16 mL/kg feed produced the highest growth performance and feed utilization response.However, this level should be interpreted as the best treatment within the tested range rather than an optimal supplementation dose.

Source: International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics

DOI: 10.18280/ijdne.210715