Effects of Dietary Levels of Probiotics on the Growth and Survival of the Snakehead Fish (Channa striata) Cultivated in the Bucket System

This research aimed to analyze the effects of different dietary levels of probiotics on the growth and survival rate of the snakehead fish (C. striata) cultivated in a bucket system. The study employed a completely randomized design (CRD) experimental method with five treatments and three replications. The fish were fed commercial feed supplemented with probiotics at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, and 20ml.kg⁻¹ of feed, while the control group received commercial feed without probiotics. Each treatment group contained 10 fish, ranging from 7 to 9cm in length, and was stocked in an 80-liter bucket for a 42-day rearing period. The feed provided was 5% of the fish biomass. The addition of probiotics to the feed had a significantly different effect on the fish compared to the control group, impacting absolute length growth, absolute weight growth, specific growth rate, feed conversion, and survival rate. The 10 ml.kg⁻¹ concentration resulted in the highest absolute length growth (2.33cm) and the highest specific growth rate (2.08%). The 20ml.kg⁻¹ concentration led to the highest absolute weight growth (5.43g) and the best feed conversion ratio (2.35). The 5ml.kg⁻¹ concentration achieved the highest feed efficiency (45.02%). These results indicate that the addition of commercial probiotics to the diet significantly influences the growth performance of snakehead fish reared in a bucket system.