Dietary prebiotic and probiotics for pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887): use and interactions

Abstract

Economical development, population increase and consequent increased food consumption, bring the need for intensification of aquaculture aiming higher productivity to meed increased demand for seafood. As consequence of this intensification, occurrence of epizootic breakdowns in production systems connected to stressing conditions (stocking rate, handling, transport etc.) are not longer a possibility, but shear reality. Ruptures of physiological homeostasis hampers fish immune system and so innocuous, cosmopolitan microorganisms may become pathogenic to immunodepressed fish, causing sizable economic losses, either with labor, mortality, use of medicines etc. The present project aims determining the effectiveness in the use prebiotic and/or probiotic dietary immunostimulants for juvenile pacu "Piaractus mesopotamicus" (Holmberg, 1887) before environmental and pathogenic agents, measuring immunological alterations and performance of the species. (AU)