Growth performance and feed utilization of African catfish Clarias gariepinus fed a commercial diet and reared in the biofloc system enhanced with probiotic

Background The objective of the present study was to evaluate the growth performance and feed utilization of African catfish Clarias gariepinus fed a commercial diet and reared in the biofloc system enhanced with probiotic. Methods The treatment was the frequency of probiotic application into the cultured system, namely, 5-day interval, 10-day interval, and 15-day interval for 60 days of experiment. Biofloc culture was grown in an experiment tank (vol. 2000 L) by mixing the probiotic ( Bacillus sp.) 10 mL and molasses 200 mL per liter of water.  The fish was stocked into the biofloc system 7 days after cultured at stocking density of 1000 fish tank -1.  The fish was fed a commercial diet that contains 38% crude protein, twice a day at satiation. The application of probiotic was reperformed after 5 days, 10 days, and 15 days after stocking. Results The study showed that the growth performance, survival, and feed utilization of African catfish were higher in the treatment at 5-day intervals over 60 days. The ANOVA test showed that the application frequency of probiotic into biofloc system of cultured media had the significant effect on the growth performance, survival rate, and feed utilization of African catfish. Conclusion The best growth performance and feed utilization were  found at the application of probiotic into biofloc system at 5-day intervals over 60 days.