Exploring the nutritional profile of microbial live feeds: A comprehensive overview for sustainable fish farming

Abstract

Microorganisms are good sources of nutrients in fish farming. They provide essential amino acids, 
protein and polysaccharides need by fish and other aquaculture species. They include bacteria, yeasts, 
fungi and algae. The quality of aquaculture water determines the productivity of the aquaculture and 
influence the microbial diversity of the aquatic system. The beneficial microbes can be feed directly as 
live feeds or supplemented with aquaculture feeds. In addition to rich sources protein and 
carbohydrates, they provide organic acids, fatty acids, growth promoting factors and some extracellular 
enzymes required for food digestion in the intestinal tract of fish and other aquaculture species. 
Environmental factors and the nutritional needs of the aquaculture determine the suitability of microbes 
as live feed. Viable micro-organisms are added directly to the feed or by inoculating the culture water or 
could be sprayed or top-dressed into basal diets. The ability of some microorganisms to mutate into 
pathogens, non acceptance of GMOs and over production of antimicrobial substances by some species 
are some of the associated problems. Despite these shortcomings, the use of beneficial 
microorganisms has facilitated the development of aquaculture worldwide.