Using various probiotic forms to boost sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) performance and quality in Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of probiotic products composed of different Bacillus spp on the survival and metamorphosis of sea cucumber larvae and tracks their impact on juvenile development, survival ratio and water quality. In addition to the control, three types of commercial probiotics, PLUS10, SKB01 and SKB0, were used. The experiment was conducted in three replications, each with 500 liter tanks containing 50,000 larvae (100 larvae/liter), over 40 days and in a completely randomized design.

The experiment was conducted in three replicates, each with 500 liter tanks containing 50,000 larvae (100 larvae/liter), over 40 days and in a completely randomized design. The results showed that the larval metamorphosis and settlement are varied insignificantly with probiotics and significantly with days of application whereas no noticeable changes occur with SKB01 and SKB02. Furthermore, the survival rate decreased slightly with the PLUS10 (11.1 ± 4.2) compared to the control and falling dramatically with SKB01 and SKB02. Additionally, there was a marked improvement in larvae growth with PLUS 10. Finally, Finally, probiotics such as SKB01, SKB02, and PLUS10 enhance water quality, but they have a little negative impact on survival rates at this stage. As a result, it is recommended they can be utilized in the juvenile stage rather than the Auricularia stage. Consequently, further research on the impact of probiotics on the growth rates of Auricularia are urgently required.

KEYWORDS:

• Sea cucumber
• Holothuria scabra
• probiotic
• Bacillus spp
• settlement
• metamorphosis

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank NAQUA, the National Aquaculture Group, for giving me the opportunity to complete my experiment with their company. Also, without the assistance of the Department of the Faculty of Marine Biology, King Abdul-Aziz University, my completion of this work could not have been accomplished. Thanks, actually, to everyone whoever gives helped.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).