The Use of Probiotics in Aquaculture

[RD.]

I'm too lazy to read the entire thread, or even the first few pages, but I'll keep asking questions and reading my comments, and all those that follow. I'm smart, I'm just lazy.

I refuse to help those that are too lazy to help themselves. Even on Xmas day.

Probiotics in food is pretty useless. The actual content of viable probiotic bacteria in them is said to be negligible. This stuff is more for cleaning filters and competing for space with harmful stuff.

Probiotics in food isn't useless, I have no idea where you got that notion from. Yes they are sensitive heat, some bacteria more than others, so extrusion temps can be an issue, but there are ways around that, even spraying on post extrusion. That same bacteria helps break down waste, and out compete pathogenic bacteria, just as adding it to the water column does. This (my) option, as Duane just pointed out, is MUCH more cost effective for the consumer. Check out this ad by Hikari, and their test results.

http://www.hikariusa.com/articles/saki-hikari-koi-breeder-preferred-diets/


HTH

 

[Matt68046]

When it comes to mycrobacteria, a healthy gut flora seems to be the only real solution. Ive been feeding colbalt probiotic food to my guppies because if i dont they will sometimes get skinny and bent spines.
Tonight when i had moved them to another tank and then spashed the old filter pad around, they were swimming in bacteria for a few hours, and i was able to feed them much more than i normally do. They ate a ton of pro-biotic food, and brine shrimp, had some good stools, they look fat and happy and are having fry.

 

[TUCCI]

very intriguing.

Indeed.....kind of amazing but it makes sense.

 

[Ethan59]

Update on using Rid-X going on 2 years have 300 gallon aquarium .I put about 3-4 cups in a stocking every week or so hang in tank and squeeze until most of cloud comes out. It works great tank is cleaner no health issues what so ever. So I took a chance on it from this forum and those are excellent results. 5 stars

 

[RD.]

That's great, thanks for the update.

I have added a new arsenal of probiotic bacteria to my tanks, via New Life Spectrums Probiotix formulas. I believe that these formulas by NLS contain a wider spectrum of live bacteria, and at far higher numbers compared to other foods. My fish all eat it with great gusto, and I will monitor results over time.

 

[Ethan59]

That's great, thanks for the update.

I have added a new arsenal of probiotic bacteria to my tanks, via New Life Spectrums Probiotix formulas. I believe that these formulas by NLS contain a wider spectrum of live bacteria, and at far higher numbers compared to other foods. My fish all eat it with great gusto, and I will monitor results over time.

Keep us updated

 

[RD.]

Keep us updated

You bet. It's only been a couple of weeks, but so far so good. For those that haven't heard about this new formula there is some info in the following link.

https://reefbuilders.com/2018/05/21/probiotix-by-new-life-spectrum-is-a-serious-probiotic-fish-food/

I think that one of the key things about the NLS formula, over other products, is their bacteria numbers are "live" cultures, and are tested post production. I touched upon how important this was several yrs ago, in post #38 of this discussion where I posted the following link from a paper printed in 2003 in the Canadian Veterinary Journal.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC340078/

Bacteriological evaluation of dog and cat diets that claim to contain probiotics

"Because probiotics are considered food supplements, not drugs, there are no regulations regarding their use as supplements or food additives. Various studies have reported that quality control among probiotic supplements intended for human or animal use is poor, with a significant percentage of products either not containing the organisms stated on the label, not containing the numbers of organisms stated on the label, or containing additional species. "

"Overall, the actual contents of the diets were not accurately represented by the label descriptions."



Today is not much different than 2003 when it comes to labels, and the claims that some manufacturers make. Anyone can say anything on their website, and on their labels, as long as no one is checking. We saw an example of this last year, where a manufacturer claims to not use any preservatives in their fish food, and specifically stated their food was ethoxyquin free. According to several independent lab tests posted online, that didn't turn out to be the case.

When it comes to probiotic bacteria, it doesn't matter how much is added to each gram, or kg, the only thing that matters is how much survive the manufacturing process. This is key, and one has to read carefully, and if need be ask questions. A good dose of common sense helps as well.

Extreme temperatures, including those used in traditional pellet extrusion, and flake food creation (100 C /212 F or higher) will kill the vast majority of bacteria spores. So whether probiotic bacteria has been incorporated into a fish food, or stating that they simply contain probiotic bacteria, doesn't necessarily equate to that probiotic bacteria being present at post production levels.

NLS has been continuously testing and monitoring post production levels to ensure that a minimum of 3+ million live cultures are always present.

 

[twentyleagues]

Ive read this thread over and over and have finally decided to do it. I am using ridx in media bags. Ive applied my first treatment today. I have been squeezing the bag every couple of hrs. That is kind of a pain. Tank is quite cloudy. I did have a question I didnt see come up in previous conversation. Can I add the ridx to one of my filter socks? Was thinking it's a high flow area and the sock should contain the bran. Thoughts?

 

[skjl47]

Ive read this thread over and over and have finally decided to do it. I am using ridx in media bags. Ive applied my first treatment today. I have been squeezing the bag every couple of hrs. That is kind of a pain. Tank is quite cloudy. I did have a question I didnt see come up in previous conversation. Can I add the ridx to one of my filter socks? Was thinking it's a high flow area and the sock should contain the bran. Thoughts?

Hello; I did it a different way. My thinking is we want the bacteria and not the bran or other filler in the stuff like RID-X. I put some RID-X in a jar of water and let it sit for a few hours. I then pour the mix thru a paper coffee filter and catch the liquid. I pour the liquid into my filter, a HOB, in this case. Should give the benefits without all the cloudy water. I have mentioned this before without any feedback as to problems with the procedure.

good luck

 

[twentyleagues]

Hello; I did it a different way. My thinking is we want the bacteria and not the bran or other filler in the stuff like RID-X. I put some RID-X in a jar of water and let it sit for a few hours. I then pour the mix thru a paper coffee filter and catch the liquid. I pour the liquid into my filter, a HOB, in this case. Should give the benefits without all the cloudy water. I have mentioned this before without any feedback as to problems with the procedure.

good luck

Thanks!