Aquaculture International最新文献

{"title":"Salinity-dependent vulnerability of whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) to Vibrio parahaemolyticus: growth performance and antioxidant response","authors":"Lamiaa A. Okasha,&nbsp;Enas A. H. Farag,&nbsp;Rasha M. H. Sayed-ElAhl,&nbsp;El-Sayed H. Eissa,&nbsp;Ahmed H. Sherif","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-02033-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-02033-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Whiteleg shrimp <i>(Litopenaeus vannamei)</i> became one of the most cultured crustacea in marine farms in North Egypt. The bacteriological examination of two shrimp farms (water salinity 4.28 and 28.5 g/L) that exhibited high mortality rates revealed the causative agents, which were three <i>Vibrioparahaemolyticus</i> strains VHLA1-3. They were identified by detecting three genes: integral membrane protein <i>(toxR)</i> and haemolysin genes (<i>tdh</i> and <i>trh</i>). The strains were multidrug-resistant and were sensitive to ciprofloxacin and florfenicol; also, their median lethal doses (LD₅₀) were 3.78 × 10⁵, 1.99 × 10⁵, and 1.95 × 10⁵ CFU/mL, respectively. In the experiment, 180 healthy shrimp (5.3 ± 0.03 g, body weight) were reared in three different water salinities 7, 35, and 50 g/L for 8 weeks and then were challenged with LD50 of the isolates VHLA1-3. At salinity of 50 g/L, shrimp experimentally infected with VHLA1, VHLA2, and VHLA3 showed a higher MR of 60%, 80%, and 80% compared to those of 7 and 35 g/L; florfenicol treatment resulted in mortality rate ranged between 10 and 20% regardless water salinity. Bacterial re-isolation (RI%) was 100% in challenged-untreated shrimp, whereas RI% was decreased after florfenicol treatment by 20%, 30 to 40%, and 0% at salinity of 7, 35, and 50 g/L, respectively. Experimental shrimp reared in high salinity (50 g/L) showed significantly higher final weight (15.6 g), specific growth rate (1.54%/fish/day), and low FCR compared to those of low salinity water (35 and 7 g/L). At salinity of 50 g/L, the expression of catalase<i> CAT</i> and superoxide dismutase<i> SOD</i> genes was significantly higher compared to those of low salinity, while the heat shock protein<i> Hsp70</i> expression was significantly raised in 50 g/L, followed by 7 g/L then 35 g/L in the hepatopancreas of shrimp. It was obvious that <i>V. parahaemolyticus </i>was the causative agent in shrimp mortality, with different patterns of virulent genes. Water salinity was the control factor in antioxidant status and <i>V.</i> p<i>arahaemolyticus</i> infection. Shrimp reared at salinity extremities, 7 and 50 g/L, exhibited high mortality and bacterial re-isolation. So, florfenicol treatment is recommended in <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i> infection, and salinity extremities (7 and 50 g/L) should be avoided during rearing whiteleg shrimp.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10499-025-02033-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of different salinities on growth and stress physiology in juvenile lumpfish","authors":"Thor M. Jonassen,&nbsp;Albert K. D. Imsland","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-02030-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-02030-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Primary stress response, osmoregulation, and growth were investigated in juvenile lumpfish (mean initial weight (g, ± SEM) was 27.1 ± 1.1—28.0 ± 1.3) reared at three different salinities (15, 20, and 36 ppt) for 28 days. Thermal growth coefficient (TGC) was between 4.0 ± 0.12 (15 ppt) and 4.2 ± 0.06 (36 ppt) and did not vary significantly between the three salinity groups. Plasma ions concentrations (Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, and Ca²⁺) were unaffected by salinity and did not provide evidence of osmotic stress in the tested range. Plasma cortisol levels were similar at the beginning and end of the experiments and were similar to, or significantly lower, than values previously reported on undisturbed lumpfish. Overall, present findings indicate that juvenile lumpfish tolerate well low salinity within the tested range which encompasses conditions encountered in rearing sites where lumpfish are used to control parasites in salmon aquaculture.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10499-025-02030-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144073958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seaweed cultivation: a cost-effective strategy for food production in a global catastrophe","authors":"Michael Hinge,&nbsp;Vasco Amaral Grilo,&nbsp;Florian Ulrich Jehn,&nbsp;Juan B. Garcia Martinez,&nbsp;Farrah Jasmine Dingal,&nbsp;Michael Y. Roleda,&nbsp;David Denkenberger","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-01978-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-01978-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>An event such as a large volcanic eruption, nuclear winter, and asteroid/comet impact has the potential to seriously reduce incoming sunlight, impacting the global climate, and crop yields. This could have catastrophic impacts on human nutrition, unless the food system can adapt. One possible answer is seaweed, where growth is projected to be less impacted (or even enhanced) by the climate shock; however, this requires seaweed to be cost-effective, which has not yet been assessed. Here, we estimate the economic viability of producing Gracilaria Tikvahiae seaweed under the climatic conditions of a severe 150 Tg nuclear winter, as a benchmark. To do this, we incorporate projected yields and estimated costs under either a capital-intensive or labor-intensive model, including drying, assuming sales only occur in the initial 7 years when food prices would be highest. Overall, we find that seaweed costs would range between $ 400 and 450/dry tonne for the lowest cost clusters, and could potentially be produced in significant quantities, up to 250 million tonnes annually. Given the rise in food prices expected post-disaster a scaleup in seaweed would likely be justified, and could support global nutrition, either via direct consumption or when used as animal feed.\u0000</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10499-025-01978-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144073959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unveiling gender dynamics and disparities in the aquaculture value chain: evidence from Ogun and Delta States, Nigeria","authors":"Rahma Isaack Adam,&nbsp;Lucy G. Njogu,&nbsp;Kevin Okoth Ouko,&nbsp;Surendran Rajaratnam,&nbsp;Lydia Adeleke,&nbsp;Lydia Ogunya,&nbsp;Elizabeth Ihiechi Akuwa,&nbsp;Cathy Razel Farnworth,&nbsp;Bernadette Fregene","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-01966-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-01966-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper offers new insights into gender norms, roles, participation, relations, and benefits derived by women and men engaged in the aquaculture sector in Ogun and Delta States in Nigeria. Data were collected using mixed methods, including structured surveys of 410 farmers, 175 market actors, and 53 input suppliers, 116 semi-structured key informant interviews, and 11 focus group discussions (FGDs). Overall results of the study revealed the linkages within the aquaculture value chain, which was highly gendered, with men dominating all the three main stages of the value chain as indicated by Duncan’s index of dissimilarity of 17.35%. Results also revealed a gender difference in the value of assets, ownership, and wage rate among men and women participants in paid labor in the input supply and fish trading segments. Men tended to realize more profits than women, indicating an imbalance in the distribution of benefits by gender along the aquaculture value chain. Results revealed that the participation of women in decision-making was relatively high, attributable to their involvement in aquaculture value chain activities. The findings highlight the need for governments, development agencies, and non-governmental organizations to address gender disparities in policies designed to improve the imbalance in the distribution of benefits between women and men.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10499-025-01966-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144073957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drivers and barriers to climate-smart aquaculture adoption: insights from Mwanza and Mara Regions, Tanzania","authors":"Christopher N. Mdoe,&nbsp;Christopher P. Mahonge,&nbsp;Edwin E. Ngowi","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-02028-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-02028-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Climate-Smart Aquaculture (CSAq) optimizes resource use, minimizes environmental impacts, and enhances resilience to climate stresses. However, adoption remains limited in African countries, including Tanzania, due to socio-economic, institutional, and environmental barriers. This study investigated drivers and enabling conditions for CSAq adoption in the Lake Zone of Tanzania. A cross-sectional survey of 384 smallholder aquaculture farmers in Mwanza and Mara regions was analyzed using a multinomial logit regression model. The results show that socio-economic factors significantly influenced adoption, particularly education level (higher education increased integrated farming adoption; <i>χ</i>² = 132.48, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001), gender (male farmers were more likely to adopt integrated farming; <i>χ</i>² = 5.239, <i>p</i> = 0.003), and household size (larger households favored integrated systems; <i>χ</i>² = 10.838, <i>p</i> = 0.021). Institutional factors, including access to finance (<i>χ</i>² = 10.258, <i>p</i> = 0.013), extension services (<i>χ</i>² = 14.888, <i>p</i> = 0.008), and training (<i>χ</i>² = 19.564, <i>p</i> = 0.003), facilitated adoption. Environmental conditions, such as proximity to water (<i>χ</i>² = 6.351, <i>p</i> = 0.048) and lower climate variability (<i>p</i> = 0.011), also influenced uptake. Integrated farming, which combines aquaculture with agriculture and livestock, emerged as the dominant CSAq practice. Polyculture and monoculture were less commonly adopted. The regression results confirmed that integrated CSAq adoption is significantly driven by income diversity, household size, training, and climate risk perceptions. These findings directly inform the study’s recommendations, which emphasize targeted financial and technical support, including access to credit, extension services, and gender-responsive policies. Strengthening institutional capacity and embedding CSAq into national climate adaptation frameworks will be critical for scaling sustainable aquaculture in Tanzania and similar contexts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143949639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synergistic effects of combined probiotic supplementation on growth performance, survival, and health status in Labeo rohita","authors":"Iffat Amin,&nbsp;Erkan Can,&nbsp;Tooba Khan,&nbsp;Jamila Fatima,&nbsp;Momna Khalid","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-02025-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-02025-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study evaluated the effects of probiotic supplementation, including <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> (Sc), <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> (Bs), <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> (Bl), and <i>Trichoderma longibrachiatum</i> (Tlb, Digest 54 Plus), on growth performance, hematological, and immunological parameters of <i>Labeo rohita</i> fingerlings. The fishes were divided into four groups, including three treatments receiving 0.25 g/kg, 0.50 g/kg, and 0.75 g/kg of probiotics, and a control group. After a 60-day trial, fingerlings provided with 0.75 g/kg probiotics showed significant improvements in growth performance, with a lower feed conversion ratio (1.47), higher specific growth rate, and protein efficiency ratio. Hematological analysis of these fingerlings revealed a significantly higher red blood cell count (3.47 × 10⁶ cells/mm³), elevated hemoglobin levels (90.1 ± 0.05 g/dL), and increased mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (22.87 ± 0.06 g/dL). Moreover, a 91% survival rate, as well as significantly higher serum lysozyme activity and total leukocyte count, was also recorded in the fishes supplemented with 0.75 g/kg probiotics. These findings suggest that combined probiotic supplementation (Sc, Bs, Bl, and Tlb, 0.75 g/kg, 30% CP feed) can enhance growth, immunity, and overall aquaculture productivity in <i>Labeo rohita</i>. Optimizing the application of probiotics in aquaculture would lead to more sustainable fish production systems, modernized aquaculture practices, and less consumption of chemicals.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10499-025-02025-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143949703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Domain generalization for sea cucumber detection: Tackling background color variability in aquaculture settings","authors":"Fangqun Niu,&nbsp;Yifan Sheng,&nbsp;Junyi Wang,&nbsp;Xinyu Zheng,&nbsp;Kexin Liu,&nbsp;Yuanshan Lin,&nbsp;Wei Wang,&nbsp;GuoDong Li","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-02022-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-02022-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In underwater aquaculture environments, variations in image styles caused by factors such as lighting conditions, water quality, and plankton presence introduce significant domain shift challenges for object detection tasks. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel sea cucumber detection model, UICTDG-YOLO, which utilizes color domain generalization techniques. Specifically, we employ a frequency-domain enhancement method based on the Fourier transform. This technique reconstructs images by perturbing the amplitude spectrum while retaining the original phase spectrum, effectively enhancing color consistency across diverse aquatic environments. Additionally, a parameterized compensation mechanism is integrated to preserve target information, thereby augmenting the dataset, increasing domain diversity, and improving the model’s generalization capability. One of the major challenges in sea cucumber detection is distinguishing target features from complex background elements. To address this, we integrate a SENetv2-based compression and aggregation network into the model backbone, enhancing its ability to extract key target features from cluttered underwater environments. Furthermore, considering the substantial shape and scale variations of sea cucumbers across different aquaculture environments, as well as the presence of background objects with textures resembling sea cucumbers, we incorporate a Bidirectional Feature Pyramid Network (BiFPN) module into the network’s neck. This module facilitates multi-scale feature fusion, improving detection accuracy across varying scales and effectively reducing background interference. Given the class imbalance in the dataset, we employ the Focal-GIoU loss function to address the imbalance between positive and negative samples while improving the accuracy of bounding box regression. Experimental results demonstrate that UICTDG-YOLO significantly outperforms the baseline model, achieving a 5.8% improvement in mean average precision (mAP), a 5.8% improvement in precision (<i>P</i>), and a 6.2% improvement in recall (<i>R</i>). The model consists of 10.4 million parameters, with a computational load of 27.5 GFLOPs and a detection rate of 28.5 frames per second. When compared to prominent object detection models, including Faster R-CNN, YOLO series models, WQTDG-YOLO, and OA-DG, UICTDG-YOLO demonstrates clear advantages in sea cucumber detection tasks within real aquaculture environments. This model provides valuable technical insights and practical applications for the scientific farming of sea cucumbers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143944372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing intelligent bait boat performance: axiomatic design and Extenics-driven optimization of ducted propellers in aquaculture applications","authors":"Xinyi Gao,&nbsp;Jianmin Zhang,&nbsp;Guoze Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-02014-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-02014-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Intelligent unmanned baiting boats enhance efficiency through precise baiting, reducing environmental pollution, and resource waste. In this study, the baiting boat structure was innovatively designed using an axiomatic design (AD) hierarchical analysis. In the proposed method, extracting a 3 × 3 coupling was a contradiction, and solving the contradiction between the propulsive efficiency and cavitation phenomenon was solved by the application of Extenics. The ducted propeller was optimized using non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) curves, delta shift for airfoil profile control, and detached eddy simulation (DES) hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes/large eddy simulation (RANS/LES) with shear stress transfer (SST) <i>k-ω</i> turbulence modeling. In contrast, duct profile airfoils were adjusted via non-dominated sorting genetic algorithms II (NSGA-II) to improve the hydrodynamic performance. Simulation and prototype experiments confirmed that the improved design minimizes cavitation, reduces energy consumption and equipment loss, extends service life, enhances operational reliability, aligns with green aquaculture, enhances sustainable industry development, and provides theoretical and methodological support for the design of related products.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10499-025-02014-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143944373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Marine waste to blue economy innovation: synthesis and applications of crab-derived chitosan quantum dots for sustainable aquaculture","authors":"Övgü Gencer,&nbsp;Osman Özden","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-01996-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-01996-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study aimed to develop a sustainable method for synthesizing quantum dots (QDs) from crab-derived chitosan waste and evaluate their potential applications in marine environmental monitoring and aquaculture. We employed a microwave-assisted green synthesis protocol where chitosan extracted from local crab processing waste was dissolved in 1% acetic acid, subjected to microwave digestion (180 °C, 20 min), neutralized to pH 7, and purified through centrifugation, filtration, dialysis, and lyophilization at − 68 °C. Comprehensive characterization using multiple analytical techniques (AFM, FTIR, XRD, UV–Vis, photoluminescence) revealed QDs with uniform size distribution (2–4 nm), crystalline structure (62% crystallinity index), high quantum yield (46 ± 3%), and exceptional stability in marine environments (87% fluorescence retention in 3.5% NaCl). The QDs demonstrated excellent shelf-life (&gt; 90% activity after 6 months at 4 °C) and photostability (8% reduction after 6 h of continuous UV exposure). Performance testing confirmed their effectiveness for water quality monitoring (detection limits 0.5 μM for Hg²⁺, 0.8 μM for Pb²⁺), antifouling applications (78% biofilm reduction), and pollutant remediation (adsorption capacities 187 mg/g for methylene blue, 142 mg/g for Cu²⁺). We conclude that crab-derived chitosan QDs represent a viable circular economy approach to transform seafood industry waste into high-value nanomaterials with significant applications in sustainable aquaculture and marine environmental protection, supporting blue economy innovation through waste valorization while reducing environmental impact.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10499-025-01996-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143944374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating the impact of Monascus purpureus pigment supplementation in the diet on growth performance, fillet color, hemolymph composition, and stress resistance in narrow-clawed crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus)","authors":"Omid Safari,&nbsp;Fatemeh Davoudi-Sefidkohi,&nbsp;Marina Paolucci,&nbsp;Najmeh Gord Noshahri","doi":"10.1007/s10499-025-02024-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10499-025-02024-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A 63-day experiment was conducted to assess the impact of using eight levels of <i>Monascus purpureus</i> pigment (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, and 300 mg kg⁻¹) along with a commercial pigment, astaxanthin (Lucantin^® Pink; 150 mg kg⁻¹), in the diet on the growth performance, fillet quality, and hemolymph biochemical indices of juvenile crayfish (4.71±0.23 g) at three replicates. An increment in the supplemented levels of <i>Monascus</i> pigment (50–300 mg kg⁻¹) in the diet of crayfish showed significant increases in most growth and feed efficiency indices when compared with the control and astaxanthin diet (<i>p</i>&lt;0.05). The highest final weight (24.35 g), protein efficiency ratio (PER) (3.13), and protein productive value (PPV) (58.38%) were observed in the crayfish fed the diet containing 200 mg kg⁻¹ <i>Monascus</i> pigment (<i>p</i>&lt;0.05). The highest levels of phenoloxidase, superoxide dismutase, lysozyme, and nitric oxide synthase were measured in the hemolymph of crayfish fed the diet containing 200 mg kg⁻¹ <i>Monascus</i> pigment (<i>p</i>&lt;0.05). The evaluation of fillet color quality showed that crayfish fed the diet containing 300 mg kg⁻¹ of <i>Monascus</i> pigment had the highest values for the a* and b* indices (<i>p</i>&lt;0.05). The optimum dietary levels of <i>Monascus</i> pigment on final weight, specific growth rate, and feed conversion ratio of crayfish, based on the broken-line regression model, were 225.6, 227.1, and 228.4 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The results of the present study showed that the use of <i>Monascus</i> pigment at levels of 225 to 230 mg kg⁻¹ can have a positive effect on growth performance, fillet color quality, and immune responses of tested crayfish. Further studies are recommended to investigate the use of <i>Monascus</i> pigment in the diets of other aquatic species, particularly crustaceans, to determine optimal inclusion levels and evaluate potential benefits.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8122,"journal":{"name":"Aquaculture International","volume":"33 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143938567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}