الفهرس 
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Abstract
Animal producers have incorporated antibiotics as growth promoters in their feeds but its abuse may be risky for human and animal health. As alternatives, the effect of dietary application of a commercial probiotic (Bacillus spp.) and isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO), used singularly and combined, on the growth, feed utilization, survival, protein digestibility, gut morphology and some haematological and biochemical parameters of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (7.6 g) was assessed. Five dietary treatments were used; un-supplemented basal diet (control, G1) or basal diet supplemented with the probiotic (0.1 g/Kg Bacillus spp., G2), IMO (3g/Kg, G3), probiotic + IMO (0.1g/Kg Bacillus spp. + 3g/Kg IMO, G4) or probiotic + IMO (0.05g/Kg Bacillus spp. + 1.5g/Kg IMO, G5). Diets were fed to triplicate groups of 45 fish for 16 weeks and within last 4 weeks titanium dioxide was added to all diets as a digestibility marker. Growth performance and feed utilization were significantly improved in G2&G5 over the control at the end of 14th week suggesting that probiotics with or without prebiotics were more beneficial under stress conditions. The other parameters were non-significantly different.
Keywords: probiotic; prebiotic; synbiotic; Bacillus spp.; growth; stress; isomaltooligosaccharide; feed utilization; digestibility; gut morphology.