As global demand for fish as a food source continues to rise, addressing challenges within the aquaculture industry and meeting consumer needs becomes imperative. Enhancing fish growth and safeguarding against microbial pathogens are among these challenges. Understanding the intestinal microbiome holds promise for achieving these goals and benefiting the aquaculture sector with a particular focus on tilapia, which has gained increased attention in recent research. Probiotics, live microorganisms administered at appropriate levels, can foster a balanced gut microbiota in animals. This can yield advantages like pathogen defence, improved digestion, enhanced growth, and increased survival rates in Tilapia. Probiotics are emerging as tools to promote healthy intestinal environments in Tilapia and other fish species, with potential to positively influence gut structure, ecosystem, growth, and disease resistance. The dynamic interplay between tilapia and their intestinal microbiota has garnered significant attention, affecting tilapia's health, performance, and overall well-being. This review compiles research findings on the influence of probiotics on tilapia intestinal ecosystems, morpho-histological structures, and enzymatic activities. It outlines their impact on gut microbiota composition in tilapia, demonstrating their ability to increase beneficial bacteria while reducing pathogenic strains. Probiotics can enhance intestinal morphology in tilapia, promoting villi development, goblet cell density, and mucous layer thickness. Additionally, they influence digestive enzyme activity in tilapia, resulting in improved nutrient absorption and tilapia growth. Although this field is continually evolving, the progress in deciphering probiotics' complex interactions with tilapia guts underscores their potential benefits in advancing tilapia aquaculture practices.

To consume or not to consume farmed fish diagnosed with nutritional disorders within an aquaculture culture system is a question that resonates with fisheries and aquaculture experts worldwide. Proper fish health management in aquaculture should be a critical area of concern for all fish farmers. It has become a fundamental requirement for achieving sustainable aquaculture production. However, many fish farmers, particularly in developing countries lack knowledge about nutritional fish diseases and how to effectively manage them on the farm. Like human health, farmed fish’s health in aquaculture systems should be a daily priority for fish farmers. Nutritional fish diseases are often overlooked by the majority of fish farmers, even at the commercial level. Most Fish farmers may not realize that nutritional disease prevention can be achieved through the use of well-formulated fish feeds that meet all the nutritional requirements for fish growth. Additionally, maintaining good water quality and implementing best management practices are essential to ensure that the fish stock remains healthy in the culture system. Since different fish species have varying nutritional dietary requirements, it is important to formulate the right nutritional diet based on the specific fish species being cultured. Fish feeds should contain the necessary nutrients to ensure opportunistic disease resistance. Furthermore, fish farmers should be familiar with early diagnosis techniques for nutritional fish disease disorders. This ensures that the harvested fish reaching the market does not raise concerns about the quality and safety of farmed fish products. Failure to diagnose nutritional disorders associated with poor feeds and diets can create doubts in the rapidly growing aquaculture industry. Therefore, this review aims to explore the nutritional requirements of farmed fish species, the impact of nutritional deficiencies on human and public health, the causes of nutritional disorders, and viable therapies for managing these diseases in farmed fish. The data for this review article were collected from various secondary sources, including internationally reputable peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings reports, internet searches, and more. The findings highlight the importance of providing aquaculture farmers with essential information on fish nutrition-related disease control, as nutritional diseases have been found to be detrimental to fish health and public health. Moreover, many farmed fish affected by nutritional disorders have entered the global fish market, raising questions about their impact on human health. Therefore, it is crucial for fish farmers to prioritize early diagnosis of nutritional fish diseases to ensure the safety of farmed fish in the market and maintain consumer confidence in farmed fish globally. The study recommends further research into the potentially lethal effects of different nutritional fish diseases, particularly when consumed in large quantities and to the environment especially when dead fish is discarded in the backwaters of an aquatic ecosystem.

Aquaculture is essential for global food security. Yet disease outbreaks in Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) farms cause considerable economic losses and environmental damage. Overuse of antibiotics has exacerbated antimicrobial resistance (AMR), necessitating sustainable alternatives such as probiotics. This review synthesizes data from 79 studies published between 2015 and 2024 demonstrating that probiotics, particularly the Bacillus and Lactobacillus groups, which represent 52% and 24% of studies, respectively, effectively combat dominant pathogens, including Streptococcus and Aeromonas , studied by 48% and 36% of studies, respectively. Probiotics act by immune modulation in 57% of cases, by production of antimicrobial compounds in 21% of cases, and by competitive exclusion in 12% of cases. Feed‐based delivery was used in 98% of studies, highlighting its practicality in farm settings. Compared with antibiotics, probiotics reduce the risks of AMR and environmental toxicity, although challenges such as strain specificity persist. Field‐scale validation and research on anti‐inflammatory effects (3% of studies) are needed to optimize their use. These findings highlight probiotics as a viable and environmentally responsible alternative for disease management in Nile tilapia aquaculture.

This study evaluated the effects of a commercial probiotic containing Arthrobacter nicotianae and Bacillus cereus on the growth performance, intestinal histological structure, body composition, hematology, and microbiota of red tilapia. Fingerlings were fed four different diets: a control diet (Pd0) and three diets (Pd1, Pd2, and Pd3) containing 15, 20, and 40 mL of probiotics/kg, respectively, for 12 weeks. Probiotic supplementation had no significant effect on water quality parameters. Compared with the control diet, all the probiotic diets improved growth performance, with greater final body weight (FBW), net weight gain (NWG), weight gain, average daily weight gain (ADWG), specific growth rate (SGR), and feed conversion efficiency (FCE). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) was lower in all probiotic‐treated fish compared to control. The survival rate was also higher in the probiotic groups, though the difference was not significant. There was no significant difference in crude ash or lipid contents. However, protein content was significantly higher in Pd2 and Pd3, while moisture content (MC) was significantly higher in Pd3 than in the control group. Histological examination revealed increased villi length and width, being significantly higher in Pd2 and Pd3, while significantly greater muscular thickness and intestinal diameter were observed in Pd3‐treated fish. These values increased with probiotic dose. The intestinal total viable count (TVC) was the highest in Pd2 and the lowest in the control group. The water TVC was the highest in Pd3 and the lowest in Pd0. The number of Bacillus spp. in the intestine and culture water increased with probiotic dose, while intestinal and culture water Vibrio counts decreased. Hematological analysis showed significant increases in red blood cell (RBC) count, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and hemoglobin (Hb) in the treated groups compared with the control. The incorporation of A. nicotianae and B. cereus at 40 mL/kg in red tilapia diets improved growth performance, intestinal health, and general welfare.

The search for effective, sustainable alternatives to antibiotics in aquaculture has intensified interest in probiotics, yet the comparative efficacy of host-derived versus commercial probiotic strains remains poorly understood. This study evaluated the probiotic potential of two indigenous gut isolates including a putatively non-virulent strain of Pseudomonas, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA4 and Bacillus sp.BA4P, previously screened for safety, against commercial Bacillus- and Pseudomonas-based formulations in red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) over a 60-day feeding trial. Fish fed the combined indigenous probiotic (PA4 + BA4P) exhibited superior growth performance, feed efficiency, and digestive enzyme activities (protease, lipase, amylase) compared to control and commercial probiotic groups. Enhanced intestinal villus height, goblet cell density, and intraepithelial lymphocyte counts indicated improved gut health and mucosal immunity. Probiotic supplementation also modulated gut microbiota by increasing beneficial bacteria (Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas) and suppressing potential pathogens (Streptococcus, Aeromonas, Vibrio). Systemic immunity was strengthened, as evidenced by elevated leukocyte counts, serum IgM levels, and reduced hepatic stress markers. Following co-challenge with Aeromonas hydrophila and Streptococcus iniae, the PA4 + BA4P group showed the highest survival rate (75%), significantly outperforming the control (44% survival). These findings demonstrate that host-adapted, multi-strain probiotics confer more benefits in growth, digestive capacity, gut integrity, and disease resistance, offering a promising sustainable strategy for tilapia aquaculture.

Biofloc technology (BFT) has emerged as a sustainable aquaculture strategy, enabling high productivity with minimal water and land use. While diverse carbon sources are employed in BFT systems, identifying cost‐effective and locally available alternatives can enhance profitability and adoption among farmers. This study evaluated the efficiency of five carbon sources, rice water (T1), jaggery (T2), sugar (T3), Eichhornia crassipes (T4), and a mixture of E. crassipes and jaggery (T5), compared to a control (CN) group without biofloc. Genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) tilapia fry (10 fish per tank) were cultured for 60 days in triplicate tanks under controlled indoor conditions. After 15 days, all BFT treatments showed significantly higher weight gain than the CN ( p < 0.05). Although T2 achieved the highest weight gain overall, the differences from T4 and T5 were not significant by Days 45 and 60 ( p > 0.05). No significant differences were observed among BFT treatments in specific growth rate (SGR), daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR), or survival rate. Water quality parameters remained within optimal ranges, although total alkalinity declined across treatments from Day 15 onwards. Significant variation ( p < 0.05) was found in ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations among treatments throughout the trial. Floc volume (FV) increased steadily, peaking at Day 60 in the order T2 > T3 > T4 > T5 > T1. Floc porosity in T1 declined from 99.8% to 97.73%. Total solids were highest in T4 and T5. Bacterial counts were significantly greater in all BFT treatments compared to the CN ( p < 0.05). The results demonstrate that E. crassipes , alone or combined with jaggery, is an effective carbon source in BFT systems, supporting robust growth, microbial activity, and water quality. This approach offers an eco‐friendly, low‐cost strategy for improving the sustainability and economic viability of tilapia aquaculture.