LAUSR

Abstract Seaweeds are known to contain nutrients that are essential for human nutrition, making them edible and potential resources to mine for bioactive substances. The present study was aimed to investigate the prebiotic potentials of the seaweed, Sargassum polycystum as supplement in diets for Asia sea bass fingerlings. Experimental dietary formulations were supplemented with four graded levels of powdered seaweed (0.0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5 %) and fed to sea bass fingerlings (mean initial weight 2.2 g) for 55 days. Fish were evaluated for feed efficiency, growth performance and mortality. The results showed that survival, feed consumption and efficiency, and growth performance were better in fish fed the 1.5 and 3.0 % seaweed supplemented feed compared to the control. Carcass protein and Fe contents, red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts were also better in the fish fed the sargassum supplemented diets, which were significantly (p