Effect of fermented seaweed addition on blood glucose level, hepatosomatic index, and gastric evacuation rate of milkfish, Chanos chanos larvae

Seaweed is a fishery product which can be used as the source of carbohydrate and binder in fish feed composition. However, excessive use of seaweed results in high crude fiber. This disadvantage could be avoided by the fermentation of the seaweeds. The aim of this study was to evaluate a variety of seaweeds fermented using microorganism towards glucose level, hepatosomatic index and gastric evacuation rate to see the impact of seaweed use on milkfish (Chanos chanos) larvae. The five types of seaweed used were green strain of Kappaphycus alvarezii, brown strain of K. alvarezii, Gracilaria gigas, Sargassum sp. and Caulerpa sp. The measurement result of blood glucose level, hepatosomatic index, and gastric evacuation rate consistently showed the highest value on the use of seaweed G. gigas.