The use of acidifiers in fish nutrition.

Abstract It is well established in the field of aquaculture that the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) as feed additives in the diets of fish and shrimp can improve live weight gain (LWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and survival rates. However, scientific knowledge and public concerns, especially in the EU, over the development of cross-resistance to antibiotics of importance to human health have led to a ban or a reduction in the use of such substances worldwide. Consequently, the aquafeed industry has turned its research attention to other additives in order to maintain performance and high survival rates in aquaculture. This review shows that acidifiers are an example of a group of additives which can play an important role in future in aquaculture diets. A number of studies, in cold-water and tropical species, indicate that a broad range of organic acids, their salts or admixtures can improve growth, feed utilization and disease resistance in fish.