Sustaining Aquaculture: Organic Acid as Feed Additives in Aquaculture

The objective of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview of the potential benefits of using organic acids as feed additives in aquaculture, focusing on sustainability and non-antibiotic approaches. There are only a few different kinds of organic acids (OA), including acetic acid, fumaric acid, and lactic acid. The OA, often known as acidifiers, is one of these options that plays a significant part in the digestive health of fish. As an analogy, acidifiers in fish food may help fight harmful bacteria in a way similar to antibiotics by changing the gut microbiome in a good way and strengthening the immune system. OAs do more than just make feed easier to digest; they can also boost the body’s ability to absorb minerals. Incorporating OA into the diet also thins out the lining of the digestive tract, which improves the ability of fish to absorb nutrients and maximizes feed intake efficiency. However, the mode of action is dependent on dose, pKa value, types of OA, fish species as fish tests, duration of day of culture, etc. The impact of OA as a feed additive in fish feed is not the same for all forms of OA in many fish species. Furthermore, there are claims regarding the purification of the acid-pure OA content. This chapter highlights the potency of OA as a feed additive, the role of OA in fish metabolism, and the evaluation of quality of feed fish supplemented with OA. This chapter concludes that the use of OA as a feed additive in aquaculture has the potential to improve the performance and health of fish and contribute to more sustainable aquaculture production.