Growth-promoting, feed-attractant, and water-quality stabilizing effects of herbal betaine in Litopenaeus vannamei culture

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of dietary Herbal Betaine Powder (HBP) supplementation on the growth performance of Litopenaeus vannamei during a 112-day culture trial. Four experimental diets were formulated to contain 0 g/kg (Control), 3 g/kg (HBP-1), 6 g/kg (HBP-2), and 9 g/kg (HBP-3) of HBP. Growth parameters including weekly body weight and interval weight gain were monitored and analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, followed by Tukey HSD post-hoc tests. Shrimp fed HBP-supplemented diets exhibited significantly higher (p HBP-3 > HBP-1 > Control. The results demonstrate that the inclusion of 6 g/kg HBP provides the optimal dosage for enhancing growth performance in L. vannamei, while higher inclusion levels do not yield further improvement. Herbal Betaine Powder may therefore serve as an effective natural feed additive for improving shrimp aquaculture productivity. Growth performance ranking (best → lowest): HBP-2 > HBP-3 > HBP-1 > Control