Enhancing Fish Performance through Functional Feeding Strategies in Aquaculture Systems

Kapil Deb Nath and Rupak Taye

Abstract

Aquaculture has emerged as one of the fastest growing food production sectors globally. However, increasing intensification has led to several challenges, including disease outbreaks, reduced growth performance and environmental stress. Functional feeds have gained attention as a sustainable nutritional strategy to improve fish growth, health status and immune competence. These feeds are supplemented with bioactive compounds such as probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, phytogenics, immunostimulants and essential nutrients, which go beyond basic nutrition. Functional feeds include specific components, their mechanisms of action and their role in enhancing fish growth and immunity. They also reflect recent advances and research findings supporting their application in aquaculture. Functional feeds represent a promising tool for sustainable aquaculture by reducing dependence on antibiotics and improving productivity.