Effect of Diets Supplemented with Functional Feed Additives on Growth, Feed Utilization, Carcass Traits, Haematological Status and Intestine Histology of Gilthead Sea Bream, Sparus aurata Fry Raised in Habas | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Effect of Diets Supplemented with Functional Feed Additives on Growth, Feed Utilization, Carcass Traits, Haematological Status and Intestine Histology of Gilthead Sea Bream, Sparus aurata Fry Raised in Habas Mahmoud Habiba, Deyab El-Saidy, Mohamed Essa, Enas Ramadan, ehab El-Haroun, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8625344/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Feed additives may improve fish immunology and water quality by controlling microbial communities and habitats. The present trial examined the impacts of four commercial functional feed products (probiotic, prebiotic, symbiotic, and organic acid) on the growth of gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata fry. Five experimental diets were designed, four of which used commercial functional feed additives (Bactocell®, Agrimos®, Bactozume®, and Aquagest®) and one without supplementation as the control. The formulated diets contain 45% protein. The study included 15 hapas (2m × 1m × 1m representing five experimental groups, each in triplicate. A total of nine hundred fry, with a stocking density of 60 per hapa. Fish fry measuring 2.3 ± 0.01 g were fed at a progressive rate of 12% to 6% of total fish weight 3 times/d − 1 , seven days a week, for 75 days. NH 3 levels were considerably lower in supplemented diet groups, mainly organic acid, versus basal diet. Fish fed Aquagest® (OA) showed considerably higher growth and feed utilization than other treatments. The study revealed no differences in proximal body composition between experimental treatments. The supplemented diet with different feed additives showed significant improvements in blood biochemistry indices versus basal diet. Histological intestine and liver data showed that a diet supplemented with various feed additives was healthier than the control. The present study highlight the role of inclusion of feed additives to enhance gilthead sea bream, Sparus aurata fry performance, blood biochemistry, immunity, and water quality. Biological sciences/Biochemistry Biological sciences/Biotechnology Biological sciences/Immunology Biological sciences/Microbiology Biological sciences/Physiology Biological sciences/Zoology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 04 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 03 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 31 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 31 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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