.5 Chemical and physical parameters
There was no statistical difference in temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, total ammonia, nitrite and nitrate between the group fed a diet supplemented with Bacillus spp. probiotic (1.15 × 104 CFU·g− 1) and the control (p ≥ 0.05). The physical and chemical parameters found in this study are within the ideal conditions for the cultivation of L. vannamei (Lourenço et al., 2009).
3.6 Growth performance
After 42 days of culture, when the animals reached the weight of 10 g (value commonly used in commercial fattening), there were no statistical differences (p ≥ 0.05) in performance parameters (final weight, survival, productivity, feed conversion ratio, specific growth rate and weekly weight gain) between the group fed with a diet supplemented with the probiotic Bacillus spp. (1.15 × 104 CFU·g− 1) and the control (Table 2).