The microbial analyses were done at

The microbial analyses were done at five time points; before the trial and at the end of week 1, 2, 3 and
4. The fish were starved 24 h before sampling. The fish were sacrificed with a blow to the head, opened
aseptically and the whole intestine was removed. The intestine was dissected and the contents were collected
by carefully scraping with a rubber spatula and weighed. The microbial analyses were performed by
spreading appropriate dilutions in PBS from 101 to 1012 on a selective media for lactic acid bacteria,
MRS (de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe; MRS, Merck, Darmstadt). The plates were incubated anaerobically at
37 (C for two days