Dietary supplementation of yeast or yeast subcomponents (YYS) as commercial preparations of β‐glucan (MacroGard®; Biotec‐Mackzymal, Tromsø, Norway; and Betagard A®; Aqua‐In‐Tech, Inc., Seattle, WA, USA), mannan oligosaccharide (Bio‐Mos™ Aqua Grade; Alltech, Nicholasville, KY, USA), or whole‐cell Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Levucell SB20®; Lallemand Animal Nutrition, Milwaukee, WI, USA) at the manufacturer’s recommended levels was evaluated on the physiological performance of juvenile channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Fish were fed YYS diets for 4 wk, followed by 2 wk of control diet. Fish were sampled at the end of each feeding period (4 and 6 wk) to measure hematological and immune parameters and growth and to determine the effects of dietary β‐glucan on resistance to Edwardsiella ictaluri infection and to low‐water stress (6 wk). Supplementation of YYS in diets did not affect growth performance, hematology, or immune function. Survival from E. ictaluri infection was from 5 to 17.5% higher in fish fed YYS diets than in the control group, but the increases were not significant. Some improvement in stress resistance was observed in YYS‐fed catfish after exposure to low‐water stress. Stress reduction in fish fed diets supplemented with yeast subcomponents has been reported previously, but thus far, no explanation has been proposed for this effect. The present study and the previously published research suggest that dietary YYS supplementation does not appear to improve resistance of channel catfish to E. ictaluri.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary levels of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on growth, body composition, hematology, and resistance of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, to Streptococcus iniae challenge. Five isocaloric diets containing DDGS at levels of 0, 10, 20, and 40%, and 40% DDGS + lysine (Diets 1–5) as partial replacements of a combination of soybean meal (SBM) and corn meal (CM) on an equal protein basis were fed to juvenile Nile tilapia (9.41 ± 0.14 g) for 10 wk. Fish fed Diet 4 had the lowest weight gain (WG), feed efficiency ratio, protein efficiency ratio (PER), and whole‐body protein. Supplementation of lysine to the 40% DDGS diet (Diet 5) improved WG and PER. Hematological and immunological parameters were not affected by dietary treatment. There were no significant differences among the average number of days to first mortality after S. iniae challenge and cumulative mortality 14 d postchallenge among fish in various treatments. DDGS can be incorporated in tilapia diet at a level of 20% as a substitute for a combination of SBM and CM without affecting their growth performance, body composition, hematological parameters, immune response, and resistance to S. iniae infection.

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