Abstract
The long term effects of moderate elevation ORP (oxidation–reduction potential) around 300–320 mV on the growth, hematological parameters and the ability of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) to react against bacterial infection was studied in recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs). Two RASs, one with a moderate ozonation (RAS-O3) and a control (RAS-C) were used in this experiment. After 60 days, seabass reared in the RAS-O3 were more able to react against a Vibrio anguillarum infection. It was in spite of the fact that seabass in the RAS-O3 showed decreased feed intake, feed conversion rate, growth rate and modified hematological parameters compared with the fish in RAS-C. It is obvious that an ORP level of 300–320 mV is too high for seabass to adapt in terms of the growth performance and the hematological parameters. However the increased ORP resulted in a better ability of the fish to react against bacterial infection. Our results strongly suggest that ORP for seabass in RAS should be elevated but not exceeding 300 mV and a slightly increased and well controlled ORP level (above 240–270 mV) has a positive effect on the disease resistance of fish. For the future, molecular methods could be utilized to identify which functional groups of microbe are contributing to the ORP effect and investigate how ORP influenced fish physiology in RASs.