Resilience starts with nutrition
Building aquaculture resilience with Anta®Ox Aqua
Stress is unavoidable in aquaculture, but repeated or prolonged stress can weaken immune function, disturb homeostasis and reduce performance. Nutrition is one way to help fish and shrimp cope more effectively with demanding conditions. Anta®Ox Aqua is a phytogenic feed additive designed to support antioxidant capacity and inflammatory balance, helping strengthen resilience under stress.
Managing stress in modern aquaculture
Every living organism responds to threats with a fight-or-flight reaction, and farmed aquatic animals are no exception. In aquaculture, however, stress can become a recurring part of production. When stress is prolonged or repeated, it can disrupt homeostasis, increase oxidative stress and weaken immune function, with consequences for animal health and performance.
Aquaculture is one of the world’s key sources of high-quality protein and essential nutrients. At the same time, producers are facing growing pressure from climate change, changing environmental conditions and increasingly demanding production systems. Strengthening the resilience of fish and shrimp is therefore becoming an important part of sustainable and profitable aquaculture. Reducing avoidable stress and supporting animals in coping with unavoidable challenges can help maintain health, performance and production stability.
Stress is inevitable but not unmanageable
Whether fish and shrimp are raised in ponds, tanks, cages or recirculating aquaculture systems, exposure to stress is unavoidable. The aquatic environment presents animals with continuous biological and environmental challenges. If stress persists, it can disrupt the balance of the gut microbiome, weaken natural defences and increase susceptibility to pathogens and disease.
Climate change can intensify these pressures, although the type and severity of stress depend on the location, production system and farming intensity. Common stressors in aquaculture fall into four broad categories:
- Environmental shifts: sudden changes in salinity, temperature fluctuations and oxygen depletion
- Biological pressures: predation, competition for food, space or mates, as well as parasites and pathogens
- Husbandry practices: handling, transport, crowding and sorting
- Water quality issues: low pH and chemical or organic pollution
These stressors often occur simultaneously, making effective stress management an important part of maintaining animal health and stable production.
How the stress response affects fish and shrimp
The way fish and shrimp respond to stress depends on both the stressor and the animal. Type, intensity and duration all matter, as do age, size, genetics, sex and previous experience. Broadly, aquatic species rely on overlapping physiological responses that help them adapt to changing conditions and react to acute threats.
During an acute stress response, the neuroendocrine system releases catecholamines and corticosteroids. These increase heart rate, blood pressure and respiration while redirecting energy towards immediate survival. This response is useful in the short term. If stress is prolonged or repeatedly activated, however, the associated energy demand can impair growth, reproduction and immune function and reduce the animal’s ability to cope with further challenges.
In practice, stressors rarely occur in isolation. Their effects may be additive, synergistic or antagonistic. Higher temperatures, for example, can increase ammonia toxicity while also reducing disease resistance. Temperature and salinity can likewise interact to influence shrimp growth, with the outcome depending on the specific conditions. Depending on the species and situation, animals may fight, flee, freeze or show submissive behaviour.
These complex interactions make it important to look beyond individual stress events. Managing their underlying causes and supporting the animal’s ability to adapt are both essential for maintaining health and performance under commercial production conditions.
Building resilience through nutrition
Nutrition can play an important role in helping fish and shrimp cope with stress and maintain resilience under challenging production conditions. This makes targeted feed strategies and functional feed additives relevant tools in modern aquaculture.
Anta®Ox Aqua is a phytogenic feed additive developed to support aquatic species during periods of stress and inflammation. Its polyphenol-rich formulation helps strengthen the animal’s antioxidant capacity and supports the regulation of inflammatory processes. By supporting both immune and metabolic functions, Anta®Ox Aqua can contribute to greater resilience when animals are exposed to environmental, biological or husbandry-related stress.
A well-functioning immune system is particularly important under these conditions. When animals are better able to respond to pathogen pressure and other challenges, they are also better equipped to cope with the wider effects of stress. This is where nutritional support can make a meaningful contribution to maintaining health and performance.
Evidence from a shrimp challenge trial
In a challenge trial with Vibrio parahaemolyticus, shrimp receiving Anta®Ox Aqua showed a stronger immune response than untreated controls. The effect increased with higher inclusion levels, indicating a dose-dependent response.
The trial also showed a 25% reduction in stress-induced inflammatory necrosis in the hepatopancreas. These findings indicate that Anta®Ox Aqua can help support immune function and resilience when shrimp are exposed to pathogen-related stress.
For producers, this is particularly relevant because pathogen pressure rarely acts in isolation. Supporting the animal’s ability to cope with infection-related stress can help stabilise performance under demanding production conditions.
Turning stress into resilient production
Stress cannot be eliminated from aquaculture, but its effects can be managed. Alongside good husbandry, water quality management and appropriate production practices, targeted nutrition can help fish and shrimp cope more effectively with challenging conditions.
Anta®Ox Aqua supports this approach by helping strengthen antioxidant capacity, immune function and resilience under stress. For producers, this can contribute to healthier animals and more stable performance in demanding production environments.
For more information on Anta®Ox Aqua, including trial data and product details, contact the Dr. Eckel aquaculture team or visit www.dr-eckel.de.