Aliati Iswantari, Vitas Atmadi Prakoso, Nunak Nafiqoh, Rendy Ginanjar, Henti Hendalastuti Rachmat, Agung Irawan, Kurniawan Kurniawan, Mochammad Zamroni, Fathur Rochman, Danung Nur Adli, Mohammad Miftakhus Sholikin, Arif Wibowo, Anuraga Jayanegara
Charcoal and its derivatives are widely recognised for their strong capacity to adsorb numerous intoxicants and their potential to increase aquaculture productivity. Using a meta-analysis technique, this study evaluated the effects of dietary charcoal supplementation on fish growth and physiological performance across 22 studies involving diverse species, including carnivores and omnivores. Charcoal supplementation levels, fish species and feeding behaviour, growth parameters, and physiological parameters were employed as variables and fitted via a meta-analysis random-effects model with Hedges’ g and its variance as an estimator of effect size. These results confirm that dietary charcoal significantly enhances aquaculture performance by increasing the specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, weight gain, and nutrient digestibility without adverse physiological effects. Subgroup analysis revealed that activated, bamboo, and wood charcoal were particularly effective, especially in omnivorous and carnivorous fish. Charcoal notably reduced aspartate aminotransferase and increased immunoglobulin levels, suggesting benefits for liver function and immunity. Meta-regression revealed dose-dependent improvements with wood charcoal, whereas responses to bamboo and activated charcoal were variable. In summary, these findings support the potential of charcoal as a sustainable, species-specific feed additive in aquaculture. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Department of Aquatic Resources Management, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, IPB University, West Java, Bogor, Indonesia; Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia; Research Center for Conservation of Marine and Inland Water Resources, National Research and Innovation Agency, West Java, Bogor, Indonesia; Animal Feed and Nutrition Modelling (AFENUE) Research Group, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia; Directorate of Scientific Collection Management, National Research and Innovation Agency, West Java, Bogor, Indonesia; Research Center for Ecology and Ethnobiology, National Research and Innovation Agency, West Java, Bogor, Indonesia; Vocational School, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Central Java, Surakarta, Indonesia; Department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States; Department of Feed and Animal Nutrition, Smart Livestock Industry Study Programme, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Brawijaya, East Java, Malang, Indonesia; Research Center for Animal Husbandry, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Bogor, Indonesia; Department of Nutrition and Feed Technology, Faculty of Animal Science, IPB University, West Java, Bogor, Indonesia
