Total heterotrophic bacterial (THB) load of detritus fin and shell fishes collected from mangrove environment were investigated. The collected fish and prawn samples were subjected to the microbiological study. The THB load was higher in milk fish (Chanos chanos) (2.24 x 105 CFU/g) followed by Indian white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus) (3.16 x 105 CFU/g) than the Liza parsia (1.90 x 105 CFU/g) and Penaeus monodon (1.88 x 105 CFU/g). A total of 355 bacterial strains were isolated and identified, in which 64, 57, 51, 47, 44, 42, 21, 29, 355 strains were belongs to Pseudomonas spp., Aeromonas spp., Bacillus spp., Enterobacter spp., Vibrio spp., Flavobacterium spp., Alcaligenes spp. and Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Aeromonas spp., respectively. The present work showed that the Bacillus spp., were higher in the gut of fish and prawn samples studied. This work suggests that these bacteria can be effectively used as supplement in fish/prawn feed for commercial aquaculture or as probiotic to enhance the colonization in fish/prawn gut.
