Resumen:
Article history: The present context was designed to investigate the efficacy of devil fish (DF;
Plecostomus sp.) silage and Staphylococcus saprophyticus on fermentation characteristics as well
as greenhouse gases production mitigation attributes in horses. Four levels of ensiled DF at 0%
(control DF0), 6% (DF6), 12% (DF12), and 18% (DF18) were added into the diet. Moreover, three
doses of S. saprophyticus (0, 1, and 3 mL/g dry matter [DM]) were used for in vitro fecal fermentation. The use of ensiled DF resulted in increased (P < .0001) pH during fermentation. The
asymptotic gas production was the highest (P < .0001) in DF6, whereas other supplementation
caused lower production than that of control. Lag time for the asymptotic gas production de
creased (P < .05) with increasing dietary DF doses. Inclusion of S. saprophyticus resulted in the
lowest (P <.05) gas production and mL/0.5 g DM incubated and thus, the reduced gas production
up to 23.17% than that of control. The interaction of DF × S. saprophyticus showed the lowest gas
production at DF18, whereas the highest production was estimated at DF6 without S.
saprophyticus after 48 hours. The lowest emission of CO2 (P < .0001) was observed in DF18
inclusion, which was 15.25% lower than that of control at 48 hours of fermentation. In contrast, the
lowest hydrogen (H2) production was estimated in DF0, whereas DF18 exhibited the highest.
Inclusion of DF12 and DF18 reduced (P < .09) methane (CH4) emission by 58.24% and 59.33%,
respectively. However, DF, S. saprophyticus, and DF × S. saprophyticus interaction had no
significant effect (P > .05) on CH4 production. In conclusion, ensiled DF and S. saprophyticus
could be supplemented in equine diet as promising alternatives to corn for mitigating the emission
of greenhouse gases effectively
