Application of biofloc technology (BFT) in shrimp aquaculture industry

Abstract

An environmental friendly technology known as Biofloc Technology (BFT) has been implemented to reduce environmental damages and to sustain production of Pacific Whiteleg shrimp, P. vannamei aquaculture industry. Since there was no intensive application of BFT being conducted in industrial scale, this study aimed to assess the impact of BFT to water quality and shrimp health. To achieve maximum growth of BFT in P. vannamei cultures, an isolated biofloc boost-up bacteria inoculum was added during each new stocking program of shrimp post-larvae (PL). Samples of water, shrimp and biofloc were collected in every ten days interval started from new stocking of shrimp PL up to harvesting periods (±100 days). Interestingly, biofloc was observed started to be formed as early as 10 days after shrimp cultivation periods, where the biofloc formation was speed up by the addition of the inoculum and thus effectively enhanced good water quality which resulted in the increasing shrimp biomass. By transferring the important knowledge of BFT to shrimp industrial scale, aggregation of microbial communities in biofloc were responsible in maintaining water quality and optimizing shrimp survival and production. Thus, knowledge on microbial composition in biofloc is deemed important for successful design and application of BFT for sustainable shrimp aquaculture industry.