Abstract
The present study aimed to assess the possible beneficial effects of the integration between bioflocs and periphyton to the Nile tilapia’s water quality and growth performance. There were four treatments with five replicates each: (1) Control: green waters, (2) Periphyton: substrate-based system, (3) BFT: bioflocs technology for aquaculture, and (4) Biophyton: integration between bioflocs and periphyton. Fish (1.63 ± 0.07 g) were reared for 10 weeks in twenty 250 L outdoor tanks. Two polyethylene boards were vertically set out in the Periphyton and Biophyton tanks as underwater substrates. The C: N ratios of water in the BFT and Biophyton tanks were adjusted to 15:1 with dry molasses applications. The concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen were higher in the Control and Periphyton tanks than in the BFT and Biophyton ones. On the other hand, the concentrations of reactive phosphorus were higher in the BFT and Biophyton tanks than in the Control and Periphyton ones. The fish final body weight, specific growth rate and fish yield have not differed between the tanks. The integration between bioflocs and periphyton has not brought clear benefits to tilapia culture on water quality and growth performance.
Highlights
The use of inadequate feeding strategies, such as the excessive delivery of artificial diet, is not a rare event in intensive fish culture
To improve our knowledge on this subject, the present study had the objective to assess the beneficial effects of the integration between periphyton and bioflocs to the water quality and Nile tilapia growth performance
Due to the non-stop aeration in the bioflocs technology (BFT) and Biophyton tanks, their concentrations of dissolved oxygen in water (DO2) were greater than those found in the Control and Periphyton tanks (p < 0.05; Table 1)
Summary
The use of inadequate feeding strategies, such as the excessive delivery of artificial diet, is not a rare event in intensive fish culture. One sustainable solution to attain a greater productivity in aquaculture is to increase the use of the natural foods available in the system, such as bioflocs and periphyton. Beyond their nutritional value, bioflocs and periphyton are capable to remove nitrogen, phosphorus and toxic compounds from the water (Azim & Little, 2008). Nitrifying bacteria can act as biological filters, by removing ammonia and nitrite from the water, and colonize those substrates (Schveitzer et al, 2013b). Both systems, BFT and substrate-based (periphyton), have some setbacks. To improve our knowledge on this subject, the present study had the objective to assess the beneficial effects of the integration between periphyton and bioflocs to the water quality and Nile tilapia growth performance
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