article · Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
This research evaluates the use of agricultural by-products, specifically sugarcane bagasse and rice bran, as carbon sources in biofloc systems for rearing Pacific whiteleg shrimp post larvae over a 90-day period. The trial compared shrimp grown in these systems without supplementary feed or water exchange against a control group fed a commercial diet in clear water with routine water exchanges. Although shrimp fed the commercial diet showed significantly higher final body weight and growth rates, those reared in the biofloc systems achieved significantly higher survival rates. Additionally, intestinal digestive enzyme activities and total heterotrophic gut bacteria were significantly greater in the biofloc groups. Sugarcane bagasse also improved specific histological structures in the hepatopancreas. Overall, the findings show that biofloc supported by agricultural by-products can function as a natural food source, though performance under high stocking densities requires further investigation.
Aquaculture operations frequently seek cost-effective, sustainable ways to feed stock and manage water quality. Demonstrating that common agricultural by-products can maintain water quality, boost gut enzymes, and enhance shrimp survival without commercial feed offers a potential pathway toward reducing operational costs and reliance on standard manufactured feeds.
This research is relevant to commercial shrimp farmers and aquaculture technology developers seeking zero-exchange rearing systems. Because the trial operated at an experimental stocking density and resulted in lower overall growth rates than commercial feed, the technology represents early-stage research. Real-world application would require further testing to optimise growth performance under intensive commercial stocking conditions.
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The present study evaluated the influence of different commercial agricultural by-products as a carbon source in a bifloc-based (BFT) culture system on growth performance, whole-body proximate composition, digestive enzyme activities, gut microbial abundance, and hepatopancreas histology of Pacific whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei post larvae (Pls). Three groups were designed, the first group was the control group, where the shrimp was reared in clear water (without carbon source addition and water exchange rate of 100% two times a week) and fed with a commercial diet, in the second and third groups shrimp were reared in BFT systems using two different carbon sources, sugarcane bagasse (SB) and rice bran (RB) without additional feeding or water exchange. The initial stocking density was 16 Pls/liter with an average individual shrimp weight of 0.01 ± 0.002 g and age (PL20). The experiment lasted 90 days. The water quality parameters were maintained at optimum levels during the experiment. The final body weight and specific growth rate of shrimp were significantly (p ≤ 0.01) higher in the control group than those reared in both SB and RB-based BFT. Meanwhile, the survival rate was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in BFT groups than in the control. The protease activity in shrimp stomach did not differ significantly. Meanwhile, protease, lipase, and amylase in the intestine showed a significant increase (p < 0.01) in BFT groups than those obtained in the control group. The total heterotrophic bacteria were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in BFT groups. Furthermore, the hepatopancreas histological status of shrimp reared in the SB-based BFT group showed an increase in the hepatopancreas tubules in the distal and B-cell zones (blister-like cells) by 16.83 and 34.89%, respectively, compared to the control. This study revealed that BFT could be used as a natural feed without artificial diets, which influenced the gut microbiota of shrimp, increased digestive enzyme activities, as well as improved the histological structure of the hepatopancreas of shrimp. However, the success of this conditions under high stocking density still needs more investigation.
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DOI: 10.3390/jmse10101333
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