Nile tilapia (Orechromis niloticus) productivity performance in small-scale recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) with different biofilter media

• Published in: Aquaculture, Aquarium, Conservation & Legislation Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 1471 - 1479
• Main Authors: Wicaksono, Ega A, Priyono, Susilo B, Lestari, Prieskarinda, Shirot, Muhammad J S, Firmansyah, Pradiananta Y, Ismail, Amalia Y, Kristo, Samuel, Aisyah, Moudy, Wiraredya, Sebastian D, Awaliyah, Fitri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cluj-Napoca Bioflux SRL 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Ammonia; Aquaculture; Aquaculture products; Aquaculture techniques; Biofilters; Bioreactors; Conversion ratio; Developing countries; Fish; Fish culture; Fish farms; Fisheries; Fishing; Food; Food conversion; Food quality; Growth rate; LDCs; Moving beds; Nitrogen; Population; Pumice; Recirculating aquaculture systems; Recirculating systems; Survival; Sustainable aquaculture; Tilapia; Trends; Water purification; Water quality; Whitefish; Indonesia
• ISSN: 1844-8143

To increase sustainable aquaculture production, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are among the most widely used aquaculture production systems. This research aims to determine the performance of small-scale RAS with different biofilter media. The current research was carried out in 4 sets of RAS, with different treatments. The treatment is differentiated based on the biomedia used, namely: pumice, moving bed bioreactor (MBBR), bioball, and no media as control treatment. Nile Tilapia (Orechromis niloticus) are used as testing organisms. Fish performance will be measured by analyzing the specific growth rate (SGR), the food conversion ratio (FCR), and the survival rate. The water quality data was descriptively analyzed to see trends in the recirculating system. The results showed that the MBBR treatment provided the best values for the parameters reflecting the performance of fish growth (SGR 3.24±0.26% and FCR 1.30±0.18), the water quality, and the degree of ammonia purification (4.16%), which were significantly better than in the control treatments. It is recommended to use MBBR in the biofilter for the best performance in small-scale RAS for fish farming. This research will be the first step in developing small-scale RAS designs, especially for aquaculture activity in developing countries.