Introduction
Total suspended solids (TSS) increase during the shrimp production in BFT system, which can affect water quality and animal performance. To control the excess of TSS during the shrimp production in the BFT system can be used mechanical filters (settling tanks) or the alternative integration with species that act in different trophic levels – Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA). The present study aimed to evaluate two stocking densities of tilapia in integrated culture with the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei in biofloc system on a pilot scale.
Material and Methods
Two stocking densities of tilapia were tested, 35 and 65 fish m-3 in a recirculating system with 18 m³ tanks for shrimp culture and 4 m³ for tilapia culture with recirculation of 965.66 ± 92.83 L h-1 during 78 days. The initial weight of the shrimp was 0.9±0.1 g and of the tilapia was 7.1±3.2 g. The shrimp received the amount of feed according to the feeding table and the fish were underfed to stimulate them to consume the bioflocs.
Results
Tilapia densities did not affect shrimp growth (11.5±1.9 g for treatment with 35 fish m-3 and 10.1±0.7 g for treatment with 65 fish m-3). The tilapia presented a FCR less than 1, proving the consumption of the bioflocs by the fish. The clarification time was shorter when compared to other studies with shrimp monoculture and among the treatments, where there was lower fish stocking density, there was a reduction of 10 hours in the system clarification when compared to the treatment with higher fish stocking density. The results demonstrate the feasibility of integrated shrimp and tilapia culture on a pilot scale, without compromising shrimp productivity.