WASTE BIOFLOC AS A POTENTIAL FEED SUPPLEMENT FOR SHRIMP POSTLARVAE

Biofloc is a protein rich aggregate composed of bacteria, protozoa, and algae. Recently, it has drawn interest in shrimp farming for its potential nutritional benefits and to maintain water quality. Excess biofloc which is discarded as waste was collected from shrimp farm and used as feed supplement. In this study, commercial shrimp feed was supplemented with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% dried biofloc and fed to shrimp post larvae (PL) to evaluate the growth performance, survival rate and nutritional composition. Results showed that PLs fed with 50% biofloc-supplemented feed (BSF) had significantly higher (p<0.05) specific growth rate compared to the other treatments. In addition, PLs fed with 50% and 75% BSF had significantly higher survival (p<0.05) rate compared to those fed with commercial feed only. However, protein content of PLs fed with 50% and 75% BSF was comparable to those of 100% commercial feed. Total ammonium nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus were maintained in culture tanks with minimal water exchange throughout the experiment. This study illustrates that waste biofloc could be utilized as a potential and cost effective feed supplement for rearing shrimp PL. Consequently, there is conservation of environment due to efficient waste management.