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The aim of the current study was to evaluate the growth of Arthrospira platensis in the effluent of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaues vannamei grown in biofloc systems. In the first experiment, A. platensis grew for 12 days in different dilutions (100, 10, 1%) of effluent and in the fertilizer medium in order to determine ideal dilution for the growth of the microalgae in the effluent. At the end of the experiment, the biofloc 100% treatment showed a significantly higher cell density than the fertilizer medium treatment. A second experiment, which lasted for 20 days, was conducted in order to evaluate the growth and bioremediation potential in treatments without total suspended solids, which were removed by decantation, and untreated effluent. The final biomass in the biofloc treatment was 0.50 ± 0.59 g/L and 0.18 ± 0.14 g/L in the biofloc decanted treatment. Both treatments removed 90% of phosphate from the effluent. Nitrate values oscillated throughout the experiment. Thus, it is possible to affirm that the cultivation of A. platensis can be used as a tool to reduce the nitrogen and phosphate loads in the effluent of L. vannamei raised in biofloc systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the effect of adding different sources of organic carbon in biofloc systems on water quality, microorganisms' density and zootechnical performance of juvenile Mugil liza raised in the biofloc system indoors over 45 days. Fish (±7.99 g) were stored at a density of 15 fish per tank and fed a commercial feed of 42% protein. The study was arranged in three treatments according to the carbon source: dextrose—DE, liquid molasses—LM and rice bran—RB, and one control with no bioflocs (clear water—CW), all in triplicate. The treatments had no influence (p > 0.05) on the performance parameters of the animals, survival (over 90%), as well on the productivity (between 0.35 and 0.6 kg/m3). Overall mean of total ammonia was lower (p < 0.05) in the biofloc systems than in clear water (CW). Nitrite average was lower (p < 0.05) in the bioflocs fertilized with LM and RB carbon sources, having a concentration of 1.3 ± 1.9 mg/L and 0.6 ± 0.6 mg/L respectively. RB also had the smallest range in nitrite levels throughout the study, from 0.04 to 2.5 mg/L. The LM and RB provided a greater (p < 0.05) abundance of total adhered and coccus bacteria. Water consumption was higher (p < 0.05) in the CW (1.87 m3 per tank) compared with the biofloc treatments (0.41 and 0.44 m3 per tank). Liquid molasses contributed to maintaining water quality compared with clear water, providing savings of around 80% of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate variability of nitrifying bacterial community in the biofilm and in the water of a recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) in a tilapia farming in order to determine if nitrification process is dependent, or not, of nitrifying bacteria abundance. Biofilm and water samples were collected periodically for 30 days and analysed with the fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) technique, used to quantify ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite‐oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Ammonia presented the peak in the first week, while the nitrite's maximum was recorded in the second week. Nitrate increased steadily, indicating nitrification activity. Total bacterial abundance in biofilm increased continuously, while in water, it did not change significantly. In the biofilm, number of AOB was high at beginning, decreased after few days and increased again following augment of ammonia. Number of NOB also showed an increase in abundance in biofilm following the increment of nitrite and nitrate. In water, AOB and NOB did not show major variability. Relative abundance of nitrifying bacteria represented more than 30% of total bacteria in biofilm at beginning of the experiment. Their contribution decreased to >3% in last days. It indicates that nitrifying bacteria are biofilm colonizers, and that their activity seems to be directly related to the concentration of nitrogen compounds. However, contribution of nitrifying bacteria did not vary much along the time. We may conclude that the biofilm‐nitrifying bacteria plays major role in nitrification process in RAS and that the activity of these organisms is dependent of their abundance in response to the concentration of nitrogen compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare two rearing systems for freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii: one with use of a recirculating aquaculture system with biofilters ( RAS) and another with use of microbial flocs (F). Thirty postlarvae of freshwater prawn with an initial average weight of 0.13 ± 0.05 g were randomly stocked in six experimental units with 0.20 m² and volume of 50 L. The experiment lasted thirty days. Dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH were monitored daily; ammonia concentration was determined three times per week; nitrite concentration, alkalinity and hardness were measured weekly. For the formation of microbial floc, molasses was used to keep the ammonia concentrations within safe levels for prawn farming. The variables of water quality remained within the suitable range for the production of the species, except for ammonia concentrations at the F treatment, which exceeded the safe levels. At the end of the experiment, the following parameters were evaluated: survival, specific growth rate, weight gain and feed conversion rate. Differences were found only in feed conversion rate with better values on RAS treatment. The microorganisms present in the RAS and F treatment were also evaluated. The densities of rotifers, amoebas and total bacteria were higher at the F treatment although the same organisms were found at the RAS treatment. The results of this study showed the possibility of rearing M. rosenbergii in biofloc system technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about bacterial community structure and functioning in fish farming ponds remains scarce, mainly due to methodological difficulties in counting and identifying uncultured bacteria. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the degree of similarity between the bacterial community of the digestive tract of tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus) juveniles and that of the test pond's water and sediment, using the Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization ( FISH) technique. Samples of water, sediment and gut content of 30 tilapia juveniles from a single nursery ground were collected in January 2010. Potentially probiotic and pathogenic bacteria of the species Bacillus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus collinoides, Lactobacillus coryniformis, Lactobacillus farciminis, Vibrio and Pseudomonas fluorescens were found in different samples using specific fluorescent probes. The similarity between bacterial community environments and gastrointestinal tracts was determined using the Morisita-Horn index. The fish guts presented higher abundances of Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus, Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus collinoides. The bacterial community composition of tilapia gastrointestinal tract was more similar to the water than the sediment of the pond. The results of this study showed that the FISH technique can be easily used for monitoring of probiotics and pathogen detection in aquaculture systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study evaluating nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics was carried out using biofloc technology ( BFT) systems employed to raise Litopenaeus vannamei juveniles. The study was carried out for 42 d in three fiberglass tanks with 210 L useful volume with no water exchange. Salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, nutrients, suspended solids, and chlorophyll- a were monitored every 3 d. At the completion of the experiment, the shrimp had absorbed 39.1 and 35.0% of the total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs, respectively, while 39.0% of the N and 34.1% of the P remained in the system in dissolved forms. The dominant process of ammonium immobilization in the system was oxidation by nitrifying bacteria. On Day 42, the nitrate concentration represented more than 80% of the total dissolved inorganic nitrogen in all tanks. However, most of the dissolved nitrogen present in the tanks (80%) was organic. Phosphate and organic nitrogen and phosphorus continuously accumulated in the system throughout the experiment. The removal of these nutrients should be the focus of future studies because they may enhance the growth of harmful algae in tanks and in the water bodies that collect the post-crop wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of ultraviolet radiation ( UV) on probiotic bacteria ( B acillus subtilis and B . licheniformis) were tested in two experiments, with the following treatments: (i) UV treatment - using fluorescent and UV-lamps and (ii) Control - CTRL, using fluorescent lamps. Bacterial abundance and respiration were evaluated every 24 h for 3 days for Experiment 1, and at 0, 6 and 24 h for Experiment 2. In the Experiment 1, total UV dose was 4 336.41 mW cm−2. UV treatment presented small respiration rates only on day 3, while in the CTRL oxygen consumption was always high. On all days, the abundance of the B acilli exposed to UV was significantly smaller than that of the CTRL. The second experiment, with total UV dose of 1 445.47 mW cm−2, presented oxygen consumption in the UV treatment only during the first 6 h. In the CTRL, oxygen consumption increased from the beginning due to the bigger abundance B acilli cells. Small coccus-shaped bacteria ocurred in the UV treatment of both experiments. It may be concluded that exposure to UV, normally used for water disinfection, can inactivate probiotic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reduction in light intensity may increase shrimp activity, although it may also negatively affect the development of photoautotrophic organisms present in biofilm, an important natural food source for shrimp. This experiment evaluated the influence of light intensity on biofilm development and on the growth of cultured Farfantepenaeus paulensis juveniles. Six cages were deployed in a shrimp culture pond and stocked with 60 juveniles (0.72 ± 0.03 g). Three cages were randomly chosen and covered with five layers of polyamide net to reduce light incidence (shaded treatment), while the other three cages were not covered (control treatment). Biofilm chlorophyll a and microorganism abundance, as well as shrimp growth, were monitored during the experiment. Chlorophyll a concentration and the abundance of bacteria and flagellates were significantly lower in the shaded treatment ( P<0.05). After 75 rearing days, shrimp stocked in control treatment achieved significantly higher (5.98 g) ( P<0.05) mean weight than shrimp reared in shaded treatment cages (5.13 g). Similarly, the biomass produced was also significantly higher ( P<0.05) in the control treatment (322.92 g) than in the shaded treatment (287.31 g). The results of this study demonstrate that light intensity has a huge influence on shrimp performance mainly due to the increase in natural food availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]