Abstract

Vicente Mabote, Delfina Muiocha, Manecas Francisco Baloi

A 120-day experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of Penaeus monodon postlarvae (PL) reared during the nursery phase in a BFT limited water exchange system. The PL25 (0.19 ± 0.01g) were divided into two treatments: clear water (CW) and Biofloc system (BFT) at a stock density of 200 PL m-2 . Three replications were applied in each treatment. The PLs were fed three times per day applying a 38% commercial crude protein diet. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between treatments in all water quality parameters except in terms of water temperature. The BFT treatment showed higher water quality parameters with the exception of dissolved oxygen. The mean final weight, growth rate and biomass in the BFT treatment was higher than the CW treatment (P < 0.05); however, survival did not differ between treatments (P < 0.05). FCR was lower (P < 0.05) in the BFT treatment than the CW treatment. Results indicate that a BFT system improved the growth performance of P. monodon and maintained the water quality within a range which is considered optimal for the species.