Applying Biofloc Technology in the Culture of Mugil cephalus in Subtropical Conditions: Effects on Water Quality and Growth Parameters

Abstract

Mugil cephalus is an estuarine species that has been shown to acclimate to a diversity of environmental conditions being a good candidate to diversify aquaculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth and water quality of M. cephalus juveniles in a biofloc technology system (BFT). Over a period of 87 days, mullet juveniles (117.36 ± 6.48 g) were reared in two experimental conditions: water exchange (control group) (50% three times a week) and BFT (C:N ratio of 15:1). M. cephalus juveniles were stocked at a density of 7.2 kg·m−3. Water quality parameters were monitored periodically. Fish were fed with a balanced artificial feed for marine fish (2% of the total biomass). The water quality parameters were similar between the treatments, with the exception of pH, alkalinity, TSS, and N-NO3 (p < 0.05). Zootechnical parameters WG, DWG, BG, SGR, condition factor, and survival did not show significant differences (p > 0.05). The biomass gain was higher in BFT (p < 0.05). Water quality variables did not appear to influence mullet survival under culture conditions. Mullet is a species that can be reared in BFT without compromising productive performance and having a significant saving of water.

Production of Flathead Grey Mullet (Mugil cephalus) and Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in a Coupled Aquaponic System under Suboptimal Water Temperatures

“…However, the poorer growth and condition of fish under current experimental conditions may be attributed to the low water temperatures experienced during the trial, which ranged from 20.4 to 8.1 • C and led to a reduction in feeding to adjust its metabolic oxygen demand [21]. These results contrasted with other studies run at higher water temperatures where flathead grey mullets were successfully grown using biofloc technology [22] in polyculture conditions with Nile tilapia [23] or in water recirculation systems [9]. The optimal temperature range for this species in terms of growth performance is typically between 20 and 26 • C [24], whereas in natural environments flathead grey mullets avoid waters with lower temperatures than 18 • C [20].…”

Biofloc Technology (BFT) in Aquaculture: What Goes Right, What Goes Wrong? A Scientific-Based Snapshot

“…Pacific white shrimp and Nile tilapia have been widely used as benchmarks in BFT [ 18 , 49 ]. However, the successful application of biofloc systems has also been observed in other species such as African catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) [ 9 ], mullet [ 50 ], freshwater prawns ( Macrobrachium rosenbergii ) [ 38 ], black tiger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon ) [ 51 ], banana shrimp ( Penaeus merguiensis ) [ 52 ], giant gourami ( Osphronemus goramy ) [ 53 ], common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) [ 16 ], rohu ( Labeo rohita ) [ 54 ], and bluegill ( Lepomis macrochirus ) [ 55 ]. In addition to these individual species, an integrated approach such as polyculture, combining species like catfish and tilapia [ 56 ], aquaponics or FLOCponics [ 57 ], and integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) [ 11 ] has also shown promising results in recent developments.…”