Biofloc technology (BFT) applied to tilapia fingerlings production using different carbon sources: Emphasis on commercial applications

The biofloc technology, can successfully use in tilapia fingerling commercial production with some benefits, nevertheless the studies are scarce. The objective was to determine the effect of the BFT system using different carbon sources on the productive parameters, demand of feed and water, in tilapia fingerlings (oreochromi s niloticus) production. The study was conducted at the company Centro Acuicola del Estado de Sonora, it was simple randomized with three treatments and one control (in triplicate). The treatments (carbon sources) were corn flour (CF), wheat flour (WF), sugar (SU) and a control (C) traditional system. The experiment was carried out in 12 glass fiber tanks (100 L) at a density of 3 ind/L (0.05 g/ind). The water quality, productive parameters, cost of consumed food and volume of used water were determined. At the end of the growing period, the lowest weight corresponded to WF (0.30 g/ind) and the highest to SU (0.44 g/ind) and C (0.41 g/ind). The FCR in biofloc treatments varied from 1.28 to 1.51, with no significant differences among them, whereas the 2.33 registered in C was significantly higher (P < .05). The control had the lowest protein efficiency (1.17), while the maximum was recorded in SU (2.11). Proximal tissue analysis showed a crude protein content of 63.9 to 71.0 g/ 100 g dry basis, with significant differences among treatments. The survival in the stress test was similar among treatments (98.3-99.3%). To produce a batch of 10,000 fingerlings, the used water in BFT was 6.1-7.8 m(3) and 23.9 in the traditional system. The supplied feed in BFT varied from 5.8-6.3 kg/batch; meanwhile in the control it raised to 10.7 kg/batch. The cost of feed + C source was estimated in 6.53-7.80 USD/batch in BFT and of 9.13 USD/batch in the control. The fingerlings obtained in CF and SU treatments had a similar zootechnical performance to the control, but the savings in feed and water were significant.