aquacultural

engineering
ELSEVIER Aquacultural Engineering 16 (IYY7) X5-YO

Effect of aeration rate on growth, survival and yield of

white shrimp Penaeus vannamei in low water exchange
ponds

Luis R. Martinez-Cordova”**, Humberto Villarreal-Colmenares”, Marco

Antonio Porchas-Cornejo”, Jose Naranjo-Paramo”,
Albert0 Aragon-Noriega”

Received 5 March 19Yf1; xxxptcd ZY April 1996

Abstract

A study was conducted in Bahia Kino, Sonora, northwest Mexico, to evaluate the cffcct
of aeration rate on the growth. survival and yield of the white shrimp Penue~~s 1~annun~4~i
farmed in ponds with reduced water exchange. Aeration rates of 0, h, 12 and 24 h per day
were tested. No significant differences in growth rate were detected among treatments.
Survival and yield were significantly higher in ponds with 12 and 24 h of aeration. 0 1997
Elsevier Science B.V.

K~:\+~~orrls:
Aeration rate; Penme~rs ~~~nnarnri; Growth; Survival: Yield: Low water exchange
rate

1. Introduction

Water pumping cost is one of the most important operating costs in intensive
and semiintensivc shrimp mariculture (Usha Rani et al., 1993). Depending on the
culture system, water exchange rates in commercial farms range from less than 2%

0144.8hOOiO7.l$17.00 0 1997 Ekvier Science B.V. All rights rcscrved

I’ I I s 0 I 14 x009 ( 06) 0 I 0 10 -2
to more than 100% per day. However, some authors have suggcstcci that reducing
water exchange to Oc/; have no significant effect on shrimp growth. survival ot-
production (Hopkins, 1094). Low water exchange rates must take into considcrit-
tion some important factors such as: inlet water quality. type of sdimcnt.
evaporation rate. pond depth. aeration, etc.
In the semiarid region of Sonora in northwcstcrn Mexico. the higil \;llinitlc*k
generally associated with high evaporation in the coastal ccosystcms ma! rcprcscnr
a handicap for ;i signiticant reduction of water exchange. In those condition\. il I\
possible to reach salinities too high for shrimp culture (Bray c‘t al.. 1993).
A preliminary study conducted in this region (Martinez ct al.. IWS) showed th;ri
a water exchange rate of 55 or lower affcctcd water quality as well as gro&%th.
survival and yield of the white shrimp P~nrrrlc.r IY~N~~I/I~O~f lowewr. :I rate of 7.5’ 6
was almost as good as rate5 of 10% and 155. Conditic)na ol p)nd\ with 5’1 1’1
7.5? of water cxchangc may probably bc improved by adcquatc managcmctiL 01
some aspects such as food supply, fertilization or aeration.
Aeration is commonly used as an altcrnativc to improve water quality III pool&

anti as a conscqucnce to cnhancc production of farmcrl aquatic organims (<‘olt

and Orwicz. 1001; Shcpcrd ct al.. I9Xc): Royd and Tucker. 1970: Sandifcr zt ;I/.
1991). This practice can bc applied to reduced water cxchngc +rimp ponds.
The objcctivc of this study was to dctcrmine the minimal aeration ~-atc which
would signiticantlv incrcasc growth, survival and yiclcl of white shrimp in ponds
with a 5% water exchange rate

2. Materials and methods

The experiment was carried out in Bahia Kino. Sonora, Mexico. A single facto1
completely randomized cxpcrimental design with 3 rcplicatcs was LISC~. FOUI- treat-
mcnts consisting of 3 aeration rates: 0, 6 (from 24:00 to Oh:00 h). 12 (from 1X:00
to 06:OO h) and 24 h per day were tested.
The experimental units consisted of 12 earthen ponds with 200 m’ ot water
surface. Water was pumped from ;I branch of the La C‘ruz Estuary and suppliccl to
the ponds through ;I tuhc system. Each pond was prtwideci with a individual valve
to control water supply at a rate of 5% per day (this Irate includes cvaporati~~n :kntl
tiltration replacement: the real water exchange was around 2+ ).
A 5 hp rcgcncrative blower was usccl for aeration. Air VW introduced into the
water by perforated pvc tubes crossing the ponds in the mid section. Individual
valves controlled air supply in each pond. Figure 1 show4 the design of the system.
Ponds wcrc fcrtilizcd with cattlc manure 2 weeks hcforc the beginning of the
experiment. During the culture additional fertilization ~t’;is applied to incrca4c
phytoplankton density. Urea and supcrphosphate at ;t rate of 50 and 35 kF ’
respectively. were used.
Each pond was stocked with 4000 postlarvac of white shrimp II I’L~~I~z~Iv/c’ /
(LO
pl m ‘). Postlarvac wcrc hatched in the facilities of CIC’TUS at Puerto PcnC~scc)
Sonora.
Table I
Water quality parameters in low water exchange ponds with different acteation iatc\

Time (h)
__-.
0

Tempcratul-e
(“C)
Salinity
(PPt)
DO (mgil)
(OcxOO h)
DO (mgil)
(13:OO h)
Pfi
Organic matter
(‘9 )

Same letter = same mcim

Temperatures wcrc always above 28°C. and mean temperature of the complete
farming period was around 3l.S”C in the 4 trcatmcnts. This tcmpcraturc is con-
sidered very suitable for the culture of this species (Lax-rcncc cl al.. 19X.3). In the
last two weeks the temperature dropped abruptly. No significant differences in
temperature wcrc detected among ponds.
Salinity remained over 40 ppt most of the time in the 4 trcatmcnts. This salinit)
is out of the range considered optimum for the culture of most commercial spccics
of shrimp (Bray ct al.. 1903). In this cast’ it apparently did not hacc an advcrsc
effect on the white shrimp. No significant differences in salinity wcrc found among
ponds.
Dissolved oxygen varied widely during the farming period. DO values lower than
2 mgl ’ were sometimes recorded in the morning (06:OO h). Thcsc levels wcrc
more frequent in ponds with the lower aeration rates. This condition probably
rcsultcd in a higher mortality of shrimp in those ponds. as has been reported bv
some authors (Teichert-Codington, 1994). In the afternoon. DO lcvcls wcrc higher.
Significant differences in DO were detected among ponds. The grcatcst IXIUC~
were recorded in ponds with higher aeration rate.
Values of pH ranged from 7.X to X.4 during the farming period with ;I mcatl
around 8.1. No significant differences were found among ponds.
Organic matter in the sediment increased over farming period. mostly hecausc ol
the accumulation of unconsumed food. This agree with results rcportcd by C’ham-
bcrlain (19%). Organic matter was significantly greater in ponds with lower
aeration rates. Aeration may move the organic matter from the sediment to the
water column where oxidation occurs.
Table 2 summarizes the results of total growth, survival and yield of shrimp in
the 4 treatments.
Tdhk 2
Total growth, survival and yield of shrimp in low water exchange ponds with different aeration rate\

Aereation rate 0 h 12 74
(h)

Growth (g) 14.65” 15.47” I3Y4” 14.76”

Survival (“i ) 33.2 1,’ X3+4”” 60~60” (,I.(il”
Yield (kg/Ha) 1243” 1652”” 1687” 1x1.3”

Same letter = \ame mean.

No significant differences in growth wcrc observed among treatments. Survival

was significantly lower in the 0 h aeration treatment than in the 12 and 24 h
treatments. but it was similar to 6 h treatment. There were no significant diffcr-
ences among treatments with 6, 12 and 24 h. Yields showed a similar relationship.
Growth of shrimp in all treatments was similar to that obtained in commercial
farms (Clifford, 1994). It must be take into consideration that the shrimp wcrc
stocked directly as postlarvae and that they reached a mean weight of 13.9-154 g
in 14 weeks.
Survival rate in the ponds with 6 or more h of aeration per day is acceptable for
this type of culture (Clifford, 1994). Sandifer et al. (199 1) found a lower survival in
intensiticd shrimp culture where they used higher stocking densities and higher
water exchange rates.
Yields in ponds with 6 or more hours of aeration per day (1652-1813 kh lna ‘)
are considered acceptable for semiintensive shrimp culture (Clifford, lYY4) and is
higher than most commercial semi-intensive farms, dcspitc the use of reduced
water exchange.

4. Conclusions

Aeration contributes to an improved survival and yield of white shrimp in low

water-exchange ponds. An aeration rate of 6 h per day is sufficient. Similar results
were obtained with rates of I2 and 24 h. An economic feasibility study could
determinate the value of aeration for this type of culture system.

Acknowledgements

We want to thank to CONACYT (The Mexican Council of Reseach) for the

financial support.

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