FJB

FREDERICK JOHN C. BERNARDO

FACULTY MEMBER, COLLEGE OF FISHERIES

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

✓ There are two major types of factors associated with water,

biotic factors and abiotic factors.
➢ Biotic factors include all the living things associated with
water, such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, worms, insect
larvae, snails etc.
➢ Abiotic factors are the nonliving factors such as light,
temperature, salinity, dissolved gasses such as oxygen and
carbon dioxide, and nutrients such as nitrates and
phosphates.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ The water in which the aquaculture species is farmed has a

profound effect on the health and growth of the species.

✓ The water quality may deteriorate considerably over the

culture period due to the addition of nutrients via feeding.

✓ The major water quality factors that affect aquaculture animals

are: dissolved oxygen, pH, dissolved nutrients and gasses,
temperature and plankton.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ Dissolved oxygen (DO) refers to the amount of oxygen

dissolved in water.
✓ Oxygen enters the water by direct absorption from the
atmosphere, a byproduct of aquatic plant photosynthesis,
and groundwater discharge.
✓ Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a measure of the concentration of
oxygen dissolved in the water, typically measured in parts
per million (ppm), milligrams per liter (mg/L), or as a
percentage saturation.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

✓ Oxygen is essential to the survival of all animals, and

aquaculture species are no exception.
✓ Air contains approximately 21% oxygen, but the amount
present in water is quite low, due to the low solubility of
oxygen in water.
✓ Oxygen passes from air to water by diffusion, and the amount
present in water can be increased by water circulation due to
wind, since this exposes more surface water to the
atmosphere, thereby increasing the rate of diffusion.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ In ponds used for aquaculture, the major

source of oxygen is photosynthesis by
phytoplankton.
✓ Phytoplankton are tiny plants that produce
the green color in many fish ponds.
✓ Plants containing the green pigment
chlorophyll in the presence of light use
carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrate
and oxygen:
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ Since sunlight is essential for photosynthesis, this activity is

carried out only in daylight hours.
✓ In the night, the phytoplankton carry out only respiration, a
process in which they use up oxygen and produce carbon
dioxide.
✓ This means that the dissolved oxygen levels are lower in the
night, and higher during the day.
✓ The lowest levels of oxygen are encountered very early in
the morning, just before the sun rises.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Increased water temperatures

✓ As temperature levels increase,
the amount of dissolved
oxygen in water decreases due
to the inverse relationship
between dissolved oxygen and
temperature.
✓ The solubility of oxygen
decreases as water temperature
increases.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Increased water temperatures

✓ As salinity increases, dissolved oxygen decreases, which is
why saltwater holds 20% less dissolved oxygen than freshwater.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Discharge increasing nutrients

✓ A sudden increase in bio-available
nutrients (nitrogen and
phosphorus) can stimulate algal
blooms which eventually decay
and are consumed by bacteria,
resulting in a depletion of oxygen
in the subsurface water.
✓ A prime example of this is the Gulf
of Mexico “dead zone”.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Blue-green Phytoplankton Scum

✓ A certain type of phytoplankton, called blue-green algae or
Cyanophyceae, may form a dense scum on the surface of the
water.
✓ This limits photosynthesis to only the top few centimeters,
since the scum blocks sunlight from penetrating the water
column.
✓ This means that oxygen levels will be very high in the
surface waters but lacking in deeper waters.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Overstocking
✓ The greater the number of fish in a
pond, the greater is the consumption
of oxygen as well as the amount of
waste products produced.
✓ The waste products in turn use up
oxygen when they decay.
✓ For these reasons, farmers are urged to
follow the recommended stocking rates
for the particular species of fish or
shrimp.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ Despite different organisms having a particular tolerance

range, DO levels lower than 3 mg/L are a cause for concern,
and levels below 1 mg/L are considered hypoxic.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Check pond daily

✓ Dissolved oxygen should be checked in ponds at daybreak.
✓ In large operations, farmers are advised to purchase a
dissolved oxygen meter, which quickly and easily gives an
accurate dissolved oxygen reading.
✓ For smaller operations, the cost of a meter is prohibitive and
farmers are advised to use a Secchi disc to monitor
phytoplankton levels, which gives a rough guide as to the
oxygen productivity of a pond.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Check pond daily

✓ A Secchi disc is a round flat surface on
which two alternate quarters are
painted black and the others white.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Check Phytoplankton Blooms

✓ A healthy bloom in ponds is indicated by a green color,
similar to the color of vegetation.
✓ A change in color from green to brown indicates that the
bloom is dying, and is often associated with a sour smell.
✓ As mentioned before, blue-green algae often form scums
on the surface of ponds, sometimes with bubbles of gas.
✓ These can cause fish to suffocate when they surface due to the
inevitable low oxygen levels that occur in the lower waters.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Adjust feeding rates

✓ In ponds with no artificial aeration, feeding rates should be
lowered during very hot, still weather; in the event that there
is an undesirable plankton bloom; or if the culture species
is not eating the ration that they are being fed.
✓ If a floating feed is used, it is easy to see if all the feed is being
eaten.
✓ With a sinking feed, it is advisable to check feeding trays
before every feeding.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Water Exchange
✓ Whenever the water quality seems to be deteriorating, it is
advisable to exchange water in a pond.
✓ It is best to always remove water from the bottom of a
pond since that is where the water quality is the worst.
✓ Clean water is then added to replace the “dead water” that has
been removed.
✓ Always remove water first, before adding new water to a
pond.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Mechanical aeration
✓ The quickest method for combating low dissolved oxygen is
by using a system to expose a large surface area of water
to the air.
✓ Commercial aerators are available, some of which use
electricity, but may be too expensive for small farmers.
✓ A water pump, fitted with a device for spraying water in the air
at the discharge end has been found to be effective.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

✓ The pH of a liquid refers to its acidity or alkalinity, and is

measured on a scale from 0 to 14.
✓ Substances that have a pH below 7 are said to be acidic, while
those above 7 are said to be alkaline.
✓ A pH of 7 is neutral, that is, neither acidic nor alkaline.
✓ Pure water has a pH of 7.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

✓ The desirable pH range for freshwater fish culture is between

6.5 and 9.0.
✓ Low production occurs below 6.5 and above 9.0.
✓ The acid death point is 4 and the alkaline death point is 11,
meaning that fish can die below 4 pH units and above 11 pH
units.
✓ If a farmer wants to carry out aquaculture in an area where the
pH is below 6.5, liming may be done, but this will incur an
extra cost, which will have to be considered.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ Many substances are found dissolved in natural waters, and some of

these are of particular importance in fishponds.
✓ Some, such as phosphate and nitrate, are fertilizers that enable
phytoplankton to bloom.
✓ Others, such as nitrite, and the gasses ammonia and hydrogen
sulphide, are poisonous when present in certain lethal amounts.
✓ The levels of these substances increase with increased stocking
and feeding rates, but when recommended stocking and feeding
rates are followed, and good water quality management is carried
out, they are rarely a problem.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ Water temperature is an important consideration in

aquaculture, since it affects the growth and reproduction of
culture species.
✓ Fish grow faster when temperatures are warmer.
✓ In temperate countries, where there are warm and cold
seasons, the growth period for fish is generally limited to the
warm months, and reproduction for some species only occurs
when the water temperature reaches a certain minimum value.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

FREDERICK JOHN C. BERNARDO

FACULTY MEMBER, COLLEGE OF FISHERIES

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture