Aquaculture America 2024

February 18 - 21, 2024

San Antonio, Texas

THE RELATION BETWEEN AUTOMATIC AERATION RATE AND EXPECTED DISSOLVED OXYGEN ON PACIFIC WHITE SHRIMP Litopenaeus vannamei SEMI-INTENSIVE OUTDOOR POND PRODUCTION

Araujo, Adela N.* San Andres, Christian F., Nguyen, Khanh Q., Corby, Trenton L., Rhodes,

Melanie A., Garcia, Julio, Roy, Luke A.,  and Davis, D. Allen

School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences

Auburn University

Auburn, AL 36849

ana0049@auburn.edu

 



 Aeration is considered one of the most critical factors in shrimp farming as it affects the metabolism of not only the shrimp but all living organisms in the system. To

 maintain proper dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in the water is critical, as low exposure can cause stress, therefore lower resistance to disease and inhibition of growth of the culture species. Although the effect of low dissolved  oxygen has been widely studied, these have been mostly done in a  short-term  hypoxia  study setting, and little to no research has been done with respect to diurnal cycles of this variable. Even though this concept is simple, the execution of DO management is not simple, it is dependent on numerous factors and there are numerous anecdotal recommendations. To help elucidate the effects of DO management on shrimp performance a research trial was conducted.  The trial was aimed to determine the effects of three lower DO set point for automatic aeration systems in earthen shrimp pond by evaluating the effects of the setpoints on shrimp production as well as water quality parameters. In fifteen earthen ponds of 0.1 ha, juvenile shrimp of ⁓0.030g were stocked at a density of 25ind/m2 . Distinct values for minimal dissolved oxygen (DO) levels that trigger automatic aeration activation were explored as treatments, namely 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 mg/L. Shrimp were fed using the AQ1 passive acoustic monitoring system ,  the feeding was set to not feed while aeration was below the given aeration levels.  Each treatment with five repetitions each, to assess their influence on shrimp health and farm productivity. Shrimp growth performance and water quality indicators were monitored  every week. At the end of the 79–81-day trial, results showed that different aeration control strategies had no significant effect in terms of growth performance, feed inputs or productivity parameters. The final weight of the shrimp ranged between 33.3-33.6 g, with average final yields of 7,500-8,500kg per ha.  Nonetheless, electrical costs mean values between treatments were significantly different, meaning that higher DO concentration treatments had a higher cost to supply aeration. Water quality parameters also showed no significant difference, except for morning and afternoon DO records.