An integrated closed system for fish-plankton aquaculture in Amazonian fresh water
S. Gilles,
R. Ismiño,
H. Sánchez,
F. David,
J. Núñez,
R. Dugué,
M.J. Darias,
U. Römer
Affiliations
S. Gilles
Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 226 ISE-M, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier, France; Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), apartado postal 185, Iquitos, Peru
R. Ismiño
Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne; Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), apartado postal 185, Iquitos, Peru
H. Sánchez
Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne; Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), apartado postal 185, Iquitos, Peru
F. David
Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT), 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France
J. Núñez
Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 226 ISE-M, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier, France
R. Dugué
Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 226 ISE-M, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier, France
M.J. Darias
Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 226 ISE-M, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier, France; Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), apartado postal 185, Iquitos, Peru
U. Römer
Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne; Animal Research Group, Institute of Biogeography (UTIB), University of Trier, Department of Geo-Sciences, Universitätsstraße 15, 54286 Trier, Germany; Linteler Straße 19, 33334 Gütersloh, Germany
A prototype of an integrated closed system for fish-plankton aquaculture was developed in Iquitos (Peruvian Amazonia) in order to cultivate the Tiger Catfish, Pseudoplatystoma punctifer (Castelnau, 1855). This freshwater recirculating system consisted of two linked sewage tanks with an intensive rearing unit (a cage) for P. punctifer placed in the first, and with a fish-plankton trophic chain replacing the filters commonly used in clear water closed systems. Detritivorous and zooplanktivorous fishes (Loricariidae and Cichlidae), maintained without external feeding in the sewage volume, mineralized organic matter and permitted the stabilization of the phytoplankton biomass. Water exchange and organic waste discharge were not necessary. In this paper we describe the processes undertaken to equilibrate this ecosystem: first the elimination of an un-adapted spiny alga, Golenkinia sp., whose proliferation was favored by the presence of a small rotifer, Trichocerca sp., and second the control of this rotifer proliferation via the introduction of two cichlid species, Acaronia nassa Heckel, 1840 and Satanoperca jurupari Heckel, 1840, in the sewage part. This favored some development of the green algae Nannochloris sp. and Chlorella sp. At that time we took the opportunity to begin a 3-month rearing test of P. punctifer. The mean specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of P. punctifer were 1.43 and 1.27, respectively, and the global FCR, including fish in the sewage part, was 1.08. This system has proven to be suitable for growing P. punctifer juveniles out to adult, and provides several practical advantages compared with traditional recirculating clear water systems, which use a combination of mechanical and biological filters and require periodic waste removal, leading to water and organic matter losses.
