AQUACULTURE Page Number

Chapter 1. Introduction 3
Section 1. Definition 3
Section 2. History 3
Section 3. Classification of Aquaculture 4
Section 4. Principles of Aquaculture 16
Chapter 2. Site Selection 18
Section 1. Water Quantity and Quality Criteria 18
Section 2. Tidal characteristics and ground elevation 18
Section 3. Soil Characteristics 19
Section 4. Topography and zonation 21
Section 5. Climatic conditions 22
Section 6. Other factors 23
Section 7. Site selection for hatcheries, pens and cages 23
Chapter 3. Aquaculture Engineering 26
Section 1. Definition and Introduction 26
Section 2. Engineering and Site survey 26
Section 3. Topographic Survey 29
Section 4. Fishpond layout structures and other pond support structures 32
Section 5. Pond/ Pen/Cage construction 42
Chapter 4. Preparation of culture units 50
Section 1. Preparing the pond bottom 50
Section 2. Soil Conditioning 53
Unit 1. Liming
Unit 2. Fertilization
Section 3. Water filling 62
Chapter 5. Activities during culture 63
Section 1. Stock management 63
Unit 1. Stock selection
Unit 2. Stocking practices
Section 2. Sampling and Feeding Management 66
Unit 1. Stock sampling practices and techniques
Unit 2. Classification of formulated feeds
Unit 3. Live food for larvae
Unit 4. Nutrition requirements of aquatic animals
Unit 5. Feed formulation and evaluation
Unit 6. Feeding Management
Section 3. Water quality management 99
Unit 1. Water Sources for Aquaculture
Unit 2. Water quality
Unit 3. Water Management
Section 4. Harvesting and Marketing 121
Unit 1. Harvesting techniques
Unit 2. Production and Yield
Unit 3. Marketing
Chapter 6. Concepts in Aquaculture 126
Section 1. Pond Productivity, Carrying Capacity, Growth computations 126
Section 2. Diseases 128
Unit 1. Diseases
Unit 2. Disease prevention in ponds
Unit 3. Physical, environmental and chemical control of disease
Unit 4. Crustacean Immune System and immunostimulants in aquaculture

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 Section 3. Fish genetics and selective breeding 154
Unit 1. Qualitative and quantitative genetic improvement
Unit 2. Methods of genetic improvement of aquaculture species
Unit 3. Research on Tilapia
Unit 4. Cryopreservation of gametes
Section 4. Hatchery Management and Nursery operations 164
Unit 1. Hatchery Management and Requirements
Unit 2. Reproductive Biology of Fish and Crustacean
Unit 3. Hatchery and Nursery Operation
Section 5. Aquaculture Impacts, Policies and Innovations 188
Unit 1. Positive Impacts
Unit 2. Concerns and Negative Impacts
Unit 3. Sustainable Development
Unit 4. Production of safe aquaculture foods
Unit 5. Recent Technological Innovations
Chapter 7. Culture of Commodities 211
Seaweed Culture 211
Milkfish, Tilapia, Giant Freshwater Prawn, Catfish, Eels, Pangasius, Carps 219
a. Basic Info
b. Life History
c. Broodstock
d. Hatchery
e. Nursery
f. Grow-out
g. Optimum Parameters
Mud crab, Grouper, Shrimp, Mussel and Oyster, Giant clams, Abalone 246
a. Basic Info
b. Life History
c. Broodstock
d. Hatchery
e. Nursery
f. Grow-out
g. Optimum Parameters
Pearl, Pompano, Sea Cucumber, Sea Horse, Sea Urchin, Sea bass 269
a. Basic Info
b. Life History
c. Broodstock
d. Hatchery
e. Nursery
f. Grow-out
g. Optimum Parameters
BFAR priority culture species 286
Milkfish, Dojo, Koi, Macrobrachium, Vannamei, Tilapia, Ayungin, Kataba,
Sea urchin, Sea cucumber, Malaga, Catfish, Apahap, Goldfish, Angelfish, Oyster
BFAR Integrated culture 304
BFAR Technologies 307
Control of predators and weeds
Aquarium construction and setting
Cage operation and management
Solar salt, Binurong Darak
NFRDI and NIFTDC programs 313
BFAR Interventions 319
Appendix 1: Live feed for aquaculture 327

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 Chapter I. Introductions to Aquaculture
Section 1. Definitions of Aquaculture

 Aquaculture (Fish Farming) – is the art and science of controlled rearing of fish in ponds, farms and in
some instances in natural water bodies from hatchlings (freshly hatched fishes) to matured size.
Unlike fish that grow in natural water bodies without human interference, in aquaculture, feeding,
fertilization, stocking combination, reproduction and harvesting are controlled.
 Aquaculture - an industrial process of raising aquatic organisms up to final commercial production
within properly partitioned aquatic areas, controlling the environmental factors and administering
the life history of the organism positively and it has to be considered as an independent industry
from the fisheries hitherto (JRCSTA).
 Aquaculture - Fishery operations involving all forms of raising and culturing fish and other fishery
species in fresh, brackish and marine areas (R.A. 8550).
 “Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic
plants. Farming implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production,
such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or
corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated. For statistical purposes, aquatic organisms which
are harvested by an individual or corporate body which has owned them throughout their rearing
period contribute to aquaculture, while aquatic organisms which are exploitable by the public as a
common property resource, with or without appropriate licences, are the harvest of fisheries.” (The
Aquaculture Steering Committee of the Fisheries Department of the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations)
 Aquaculture and capture fisheries are different. Aquaculture involves some control of the natural
environment such as stocking, feeding, and water management, while capture fisheries is more akin
to hunting for fish species in the wild.
 Distinguishing: Capture Fisheries (open sea fishing), Capture aquaculture (capturing wild seed and
growing in captivity), Aquaculture (closed fish farming), Culture fisheries (growing hatchery produced
seed naturally in open water
Section 2. Brief History of Aquaculture

 Around 3,500 B.C., the Chinese began culturing the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in freshwater
ponds with natural food and silkworm pupae as artificial foods.
 475 B.C. – Fan-Li, a politician and administrator, wrote the oldest document on fish culture,
particularly carp culture, which includes construction, brood stock selection, stocking and pond
management.
 Oyster culture – started in 100 B.C. by the Romans and in 2000 years B.C. by the Greeks and the
Japanese.
 11th Century A.D. – Indian carp culture existed in the Indian sub-continent.
 14th Century – In France, Don Pinchot, a monk, was credited for the method of artificial
impregnation of trout engineering. In the same period, culture of Atlantic salmon also became a
commercial success.
 15th Century A.D. – earliest brackishwater farming in Southeast Asia appears to have originated
in Indonesia in the island of Java. It is believed that the culture of milkfish (Chanos chanos,
Forsskal) and other brackishwater species in embanked coastal areas (tambaks) originated under
the influence of the Hindu rule.
 1863 – start of milkfish culture in Rizal, Philippines.

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  18th Century – Trout hatcheries were established in government stations mainly for the release
of fry in the open waters, but in the course of time.
 After World War II, culture of edible seaweeds expanded and intensified considerably and spread
to other countries like Korea, Taiwan and Mainland China.
 1952 – The earliest textbook of seaweed culture was published in Japan.
 1950 – Villadolid introduced Tilapia in the Philippines
 1954 – Dr. Saturnino Abesamis developed modular pond system for optimized pond utilization
and natural food production
 1968 – Milkfish hatchery started in Naujan, Mindoro
 Mr. Maximo Abesamis – he introduced floating cage in the Philippines in order to maximize the
utility of the country's marine waters, showing that one can moor its own culture facility even in
deep waters. The cages he has brought to the country was originated from Norway

Section 3. Classifications of Aquaculture

A. Based on salinity of culture water
1. Freshwater – live mainly in inland waters with salinity of <0.5 parts per thousand (ppt) –
includes lakes, reservoirs, dams, rivers, streams, creeks, ponds and swamps
2. Brackishwater – live in waters with salinity of 0.5 to 34 ppt – includes intertidal flats, mangrove
swamps, estuarine areas
3. Marine or Seawater – live in coastal lagoons or in the open sea with salinity of >34 ppt

B. Based on end product – includes shallow and deep coastal zones

1. Seed production - The main objective of this type of culture is to produce small fishes or other
organisms, usually called “seed,” which are stocked into ponds or other culture devices to be
grown into adult organisms for market.
2. Grow-out production - The main objective of this type of culture is to grow seed stock until the
commercial size or weight is achieved.
3. Breeder production - The main objective of this type of culture is to grow, breed and improve
cultured species genetically, so as to improve aquaculture productivity.
C. Based on operation system
1. Open system – system of aquaculture operation used for fish, shellfish and aquatic plant
culture that uses water column instead of bottom surface area; allows the crop to utilize the
more plankton-rich layers of a natural body of water
2. Closed system – the working fluid is placed inside the system and the fluid seldom, if ever,
exchanged with sources outside the system; profitable for very few species and then only for
very special circumstances; circulated by pumps or other devices; allows environmental
parameters to be closely monitored.
D. Based on culture system
1. Straight- run culture
a. Characteristics

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 i. One species of the same size in a pond and harvest all fish at marketable size at
the same time
ii. Fingerlings are reared in the grow-out pond or rearing pond (not nursery nor
transition ponds) from the stocking time up to the harvest time without having
them moved to another rearing pond compartment for feeding and growing
purposes.
b. Disadvantages
i. High stocking density: overcrowded when they reach adult size
ii. Low stocking density: water space and natural food will not be efficiently utilized
during early rearing
2. Modular/ Multi-stage culture
i. Method of culture where fish (mostly milkfish) pass three series of progressing sizes of
grow-out pond compartments to grow from juvenile or post juvenile stage to marketable
or large size.
ii. Fish are stocked in smallest grow-out pond compartment (GOPC), then they are
transferred to the next GOPC with bigger size after 15-30 days in the 1st GOPC. After 15-
30 days of rearing in the 2nd GOPC, the fish are finally transferred to the largest GOPC for
another 15-30 days of rearing period. The three GOPCs in the modular system may be
named, PPS1, PPS2 and PPS3, where PPS spells out production process stage. The three
GOPCs are best apportioned into 1:2:4 parts.
iii. Continuous culture allowing 6-8 cropping per year
3. Multi-size
i. Stocking of different size groups of fish in the same pond
4. Other culture Methods for Mollusks and Invertebrates
a. Hanging method (using rubber strip, plastic rope w/ threaded empty shells, galvanized
iron wire w/ threaded empty shells). Either of the following are hung at 30-40 cm
intervals on bamboo poles horizontally tied to several bamboo posts: 1-1.5 m long rubber
strips from old tires, plastic rope #6 with threaded empty shells spaced at 10-15 cm, or
galvanized iron wire #8-10 with threaded empty shells also spaced 10-15 cm are hanged.
Rows of bamboo posts are set at a distance of 1-1.5 m apart.
b. Ring method (using rubber strip) - uses rubber strips from old tires. These are tied on the
horizontal bamboo poles and serve as the spat collectors.
c. Stake “tulus” method - the bamboo trunks (split or whole) known as stakes for oyster
spats collection are clipped with empty oyster shells or tin cans at 10-15 cm intervals to
increase the space attachment of oyster spats. These are staked on shallow areas (not
<1m deep during the lowest tide) with soft or muddy bottom at a distance of 30-40 cm
apart.
d. Tray method - a tray measuring 1m x 2m can be made out of bamboo slats, wooden
slabs/marine plywood, or plastic material whichever is available and/or more economical
for culture of oysters. A tray with built-in posts is set by pressing it down the soft mud. A
tray without posts is either tied to fixed poles or hanged on a raft. The tray method is
used for culturing under-sized oysters separated from the harvested stocks. As such, the
tray is rarely used as a method of culture.
e. Raft method - a raft for the culture of oysters can be made out of bamboo poles or
lumber supported by enough floaters in the form of either sealed drums, solid styrofoam,
or other able floaters and one or more anchors depending on the condition of the site. A
5m x 5m raft is able to float with four gasoline drums. In this method, the oyster clutches

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 such as those used in the hanging method are hanged on the horizontal bamboo poles at
30-40 cm intervals.
f. Broadcast method - method which do not require high capital for inputs and labor,
except during harvest. Construction facilities are not necessary, except perhaps for the 4-
corner post for fence to mark the boundaries if needed. This method is best adopted in
places where the bottom is firm, sandy, or rocky. Old oyster shells, pieces of iron, stones,
rocks, adobe blocks and the like are spread on the river or sea bottom. These will serve as
anchorage when the free-swimming larvae grow heavier and settle on the bottom
surface.
E. Based on intensity
1. Traditional
a. Characteristics
i. Generally fish ponds are made of earth and mud which are necessary for promoting
natural productivity
ii. Random stocking rate. Pond may be any size.
iii. Most of the rural fish ponds are dug by the operator or member of this family and
usually the ponds are irregular in shape.
iv. Water supply is totally tidied.
v. Aeration system is not necessary.
vi. Only natural feeding is supplied and artificial feed is not supplied.
vii. Imperfect predator control.
viii. Pre-stocking preparation without liming and fertilization.
b. Advantages
i. In this culture system the unutilized land is used.
ii. Culture of herbivorous fish shortens the food chain. Fish growth per unit area is thus
greater than with the production of predominantly carnivorous fish.
iii. With a small capital outlay and a simple production system this form of culture can
provide food & work for less qualified personnel.
iv. It presents no danger to the water quality in the pond.
v. No extra feed is used to culture fish
c. Disadvantages
i. Production is not year round. Harvesting rate is low.
2. Extensive
a. Characteristics
i. Rely mainly on natural food productivity (or used natural food exclusively)
ii. Low stocking density (e.g. 2,000-3,000 fish/ha for bangus, 5,000-30,000 fish/ha
for tilapia)
iii. Wider culture area for the stocks in relation to the number of stocks; water depth
of 50 cm or less
iv. Minimal investment;
b. Disadvantages
i. Low yield (700-1000 kg/ha/crop for bangus)
3. Semi-intensive
a. Characteristics
i. Part of the nutritional needs are supplied from external sources. Fed with protein-
rich feed with some natural food
ii. Higher stocking densities (8-12 thousand/ha bangus, 40,000-60,000/ha tilapia) in
the same area as in the extensive culture

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 iii. Fertilization is used
iv. Water exchange is moderate. Water depth of 100 cm or more
v. Regular monitoring of pond environment
vi. Fish biomass and yields are moderately high.
b. Advantages
i. Higher production than extensive culture (2,000-4,000 kg/ha/crop bangus). The
use of fertilizers can increase the natural production of pond and hence its yield.
ii. It does not pollute the water quality as the intensive culture.
c. Disadvantages
i. Higher investment cost than extensive culture.
4. Intensive
a. Characteristics
i. All the nutritional needs of the aquatic are supplied from external sources, rely
exclusively on complete feeding, i.e. feeding daily with higher amount of formulated
balanced feeds at higher feeding rate, usually starting a day or 2 weeks after stocking
up to 1-2 days before harvest
ii. Highest stocking densities (>15 thousand/ha bangus, 70,000-100,000/ha tilapia) in
the same area as the above three culture levels
iii. High exchange of water. Water depth of 120 cm.
iv. Regular monitoring of pond environment
v. Very high yield (4-12 T kg/ha/crop bangus)
b. Advantages
i. Fish biomass and yields are high
c. Disadvantages
i. Requires a high investment
F. Based on species composition
1. Monoculture
a. Characteristics
i. Only one species is farmed in a particular water body.
b. Advantages
i. No inter species competition for food and habit.
c. Disadvantages
i. The amount of natural food per fish is rather low, if the feed used to supplement it
does not include all the necessary nutrients for growth, growth rate will be
reduced. Reduction of growth due to nutritional insufficiency results increased
food conversation ratio, which may reach uneconomical level.
2. Polyculture
a. Characteristics
i. Fast growing compatible species of different habit are stocked together in the
same water body
ii. Fertile bodies of water produce a variety of food organisms and stocking of a
variety of species is effective in utilizing all these food organisms  by stocking
different species having complementary feeding habits that feed in different zones
iii. Ratio of different species may be:
 Surface/ Plankton feeder – silver carp –phytoplankton feeder
 Herbivores – grass carp, tilapia, gourami; for weed control
 Midwater dweller/ Column feeder – bighead carp – zooplankton feeder
 Bottom feeder – common carp

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 iv. Examples:
 Shrimp and milkfish (shrimp is main crop, milkfish is janitor)
 Grouper, mudcrab and saline tilapia (grouper is the main crop crop; mudcrab
is janitor; and tilapia provides fingerlings as food of the grouper and the same time
as janitor fish)
b. Advantages
i. Optimize the utilization of water space and food sources which are not efficiently
used by the primary species being cultured
ii. High production rate because of better utilization of natural food (food at all
trophic level of pond water is used by different fish species)
c. Disadvantages
i. Imbalance in the proportion of different fish stocked results in competition in food
and space
ii. Requires strict pond fertilization practices to provide more food
3. Integrated
a. Characteristics
i. Diversified and coordinated way of farming which combines fish culture
with agriculture (crops, livestock and poultry) popular in rural fish farms
ii. Farm wastes can be used for fertilizing and feeding the fish and the
accumulation of silt in the pond can be used for fertilizing agricultural
crops, vegetables and fruit trees grown around the pond farms.
iii. The embankments of the pond can be used very conveniently for the
cultivation of different crops.
iv. Based on the concept that there is no waste and wastes are only a
misplaced resource, which become a valuable material for another
product
v. Examples:
 Livestock + Fish – Livestock can be placed either on fishpond dikes or on reserved
areas immediately adjacent to the fishpond. The decomposed and/or
undecomposed excreta of the livestock will be used as stimulant in the growth and
production of phytoplankton and other kinds of desirable algae which serve as the
direct food of the fish being reared and as the food of the primary consumers -- the
zooplankton -- which subsequently serve as food of the fish stocks.
 Fish + Chicks – Chicks are placed either on fishpond dike or on near the side of the
fishpond dike above the pond water where fish are being raised. The excreta of the
chicks and the feeds spilled-out from the feeding tray fall directly on the pond and
serve to induce the growth of plankton and to feed the fish respectively.
b. Advantages
i. Residue of chicken is a good fertilizer for fish. If chicken shed is made on the pond,
no fertilizer and supplementary feed are needed for the fish.
ii. In rice-fish farming, fish control pests and weeds by preying on them. Unused fish
food becomes fertilizer for rice.
iii. Extra food and fertilizers are not necessary for integrated farming system so, the
production costs are low and the farmer has high profit.
c. Disadvantages
i. In rice-fish farming, year round supply of water is needed. Pesticides cannot be
applied.
ii. Cleaning or conversion of wetlands for the construction of ponds

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 4. Open water stocking
a. Characteristics
i. Building up populations of selected species or enhancement of existing populations
in open waters such as reservoirs, rivers, lakes and coastal waters
5. Sea ranching
a. Characteristics
i. Release of a stock to forage freely in the open sea and the return of the stock to its
home waters at a certain stage of its life. Anadromous species (grow in the open
sea and go upstream to spawn) are selected to utilize its homing behaviour and to
ensure that the surviving stock will return to the home waters for spawning after
ranching in the open sea.
ii. Successful ranching on a large scale has been done for anadromous species like
salmon and sturgeon.
b. Advantages
i. Eliminates grow-out phase which results in savings on artificial feed, stock
maintenance and grow-out facilities.
c. Disadvantages
i. Cultured species are left to fend for themselves, exposing them to predators and
other uncontrolled causes of mortalities.
6. Monosex culture
a. Characteristics
i. Rearing of either the female or the male individuals alone to prevent increase of
recruits or allowable number of stocks.
ii. Methods used in monosex culture:
 Manual sexing – separating male tilapia from female using
differences in genital papillae
 Sex reversal – the process of converting genetic female (in tilapias) into
functional males. This method is carried out with swim-up fry tilapia (or ≤11
mm in length) during their totipotent stage (sexual undifferentiation) by
feeding them with feed which is mixed with an androgen hormone known as
17α - Methyltestosterone (or MT) and ethyl alcohol (EA)
 Hybridization - crossing of two different species within the same genus. 95-
100% male progeny can be produced in a number of interspecific hybrid
crosses of the following species:
 male O. aureus x female O. niloticus
 male O. mossambicus x female O. niloticus
 male O. hornorum x female O. niloticus
 Genetic manipulation of sex – using YY male technology
 Triploidy - suppressing the normal development of fish gonads (for both
male and female fish) or of eggs prior to cleavage formation by means of
cold-shocking or heat-shocking technique to prevent further development of
such gonads or eggs, thereby delaying the maturity and permitting the fish
to grow faster and to be able to attain larger size
G. Based on construction type
1. Cage
a. Characteristics

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 i. Said to originate in Cambodia. A culture system fully enclosed by nets on all sides
and bottom similar to an inverted mosquito net or bag supported by a fixed rigid
frame or by floats which rise and fall with the water level or tide
ii. Consists of a framed net open at the top and floating on the surface, or when
completely enclosed, the cage is kept below the water surface by adjustable
suspending from the surface.
iii. Usually floated in rafts and either anchored to the lake/reservoir/river bottom, or
alternatively connected to shore by a modern walkway.
iv. Four types of cages:
 Floating cage – a cage whose mesh bag is supported by a buoyant collar frame
(plastic drums or styropor as floaters, bamboo poles or GI pipes as frames). It
is set in deep water not less than 3 meters depth. Optimum water current
speed is 7 cm/s. space between cages are widened to serve as catwalk that
enables moving around the cage. The nets are provided with sinkers to
prevent from floating.
 Fixed cage – a cage whose mesh bag is supported by posts driven into the
substrate (bottom soil). It is set in shallow areas not more than 8 meters depth
with minimal water depth fluctuation. Only applicable for SMALL scale cage
operation.
 Submersible cage – installed as in floating cage but provided with net cover so
that it can be submerged when needed as in time of typhoon to hide down
the strong winds.
 Submerged cage – is a cage set below the water surface or at the floor of the
water body. A feeding tube is provided to deliver the feed to the fish, for cage
seated near the bottom, the worker need to dive down to feed the fish
b. Types
i. Near shore fish cage culture
 Advantages
 Simple to construct and requires smaller financial investment if an existing
body of water is available compared to ponds and tank culture
 Easily managed (i.e. fish stocks are easily observed, fed and harvested)
 Transferable to sites with better environmental conditions
 Can be stocked with fish at higher densities than ponds
 Offer higher production per unit area or volume
 Greater opportunity for expansion
 Allows the use for aquaculture of existing natural water bodies or space.
 Disadvantages
 Crowded condition of fish may lead to incidence of diseases. Low dissolved
oxygen conditions is an ever present problem and may require mechanical
aeration.
 Method requires high feed cost, feed must be nutritionally complete and
kept fresh
 It is vulnerable to adverse weather condition
 It is vulnerable to the effects of pollution
 It is attractive to poachers and vandals
 Wastes have pronounced negative impact on the aquatic environment
 Can disrupt navigation and reduce waterscape value of the site

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  Waste may stimulate primary production adversely affecting water quality of
site and surrounding environment.
ii. Off shore fish cage culture
 Advantages
 High water quality - being located far-away from shore the cages are not
exposed or affected by the pollution produced from land-based activities or
reached by polluted waters in near shore. The extensive space surrounding
the cages and deeper water depth ensures that the waste produce will be
dispersed in wider area and not accumulate or will sink deep down and would
not affect the culture fish at the surface.
 Availability of sites - because of the vast space available there are abundant
sites that can be utilized for fish farming. Individual farms may not need to be
located in the same location.
 Less conflicts with other water activities - since the cages are located far-away
from shore there will be fewer conflicts with other user of or activities within
the marine water. Because of less competition for space the opportunity and
space for expansion is always possible and available.
 Minimal Environmental impacts - because the cages are located in far-away
from shore and exposed to greater water flow, bigger waves deeper water,
the waste produced from the culture will be easily dispersed not accumulate
hence less impact on the environment. The relatively less available food in the
open ocean the waste produced can be readily eaten by other marine organ
inhabiting the surrounding water.
 Farm economic scale - because of the larger space available and lesser
regulatory restrictions on farm size, offshore cage culture has the potential to
be larger allowing for reduced costs through greater economic of scale.
 Distance from market - because of the lesser conflicts with water users and
activities and greater availability of sites it may be possible to locate offshore
farms closer to markets (such as major cities or locations of large consumers).
This would reduce transportation costs and making it possible for fresher
products to be delivered to markets and may in turn fetch higher price
 Disadvantages
 Exposure to strong winds and big waves - because the farm is located open
water space and exposed to strong winds, big waves and deeper water it
requires to design and manufacture specific facilities, equipment, materials
and tools appropriate for the said conditions. Most cage facilities, equipment,
materials and tools available are designed based on the requirements of near
shore cage farming.
 Higher support transport costs - because of farther distance from land to the
offshore farm it would higher cost to transport workers, supplies, equipment,
material and tools.
 Deeper water depth - the farm being located in deeper water it would require
to intensify the mooring systems.
 Working conditions - being located in open space and exposed to strong
winds, big waves and varying temperature the workers will have higher risks.
In addition the working conditions require skilled and experienced workers
hence would demand higher wages.

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  Industry economics of scale - as most available equipment and tools are
designed for near shore cage farming, equipment and tools for offshore
farming needs to be made to order and fetch higher price.
 Operating experience - as most cage farming is being done near shore there is
minimal knowledge and experiences in operating offshore cage farming. This
limitation may restrict the adoption of the technology
 Regulatory experience - as in operating experience there is also limited
experience in regulating and monitoring offshore cage farming. Furthermore
specific laws and policies governing offshore farming are not yet available.
2. Pen
a. Characteristics
i. Type of culturing unit where one part of the natural water body is enclosed by a
fence like wall resting on the bottom.
ii. The bottom of the structure is the bed or floor of the water body (sea bed, lake
bed, river bed). It is usually supported by fixed rigid frameworks of bamboo poles,
palm tree poles (Anahaw0 and wood poles.
iii. It tends to be larger in size than cage, ranging from 0.1 ha (1000 m 2) to several
hectares.
iv. It is built in a rectangular, square or circular shape. It is installed in not more (>)
than 8 meters depth.
v. Majority of the marine pens in the Philippines are found in the municipalities of
Alaminos, Bolinao and Sual in Pangasinan.
b. Advantages
i. Intensive utilization of space
ii. Safety from predators
iii. Suitability for culturing varied species
iv. Ease of harvest
v. The flexibility of size and economy
vi. Availability of natural food and exchange of materials with the bottom
c. Disadvantages
i. Difficult to construct when the water surface is very rough therefore location
restricted to sheltered areas.
ii. Need an adequate water exchange through the cages to remove metabolites and
maintain high dissolves oxygen levels. Rapid fouling of cage walls requires frequent
cleaning.
iii. Increased difficulties of disease and parasite treatment.
3. Pond
a. Characteristics
i. It is a shallow body of standing water (lentic environment) and is usually smaller
than lake.
ii. Two Primary Types of Pond (both for saltwater, brackishwater and freshwater
areas)
 Embankment ponds – are formed by building-up a dam or dike to impound
water. Cost of development in embankment ponds is lower than in the
excavated ponds.

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  Excavated (Dug-out) ponds – are formed by excavating soil from areas to
form depressions or holes and filling them with water to form ponds

iii. Types of Pond (for freshwater areas only)

 Barrage ponds – are those usually filled by rainfalls or spring water. These
require overflow pipes and overflow channels.
 Diversion ponds – are made by diverting (bringing) water from another
source, like a steam or a river. A channel or canal is dug to carry the water
from the water source to the pond.

Barrage Ponds Diversion Ponds

4. Raceways
a. Characteristics
i. Designed to provide a flow-through system to enable rearing of much denser
populations of animals.
ii. An abundant flow of good quality, well-oxygenated water is essential to provide
respiratory requirements and to flush out the metabolic wastes, particularly
ammonia.
iii. If the land is sloping, a series of raceways can be constructed, linked to each other
end to end, one unit flowing into the other, and separated by filters. Oxygen is
added to the water by the splashing action as water exits one cell and drops into
the other.
iv. In fish culture, traditional raceways are enclosed channel systems with relatively
high rates of moving or flowing water. This high rate of water movement gives
raceway systems distinct advantages over the other culture systems
v. Types: single pass, parallel and serial

Water in
Effluent out
Water in One water source
Effluent out

Water in
Effluent out
Water in

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SINGLE-PASS
PARALLEL
 SERIAL

b. Advantages
i. Stocking densities are high.
ii. Water quality is improved
iii. Less off-flavor
c. Disadvantages
i. More rapid disease spread less reaction time when problems occur, and large
volumes of effluent with dilute fish wastes.
ii. In general, water cannot be economically pumped through raceways; it must flow
through them by gravity.
iii. The need for large volumes of good quality water is the principal reason raceways
have been limited to sites with large springs.
iv. Used for trout farming but not for tilapia that prefers calmer waters of a pond
v. Necessary to aerate the water along the entire length of a raceway because oxygen
can often be totally consumed by fish that are sited at the beginning of the
raceway
vi. Complete drainage is often difficult because different batches are grown
simultaneously in the different sections and the whole raceway must be
completely empty of fish.
5. Tanks
a. Characteristics
i. Fiberglass tanks are light strong and inert to fresh and salt water. Water
level is controlled by a vertical pipes which is moveable and fitted in the
main drain pipe. Outflow is screened by a vertical, cylindrical plastic or
metal mesh.
ii. Rectangular tanks are easier to harvest than circular type but have “dead
areas” where metabolic products can build up and cause oxygen
depletion. Thus, bottom may slope towards one end or towards the
middle to facilitate cleaning and draining
b. Advantages
i. Requires less space, easy harvest of fish
ii. Controlled condition: safe from flood and typhoon, easier to do chemical
treatment for parasites and diseases, easier to apply mechanical aeration and
easier to eliminate waste
c. Disadvantages
i. High capital cost
ii. Continuous air and water supply
iii. Full feeding necessary
6. Recirculating systems
a. Characteristics
i. In a recirculating system, the same water is reused, after appropriate physical,
biological or chemical purification.

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 b. Advantages
i. Does not require large quantities of land and water.
ii. A high degree of environmental control
iii. Can be carried out close to market areas
c. Disadvantages
i. Needs a lot of complicated machinery, which can be difficult to maintain
ii. Biologically complex
iii. Increased risk of poor water quality
iv. Greater risk of stress and diseases
v. Common incidence of off-flavor are common
vi. High levels of technical expertise required
vii. High cost
H. Based on natural food requirement
1. Plankton method – are suspended microscopic plants and animals growing within the water
column, most especially in the upper or surface layer. These natural food passively drift with and
float in the water. The plant (phyto) component of the plankton include the:
 green algae (ex. Scenedesmus, Chlorella, Pandorina, Coelastrum, Ankistrodesmus,
Pandorina, Pediastrum, Selenastrum, Closterium, Dictyosphaerium, Oocystis, etc);
 blue-green algae (ex. Microcystis, Anabaena, Oscillatoria, Aphanozomenon, and
Spirulina);
 diatoms ( ex. Nitzschia, Navicula, Flagilaria, Cyclotella, and Synedra) ;
 euglenoids (ex. Euglena, Phacus,andTrachelomonas); and
 dinoflagellates (ex. Ceratium and Gymnodinium). The animal (zoo) components include
the moina, dahpnia, copepods, and other tiny animals, including the eggs and larvae of
fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.
2. Lablab (Aufwuch) method – is an association of phytoplankton, zooplankton, filamentous algae
and worms growing at the bottom surface of pond. Since they grow at the bottom and so they
are called benthic algae. The plant component of lablab are: 1) diatoms (ex. Navicula, Nitzschia,
Mastogloia, Amphora, and Stauroneis) and 2) blue-green algae (ex. Lyngbya, Phormidium,
Spirulina, Oscillatoria, and Micrococcus). The animal components include Moina, Dahpnia, eggs
and larvae of finfishes, crustaceans, mollusks, and insects.
3. Lumut method - filamentous grass green algae that start to grow at the bottom surface of pond
and continue to grow up to water surface. Three kinds of lumut:
 Chaetomorpha linum (Lumut jusi) – unbranched filamentous grass green alga.
 Cladophora – branched filamentous grass green alga.
 Enteromorpha intestinalis/tubulosa (Bitukang manok) – an alga which looks like a pancit
when it is still young and which looks like an intestine of a fowl when it is in its adult
stage.

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Section 4. Principles of Aquaculture
1. Aquatic animals are dependent directly or indirectly upon plants for food.
2. The ability of water to produce plants is dependent upon the presence of:
a. sunlight
b. temperature
c. carbon dioxide
d. nutrients:
Major Secondary Minor
Nitrogen (N) Calcium (Ca) Aluminum (Al)
Phosphorous (P) Magnesium (Mg) Boron (Bo)
Potassium (K) Sulfur (S) Barium (Ba)
Cobalt (Co)
Chlorine (Cl)
Copper (Cu)
Iron (Fe)
Manganese Mn)
Molybdenum (Mo)
Sodium (Na)
Zinc (Zn)
3. Natural fertility of water is largely dependent upon fertility of soils in the bottom, the watershed,
and the quality of brackishwater added.
4. Water fertility may be increased by adding inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers, or both.
Inorganic fertilization takes effect efficiently and rapidly during sunny days rather than during
rainy days or prolonged overcast or cloudy sky.
5. A species of fish that has a large maximum size potential will theoretically grow at a faster rate
than that one with a small maximum size potential.
6. The longer the food chain from plants to fish the greater the energy loss; the shorter the chain
the greater the production.
7. Carrying capacities per unit area are different for different species depending on the trophic level
of the species.
8. The greater weight per area is obtained by raising a combination of forage species differing in
food habits.
9. Natural fish food organisms normally supply all the essential nutrients fish need to reach their
maximum growth potential as long as the supply is not limited.
10. Carrying capacity of a given body of water can be increased by addition of feeds either through
supplemental or complete feeding.
11. Feeding at maintenance rate or less is usually not economical. Feeding at satiety or in satiation
rate (all fish have the chance to eat) is not economical.
12. Small fish require more food (i.e. higher feeding rate) per unit body weight or per gram body
weight than larger fish of the same species do (i.e. lower feeding rate). In terms of total body
weight, however, the larger fish consume more amount of food than the small ones do.
13. Organic matter resulting from digested, undigested, and uneaten feed are waste products in the
water, producing ammonia (NH3), protein fractions, carbohydrates, fatty acids, CO2, and salts
such as Ca, Mg, K and PO4.
14. Quality and quantity of feeds influence the following:
a. amount of wastes
b. growth rate of fish
c. health of the fish

Page | 16
 d. cost of fish production
15. The higher the quality of feed given at the right or required feeding rate the greater the carrying
capacity per unit area of water.
16. Growth rate of fish varies greatly depending upon:
a. quantity of food available
b. quality of food
c. water quality
d. waste disposal system: biological (phytoplankton), physical (flowing water through the
area), and mechanical (aerators or agitators).
e. Health of fish
f. Genetic potential for growth
17. Amount of protein required in the diet for maximum growth of fish/shrimp varies with the:
a. species
b. age of the fish
c. salinity
d. temperature
e. energy of the diet (if energy content of the diet is high, requirement on protein is
proportionately at low level).
f. availability of natural food in the fish culture area. If natural food is abundant,
requirement for protein is low.
18. Cultured species of aquatic organisms poorly response in growth with highly acidic (low pH) and
highly alkaline (high pH) condition of soil and water.
19. The amount of food required to maintain a given weight of fish is less than that required for
growth.
20. When the amount of food per fish drops below optimum levels or D.O. drops below optimum
levels due to high rates of feeding, the growth rate will continue to decline with a decline in food
availability per fish until growth stops.
21. The use of carnivorous fish species to control fish density will increase average growth rate and
percent of harvestable fish but will decrease the total yield.
22. Maximum potential yield will be highest in water that has the highest carrying capacity. In mono-
harvest systems, net yield can never be greater than the carrying capacity of a unit of water in
one culture period.
23. For a given stocking rate, yield per day will increase with an increase in growth rate until the
maximum absolute growth rate is reached and daily yield reaches a maximum.
24. High yields are obtained by stocking the maximum number of fish per unit area that will allow the
fish to grow at or close to their maximum capacity so that a marketable fish can be produced
within a given growing period.
25. If mortality results in a reduction of fish below the optimum numbers per area, then yield will also
be reduced.

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 Chapter II. Site Selection
Section 1. Water Quantity and Quality Criteria
i. Clean or free from pollutants and well-oxygenated.
ii. Available throughout the year. It should contain adequate nutrients essential for growth of algae and
other desirable aquatic plants.
iii. Water temperature and salinity should suit the requirement of fish under cultivation.
iv. Water in the river supplied into the pond through gravitational force is economical but may not be
good for use due to presence of pollutants.
v. Underground water supplied by the use of giant pump is clean but may not be economical yet may
pose danger of intrusion of seawater into the freshwater aquifer affecting the domestic users of
freshwaters.
vi. Well water has a high hardness and is low in DO. It is an expensive source of water supply and is
therefore not economical for a large grow-out farm. It is however, a good source for hatcheries since
it is pollutant and predator free.
vii. For fish pen and fish cages, dissolved oxygen must have a stable level of ≥4 ppm all throughout.
Transparency of water must be free from prolonged brownish color and deep green and blue-green
color. Salinity & temperature should not fluctuate or vary abruptly by more than or equal to 5 ppt and
5 °C in the site all throughout. There must be no coral formations, no river system carrying silt and in
site adequately protected from strong winds and typhoons.

Section 2. Tidal characteristics and ground elevation

i. The suitability of a site for brackishwater pond depends upon the tidal characteristics of the area and
its ground elevation.
ii. Areas whose ground elevation is reached only by the highest spring tide is not suitable for
brackishwater fishpond (Difficult filling).
iii. Low lying areas whose floor elevation is under water during or on level with the lowest low tide is,
likewise, not suitable (Difficult draining).
iv. Ideal elevation is when the site can be filled with tidal water to the desired depth within ≤5 days during
the critical spring tides which occur in February, March and April and is when the site can be drained
almost any day. 20 cm above the datum plane (zero datum or mean lower low water, MLLW) is
considered a good ground elevation for brackishwater pond.
v. Tidal heights from tide and current tables published annually by each country is accurate enough when
the site is very close to the shore. However, if site is already some kilometres inland (~10 km), actual
tide gauging becomes necessary.

Page | 18
 Example: (a) Predicting height of tide anytime of the day
Let us predict the tide in Tayabas River Entrance on November 15, 1980. The place is in the South
Coast of Luzon Island (Philippines). From the table, the reference station for Tayabas River
Entrance is Cebu. The predicted time and height of tides for Cebu is read from the tables on
November 15, 1980, are as follows:

Section 3. Soil Characteristics

i. Soil is an important factor in pond productivity due to its ability to adsorb and release the essential
nutrients required by plants. It serves as the chief and most economical source of materials for building
dikes.
ii. Choose areas with soil of good water holding capacity. Bottom soil for fish pen and cages should be
sandy clay or clay loam soils. Too much silt and decomposing organic matter should be avoided.
iii. For fish pens, must have firm bottom mud to allow pen framework or cage anchors to be driven deep
into substrate for better support. Bottom should be exposed during low tide.
iv. Categories of Soil:
 Inorganic soils – which include clay, silt and sand among others, and those soils with moderate
organic matter contents.
 Organic soils – which include those soils with high organic matter contents; which have high
shrinkage; and whose colors range from brown to black. Has two types:
 Muck soil - consists of thoroughly decomposed organic materials with considerable
amounts of finer mineral soil finely divided with some fibrous remains.
 Peat soil - consists of a dense accumulation of partially decayed fibrous materials.
v. Soil sampling – undertaken to determine the physic-chemical condition of the different pond
compartments, particularly on the organic matter, nutrient contents, pH and many others. This is
necessary to identify the actions and solutions to take in conditioning and treating the soil before the
pond will be used for fish culture
 How? Soil samples shall be taken from each pond compartment in an S orientation. Obtain
samples through borings (using auger tool) from selected intervals of soil depth (should reach at
least 3 meters). Measurements to be done from the soil:
 Physical properties
 Soil texture – gives information on its ability to resist the flow of water through it (seepage)

Page | 19
  Load bearing capacity – refers to capability of the soil to carry, heavy loads, determines the
type of foundation for structures (gates and dikes) and amount of pilings needed up to a
certain point
 Permeability – to know possible seepage flow at the site or loss of water in the pond by
passing through dikes and pond bottom
 Chemical properties
 Soil pH – provides an initial and immediate measure of the chemical nature of the site and
has direct relationship to fish production. Desirable range: 6.5 to 8.5
 Presence of acid forming substances such as pyrites and sulfides. Acidic soil release
aluminium and iron levels that may be toxic to pond biota. Acid sulfate soils cause slow fish
growth and mortalities, poor fertilizer response, low natural food production and erosion
of dike soils because of poor grass cover.

vi. Management of acid sulfate soil

 Reducing the volume of exposed dike soil in relation to pond areas. When heavy rain comes,
acid soil in dike reacts with runoff which mixes with pond water. Thus, size of ponds in acid
sulfate soils should not be smaller than 0.5 ha (smaller area = more exposed surface area) and
must have high water depth (to dilute concentration of acidic water)
 Liming improves water pH and phosphate fertilizer response
 Drying and flushing with seawater. Acid formed through pyrite oxidation during drying is
removed through a process of repeated flooding and draining of ponds.
 Covering acid sulfate soil with suitable soil.
 Appropriate water management. Water in ponds should be maintained at an equal level or
higher than that of the adjacent canal to limit inflow through seepage
 Control of dike erosion. Provide with vegetative cover such as acid resistant African star grass
(Cynodon plectostachyus) or Bermuda grass

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vii. Soil texture refers to the relative proportion of sand, silt and clay in the soil:
 Sand – a coarse soil whose size ranges 0.05 - 2 mm in diameter (Φ) and which feels gritty when
rubbed between the fingers.
 Silt – a moderately fine soil whose size ranges 0.002 - 0.04 mm in Φ and which feels smooth and
powdery and not sticky when moist.
 Clay – a fine soil whose size is < 0.002 mm in Φ and which feels smooth, sticky and plastic when
moist; it forms very hard clod when dry.
 Soil predominantly composed of hard particles having Φ of > 2 mm is gravelly or stony.
 Loam – has an equal proportions of sand, silt and clay. It is mellow with somewhat a gritty
feel, yet fairly smooth and slightly plastic.
 Clay loam and sandy clay loam are the best because of their clay components which are
excellent water holder and diking materials and of their loam components which contain high
organic matter necessary for growth of algae. As clay content of the soil decreases, suitability
for fishpond construction also decreases.
 Determination of soil texture:
 Mechanical method – determines the amount of each soil in soil mixture to determine
mixture, results are compared with a soil triangle to determine textural name
 Field identification
 Feel method – rubbing moist soil between thumb and finger
 Ball method – forming and squeezing a ball of moist soil in the hand. Stability of
the balled soil mixture to hold its shape when released or touched determines its
texture.

Section 4. Topography and zonation

i. This refers to the surface feature or lay of the land, or the changes in the surface whether flat,
undulating (wavy), hilly, sloping or rolling.
ii. The best topography for fishpond is flat or slightly sloping toward the outlet. A slope of 2% is ideal.
More significant in brackishwater than freshwater pond farm.
iii. Water depth should not be more than 8 meters and less than 1 meter (for fish pens and fixed cages)
and not less than 3 meters for floating cages.
iv. Four zones in the coastal edge which are probable sites for fishpond:
 Zone A: marginal land; unproductive due to salt water; reached only by extreme high tide;
constructed into fishpond by deep excavation
 Zone B: generally elevated; can still be reached by tides; high dikes are not necessary; deep
excavation is required
 Zone C: elevation is low, within the ideal range of pond bottom elev.; less excavation; extreme
acidity occurs because of the presence of vegetation; ideal zone
 Zone D: elev. is low, slightly higher than the lowest low tide; exposed to constant wave action;
requires higher dikes & wave protection structures; no acidity problem

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Section 5. Vegetation
i. This refers to plant life -- big sturdy trees, woody trees, shrubs and bushes, sedges, weeds, and herbs.
Mangrove trees pose serious concern due to extensive rooting system but provides timber, serve as
silt collectors, promoting soil accretion, absorber of wave impact and buffer of storm surge levels.
ii. Types of vegetation which indicate the physical and chemical properties of soil:
 Avicennia (api-api) and pagatpat trees – abound in elevated areas and indicate less acidic and
productive soil and highest suitability for fishpond.
 Rhizophora (bakawan) trees – mostly found in low areas and indicate high organic content and
acid sulfate soil and less suitability for fishpond.
 Nypha fructicans (Nipa palm) – abound in sandy soils and indicate low salinity, peaty and acid
sulfate soils which have lasting low pH effect on newly constructed pond, and low suitability for
fishpond.
 Red mangroves (Rhizopora, Nypa, Malaleuca) – indicators of potential acid soils plus dense
rooting systems (difficult to excavate)
 Ferns and certain shrubs – abound in low areas.
 Grasses – abound in sandy soils.
iii. Direct relationship between vegetation and cost of fishpond construction.

Section 6. Climatic conditions

i. Data on rainfall and wind direction are guides in planning the design and layout of pond system.
ii. Records of water levels caused by rainfall help in deciding whether to include drainage canal and its
dimensions and useful in computing for the height of perimeter dikes. For rainfall information,
maximum intensity, duration, frequency and annual distribution within the watershed are important
since these are associated with flooding
iii. Prevailing wind guides fishpond builders in orienting dikes. The direction of prevailing wind is taken
into account in designing the layout of fishponds as it generates erosive wave action against the dikes.
Partition dikes (secondary dikes) of a pond system should run parallel with the prevailing wind to lessen
exposure of their side lengths to wave action, thus protecting them getting eroded.
iv. Prevailing winds (Monsoons) in the Philippines:

Page | 22
  Southwest monsoon (Habagat) – prevailing wind that comes from southwest blowing towards
northeast direction and occurs during the rainy season (June to October).
 Northeast monsoon (Amihan) – prevailing wind that originates from northeast blowing towards
southwest direction and occurs during the dry season (November to February)
 Trade wind (Salatan) – the wind that blows from an easterly direction toward the equator and
occurs usually from March to May.
v. Four Climatic zones or weather types in the Philippines:
 Type I – Two pronounced seasons: dry from November to April and wet from May to October
(Regions 1 and 3, West Region 4, West Mindoro, West Palawan, West Panay Island and West
Negros)
 Type II – No dry season with a very pronounced rainfall from November to January. This covers
the regions along the eastern coast which are neither sheltered from the “Amihan” and the
“Salatan” nor from cyclone (East Region 4, Bicol Region, Samar, Leyte, North Cebu, Bohol and
East Mindanao)
 Type III – Seasons are not very pronounced; relatively dry from November to April and wet from
May to October. This belongs to areas partly sheltered from “Amihan and Salatan” and open to
“Habagat” and cyclonic storms (Abra, Mountain Province, Masbate, East Panay Island, East
Negros, Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro).
 Type IV – Rainfall is more or less distributed throughout the year. This belongs to Region 2, East
Mindoro, Central and Southern Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
vi. Types I and III, where the dry season lasts for 4-6 months followed by the rainy season, are more
favorable than Types II and IV, where the rainfall is distributed throughout the year. In the latter types
of weather, it is difficult to grow lab-lab; lumut which gives lower yield becomes the dominant fish
food
vii. For fish pens and cages, site must be sheltered against strong winds and high waves. Water or tidal
current should range from 10-60 cm/ sec or 6-36 m/ min. current speed more than this range is
avoided to prevent fishes from spending too much energy swimming.

Section 6. Other factors

i. proximity to market vi. availability of ice and cold storage facilities
ii. availability on construction materials vii. availability of skilled local labor
iii. proximity to fry source viii. peace and order condition in the locality
iv. availability of fertilizers, supplementary ix. availability of marketing outlets and prices
food, etc. x. pattern of land and water use
v. availability of credit

Section 7. Site selection for hatcheries, pens and cages:

A. In Hatcheries
o Favorable climatic condition that would permit year round and efficient operation. Warm
climate and adequate sunshine throughout the year are ideal. Climatic type – Climatic type 3
(season not very pronounced, relatively dry from November to April and wet during the rest of
the year) and type 4 (rainfall more or less evenly distributed throughout of the year) are
preferred milkfish hatchery sites in the Philippines. Minimal occurrence of typhoon.
o Elevation of the site should be given particular attention to prevent flooding of the hatchery and
for proper water drainage.
o The site should be far from population centers and free from possible impact of inland water
discharges especially agricultural pesticides and domestic or industrial waste.

Page | 23
 o Seawater source from a bay or open sea rather than from a river or creek is preferred. Localities
with rocky or coralline shorelines have good water quality relatively closer to the shore. This
reduces cost of water intake installation and minimizes problems of clogging and maintenance.
o Sites which are to be avoided are swamps, river mouths, tidal flats and muddy shores where
water becomes turbid during heavy rains or strong winds.
o Adequate freshwater supply for cleaning tanks and equipment, salinity adjustment for larval
rearing and culture of food organisms and domestic consumption. Freshwater with high mineral
contents such as iron (> 1 mg/l) or manganese (> 2 mg/l) is not suitable.
o Reliable electric supply to provide the necessary power to run the life support system and
equipment 24 hours a day.
o The hatchery should be near available source of milkfish broodstocks, eggs or newly hatched
larvae as this will greatly reduce transport stress and transport cost.
o Accessible to both land and water transport for fast and convenient delivery of supplies and
materials and marketing of fry.
o Adjacent or close to an airport so that the fry produced can be shipped with dispatch.
o Near centers of grow-out operation to minimize transport cost, reduce stress to fry and avoid
mortalities.
o Have access to communication facilities for market information and to facilitate business
transaction is necessary.
o Peace and order situation in the locality is also an important factor in selecting a site.
B. In Cage grow-out
o Fish cages should be situated in protected shallow bays, sheltered coastal areas, enclosed
lagoons, estuaries, tidal rivers and freshwater lakes sheltered from intense wind and destructive
wave action.
o Tidal flows, wind generated waves, and sufficient current are desired for good water exchange
for replenishment of oxygen and removal of waste metabolites. Excessive current (> 10 m/sec),
however, may lessen the volume of the cage, add weight to the supporting structures and
moorings and may contribute to feed loss.
o Sites that are deepest are preferred since it decreases the negative effects of sedimentation of
fish waste and uneaten feed that can accumulate underneath the cages. Water depth should be
2-3 meters for freshwater. In marine environment, deeper sites for sufficient water circulation.
Water depth should allow a minimum distance of 5 meters between the cage and bottom
sediment. This allows water flow through the cage and minimizes contact of stock with bacteria
in the sediment. A depth of 20/25 meters is ideal for floating cages since it allows good
dispersion of waste and does not present difficulties in installation of anchoring system.
o Bottom should be well clear of substrate (from rocky to muddy). Rocky substrate is
advantageous only for off shore cages as it indicates good bottom current thus reducing wastes
build up
C. In Pen grow-out
o Fish pens should be situated in protected shallow bays, sheltered coastal areas, enclosed
lagoons, estuaries, tidal rivers and freshwater lakes sheltered from intense wind and destructive
wave action.
o Water current speed of 10-20 cm/sec in order to maintain good water quality. Areas with strong
current (> 40 cm/sec) should be avoided.
o Firm but deep mud. Sites with hard and sandy or gravelly bottom to be avoided
o Far from water run-off which will cause high turbidity, abrupt salinity fluctuations that may last
from 3 to 6 days. This may disrupt feeding, irritate gills and cause diseases, and possible
destruction of pens caused by run-off debris.

Page | 24
o Water is relatively free of heavy loads of domestic, agricultural and industrial effluents.
o Good water exchange brought about by wind generated waves, currents, tidal flows and
unimpeded water flow.
o High and stable dissolved oxygen level of water (5-7 ppm). Avoid sites that are strongly stratified
or with algal blooms because these will give poor oxygen condition.
o Water pH should be 6.5-8.5. High pH can damage gills and cause death of fish. It could also
affect the toxicity of several common pollutants and heavy metals.
o Water depth should not be less than 1.5 m at the lowest water level.
o Sites which are overcrowded should be avoided.
o Near reliable source of milkfish fingerlings of at least 25 g and market for the harvested milkfish.
o Other factors. The site should have access to farm-to-market roads, power supply, telephone,
available labor, construction materials and other necessary inputs. Also, consider the peace and
order condition in the area.

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 Chapter 3. Aquaculture Engineering
Section 1. Definitions and Introduction
 The science of planning, engineering and constructing ponds including water control structures.
Involves site selection, detailed engineering and ecological surveys and ecological considerations
(environmental survey).
 Application of sound engineering principles (chemical, civil, mechanical and electrical) to create a
suitable condition or environment for optimum growth of aquatic species being produced. It also
applies knowledge of economics, chemistry, and fisheries – biology, health management, post-
harvest and processing, and marketing.
 A discipline dealing with the application of the fused biological and civil engineering principles in
the planning and execution of fishery works in order to create the best environment for the
cultured species (E. Vera Cruz).
 Fishpond Engineering is the science of planning, designing and constructing ponds including water
control structures. Fishpond Engineering takes into consideration most especially the physical
structures and economy of construction based on the proper engineering procedure and
application (FAO).

Section 2. Engineering and Site survey

 Surveying is the art of measuring/ determining distances, angles, directions and establishing points
by predetermined angular and linear measurements. Includes topographic mapping which shows
the nature of the ground or its characteristics such as differences in elevation, location and
measurement of boundaries or fences, physical facilities and other features as well as providing
basic horizontal (aerial) and vertical (elevation) controls in farm design.
Engineering survey equipment:
1. Tape (steel, synthetic) – the most common measuring device.

i.
2. Engineer’s transit – an instrument with magnetic compass, level, and telescope fastened to a
tripod. It has accessory devices, like stadia rod and range pole.

Range Pole – metal/ wood painted with alternate bands of

red and white. Stuck along the lien of survey to establish a
straight line of sight
Stadia rod and range poles are 2 kinds of levelling rod which
are commonly used in conducting site survey

It is used for the following purposes:

a. measuring horizontal angles (bearings or azimuth of the lines) and vertical angles

Page | 26
 b. measuring vertical and horizontal distances with the transit
c. determining ground elevations
d. leveling operations
e. for prolonging lines/ setting points in line
3. Magnetic compass – an instrument usually in circular shape graduated from 0° to 360° and
provided with magnetic needle that always points the magnetic north. It is also provided with
another needle from which the azimuth of a line is read. This is made of metal, fiberglass, or
plastic covered on top with transparent glass. This is used for determining the azimuth or bearing
of a line as well as the different directions of the land surface.
4. Level – an instrument used for measuring the vertical distance in leveling operation and for
determining the ground elevation in the absence of an engineer’s transit.
 Abney hand level – has graduated arc for reading the percentage of slope
 Locke hand level/ Tilting level – used for measurement of differences in elevation
 Self-leveling level – automatically levels its line of sight with great accuracy by
means of compensator after the circular spirit level is centered approximately

Measurement of Distances – method depends upon: 1) the required accuracy 2) access to the line and 3)
time and cost involved. Distance is measured in either vertical or horizontal plane. Two methods of
measuring distances:
A. Direct method – method which involves the use of taping, chaining or pacing
a. Pace = normal length of a step/stride of an individual. Pacing is a practical way of
measuring a distance but not as accurate as taping/chaining. Pacing can only be adopted
after an individual’s pace factor had been determined.
 Pace factor (PF) is defined as the ratio of the tape distance (premeasured) and the
number of paces made in several trials along such a tape distance.
𝑇𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑚)
𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 (𝑃𝐹) =
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠
𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑥 𝑃𝐹
 Advantage of pacing: for preliminary and rough survey, and for contouring by
gridding
b. Chaining or taping is the method of measuring horizontal distances with the use of a steel
tape (or chain).
B. Indirect method/ stadia rod – a method which involves the use of the engineer’s transit and
stadia rod.

Page | 27
 3.25 m

0.5 m

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐵𝐶 = (𝑈𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 − 𝐿𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔) 𝑋 100

= (3.25 m – 0.25 m) x 100
= 275 m
Measurement of Angles
a. Bearing – it is an angle measured from either north or south whichever is nearest toward the east
or the west. The angle is read clockwise or counterclockwise from north or south whichever is the
0o angle. The angle is preceded by N or S and succeeded by E or W. A bearing can never be
greater than 90°. Examples of bearings are: N 45° E, N 45° W, S 30° E, S 30° W (Figure 8).
b. Azimuth – it is the angle measured clockwise from a reference point or direction usually North
which starts with zero degree. Examples of azimuth are: 45°, 90°, 180°, and 270° (Figure 9).
c. Deflection – this refers to the angle between a deflected line and the prolongation of the
preceding line. It is a right deflection angle if it is measured to the right (clockwise) and left
deflection angle if it lies to the left (counterclockwise) of the extension of the preceding line
(Figure 10).
d. Interior angle (IA) – this refers to the angle inside a closed figure, a polygon, between adjacent
lines. The sum of the interior angles in a closed polygon is equal to (N – 2)(180°), where N is the
number of sides.
Example: IA of polygon with 5 sides = (N – 2)(180°) = (5 sides – 2)(180°) = (3)(180°) = 540°

Identification of Directions
 There are 32 points or directions in the earth’s surface which are determined in a compass. Each
point measures 11.25 degrees (11° and 15’). These points are categorized into:
o Principal points – N, S, E, W.

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 o Half cardinal points (secondary) – NE, NW, SE, SW.
o Intermediate points (tertiary) – NNE, ENE, NNW, WNW, SSE, ESE, SSW, WSW.
o By points – N x E, NE x N, and other directions with x. X – is read as “by.”
Example, N x E = N by E
Measurement of Areas
 Methods of computing areas:
o Planimeter method – boundaries of the farm are plotted to scale and area is determined by
the use of planimeter
o Double meridian distance – area is calculated from the coordinates of the farm
o Trapezoidal rule and Simpson’s 1/3 rule – to calculate areas of land bounded by irregular
curves
o Plotting the boundaries and dividing the tract into regular geometric figures (triangles,
rectangle, trapezoids). Dividing the tract of land into regular figures, compute areas of the
figures individually then add.
 Formula of geometric figures:
o Square Area = S2 Perimeter = 4S
o Rectangle Area = LW Perimeter = 2L + 2W
o Circle 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 𝜋𝑟 2

o Triangle Area = ½ bh
(𝑏+𝑐)ℎ
o Trapezoid 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 =
2

Section 3. Topographic survey

 To reflect on map the relief or changes in elevation of the fish farm site including other relevant
ground features
a. Definition of Terms
 Mean sea level. It is the average height of the surface of the sea from all stages of the tide over a
19-year period, usually determined from hourly height readings.
 Datum plane. It is any level surface to which elevations are referred. In very extensive surveys,
the mean sea level is taken as the datum. However, for an average fish-farm survey an arbitrary
datum is taken by establishing a benchmark.
 Benchmark (BM). It is an established and permanently located station or point on the ground, the
elevation of which is known. Benchmark elevation may be known or assumed. This should be
established on permanent object (such as wood or bamboo stakes) near a construction project.
 Elevation (El). It refers to the vertical distance of a ground point from the reference datum.
 Station (Sta). It is any point where a rod reading is taken and is generally along the line being run.
 Back sight (BS). It is a rod reading taken in a point of known elevation. It is also known as plus
sight since it is always added.
 Foresight (FS). It is a rod reading taken in a point of unknown elevation. It is also known as minus
sight since it is always subtracted.
 Turning point (TP). It is an intermediate station or reference point whenever the instrument is
moved from one setup to another. It is the station that is sighted twice.
 Height of the instrument (HI). It is the relative elevation of the line of sight of the instrument.
b. Levelling – basic operation in engineering survey that leads to production of a topographic map. Direct
levelling is commonly used among levelling methods. This is a process by which differences in
elevation in the site is determined with the use of a level or transit instruments. Two methods of
direct levelling:

Page | 29
 1. Differential levelling – it is the operation that determines the difference in elevation of two
points, say A and B, which are a distance apart. Two cases of differential levelling:
 Levelling with two points A & B visible from the instrument.

Problem: Determine elevation of Point B (ElB)

Note: Point B is visible from instrument
positioned at Point A
Given: Elevation at Point A (ElA) – 5 m
Back sight (BS) – 1.4 m
Fore sight (FS) – 0.8 m
Formula needed: ElB = HI – FS
HI = ElA + BS
Solution: HI = ElA + BS = 5 m + 1.4 m = 6.4 m
ElB = HI – FS = 6.4 m – 0.8 m = 5.6 m

 Levelling with objective points within A or B not visible in a single instrument-sighting set-
up
Problem: Determine elevation of Point B (ElB)
Note: Point B is not visible from instrument
positioned at Point A
Given: Elevation at Point A (ElA) – 5 m
BS and FS at each Turning Point (TP)
Formula:
Elevation (E) = Previous Elevation (PE)+BS-FS

Solution:
Point Elevation Previous Elevation Back Sight (BS) Fore Sight (FS)
Point A 5m -- -- --
TP1 E = PE + BS-FS = 5 +1.4 -0.8 5m 1.4 0.8
E= 5.6 m
TP2 E= PE + BS-FS = 5.6 +1.5 -1.0 5.6 m 1.5 1.0
E = 6.1 m
TP3 6.62 6.1 m 1.42 m 0.9
TP4 7.17 6.62 m 1.35 1.4
Point B 7.62 7.17 1.55 1.1

2. Profile levelling – operation that determines the difference in elevation of points along a
prescribed line measured at intervals. Several intermediate sights (foresights) in each instrument
set-up (unlike differential levelling with one FS per instrument set-up)
c. Contour Mapping – show the configuration or changes in elevation of the ground in a topographic
map. Each contour line represents points of same elevation and are spaced according to the
difference in elevation between 2 adjacent lines
d. Scaling – ratio of the distance on the map or drawing and the distance on the ground
𝑀𝑎𝑝 𝑜𝑟 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑚)
𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒 =
𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑚)

Page | 30
 Example – Scale is 1:1000. To determine the map or drawing distance with the following ground
measure125 m long and 80 m wide:
1 𝑚 (𝑚𝑎𝑝) 𝑋 (𝑚𝑎𝑝)
Length =
1000 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑) 125 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑)
1000 m (x) = 1 m (125 m)
125𝑚
X=
1000 𝑚
X = 0.125 m or 12.5 cm when drawing on the map
1 𝑚 (𝑚𝑎𝑝) 𝑋 (𝑚𝑎𝑝)
Width =
1000 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑) 80 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑)
1000 m (x) = 1 m (80 m)
80 𝑚
X=
1000 𝑚
X = 0.08 m or 8.0 cm when drawing on the map
 Guides in scaling: To determine the measurement of every line in the drawing, every dimension or
linear measurement in the ground surface or field should be divided by the given scale.
Example: Given scale is 1:1000. Field/ ground measurements are:

Map measurements are

7 cm

9 cm 10 cm

8.5 cm
 If scale is changed to a bigger value, the drawing or figure of the same dimensions of a lot becomes
smaller. Example: 1:1000 m is changed to 1:2000 m.
1 𝑚 (𝑚𝑎𝑝) 𝑋 (𝑚𝑎𝑝)
=
2000 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑) 70 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑)

X = 3.5 cm
Map measurements become:
3.5 cm

4.5 cm 5 cm

4.25 cm

 If scale is changed to a smaller value from the original (very first) scale, the drawing or figure of the
original dimensions of a lot becomes larger. Example 1:1000 m is changed to 1:100 m
1 𝑚 (𝑚𝑎𝑝) 𝑋 (𝑚𝑎𝑝)
=
100 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑) 70 𝑚 (𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑)
X = 70 cm

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 Map measurements become:

70 cm

90 cm 100 cm

85 cm
e. Map is a graphical representation of the ground drawn to scale. Marginal information of the map:
1. Sheet Name or Title – means the name of the map. This should be placed on top of the map.
2. Sheet Number. This should be placed on the upper right-hand corner of the map.
3. Scale. This should be placed center down of the map.
4. Legend. This should be placed on the lower right-hand corner of the map.
5. Edition Note. Should be placed on the lower left-hand corner of the map.
Philippines is between Latitude 10 - 15°N and
between Longitude 15 - 20°E
Vertical Line is for longitude but its values are
horizontalwise.
Horizontal Line is for latitude but its values are
verticalwise.
Longitude – is parallel with prime meridian
Latitude – is parallel with equator
Prime meridian is the zero longitude
Equator is the zero latitude.

Section 4. Fishpond layout structures and other pond support structures

 A fishpond is properly designed when the arrangement of the pond compartments, water control
structures and all other facilities mutually harmonize each other giving the most efficient water
management and manipulation of stock. Other considerations for fishpond design include:
 Buffer/salvage zone, 100 meters from sea to main peripheral dike or 20 m along river bank for
ecological consideration and physical protection against flooding and wave action.
 Main gate is placed in one side where fresh unpolluted water is available.
 In drainage channels, outlet gates should be diagonally opposite the inlet gates. The whole bottom
of the pond should slope towards the drainage gate to facilitate removal of water. This sloping
bottom can be modified and improved by providing bottom ditch
within the pond running along and close to the base of the dike.
This ditch collects and leads the water to the catching pond
where the drainage gate is also located. In this scheme, a slope
divide is provided at the center of the pond. For much larger
compartments, a middle ditch connecting the peripheral ditch
may be provided.
 In silty or muddy areas, provide a settling pond.

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 The longer dikes should be parallel to the direction of prevailing winds so there is less damage on
dike due to wave action and takes energy in effecting good water aeration through mixing and
circulation. BUT large ponds may be perpendicular to prevailing winds as the winds blowing over a
long stretch of water may create higher waves and greater erosion of the dike.
 Diversion canals placed more or less perpendicular to the direction of run off or flood flow.
 The principle in design is to minimize the number of gates, the size and length of the main secondary
and tertiary dikes and canals.
 When very strong winds are prevalent, wind breakers are included in the design and lay-out of ponds
 Freshwater Types of Pond Layouts:
o Barrage pond type – a pond type usually filled by rainfall or by a spring water. A series of ponds in
this type require drainage pipes and overflow ditch.
o Diversion pond type or contour type – a pond type which has a diversion canal to serve as a
passageway of water from the main water body, e.g. creek, brook and the like. A weir diverts the
water for intake through a gate to a supply canal, from which each pond can be filled and drained
separately. Two types of layouts:
 Rosary type - a type in which series of ponds are built one after another in a string. In this
type of layout, all ponds drain into each other -- upper pond drains to the lower pond.
 Parallel type - a type in which ponds are built parallel to each other and each pond of which
has an inlet and an outlet.
o Advantages and disadvantages
 Barrage ponds vs. Diversion ponds
 Diversion ponds are less likely to overflow and the water source is often more
dependable throughout year than with barrage ponds.
 Barrage ponds require less construction and are likely to be cheaper.
 Rosary types vs. Parallel types of diversion ponds
 A parallel diversion ponds are better in terms of water management since each pond
compartment can be operated or worked out independently without involving the
other ponds.
 On the other hand, rosary types are cheaper and easier to build.
 Brackishwater Pond system:
o Fry acclimatization pond unit – also called fry box.
 It is the smallest compartment and usually measures about 4 – 8 m2.
 It is built with small and low dikes within the nursery pond (NP) for holding fry for 1 – 4
days before releasing to the NP.
o Nursery pond (NP) – Similyahan
 The second smallest unit with the size ranging from 1 – 6% of the total production area.
 NP size ranges 500 – 10,000 m2 per compartment.
 It is used for rearing the fry for at least 30 days before transferring to TP or direct to RP.
 Must be easily supplied with new water or drained. Must not be adjacent to perimeter dikes
– can escape through crab holes and leaks.
o Transition pond (TP) – Bansutan – also called holding or stunting pond
 The pond unit constructed adjacent to the NP.
 The second largest pond unit comprising about 6 – 9% of the total production area.
 TP size ranges 1,000 – 20,000 m2 per compartment.
 It is a source of stocks for the grow-out or rearing pond for the whole year round of
subsequent crops.
 Shrimp farms have extensive inner canal system; transition pond is absent.

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 o Rearing pond (RP) – Palakihan – also called grow-out pond or production pond
 The largest pond unit in the pond system occupying about 80% of the total production area.
 RP size ranges 1 – 10 hectares per compartment.
 The pond unit that is for rearing fish fingerling or post fingerling to marketable or large-sized
fish.
 Bottom should be lower than the transition or nursery pond but higher than the tidal zero
datum line.
o Catching pond (CP)
 The pond unit constructed adjacent to the gate inside a grow-out pond and maybe inside a
transition pond and a nursery pond. RP bottom slopes toward CP or water supply canal to
facilitate harvest.
 The CP size ranges 1 – 1.5% of every RP compartment and 2% of NP’s and TP’s surface areas.
 It serves as a confinement area for the fish during harvest.
o Food growing pond (FGP)
 This pond unit is optional and may be built if deemed necessary.
 A pond compartment from RP set aside for growing live food organisms, e.g. lablab, at high
density to augment the food grown in other RPs. Hence, it is called a kitchen pond.
o Depending upon the purpose and the availability of area, the BPS could just be an NP alone;
an RP with TP; an RP alone; or an RP with NP and TP.
 Brackishwater Types of Pond Layouts:
o Conventional type - an old or traditional type of layout with small percentage area of NP and
where straight-run culture method is adopted. Vs radiating: conventional has much longer canal
and secondary dikes.
o Radiating type - is also the same with the conventional type but has shorter supply canal which
suggests economy in dike construction than the former type.
o Modular or Progressive type - an improved layout type which is provided with 3 RPs called
production process stages (PPS) with size ratios that are progressing, e.g. 1:2:4 or 1:3:9 which
means 1x:2x:4x in areas to where grow-out culture of fish passes before harvest. A type which
allows 6 – 8 crops per year.
o Multi stock or harvest type - a type which has no TP but instead fish holding canal (FHC) for
fingerlings to be reared in the RPs for the whole year round. A type where stocking 2 – 4 different
size groups at different times and selective harvests of larger at different times are practiced. A
straight-run method is also adopted in this type.

Conventional Radiating

Page | 34
 Modular
Multiple stock

 longer canals

 shorter length but more canals

 main idea is to transfer

fingerlings from smaller to next
larger module

 practice is to stock at different

times, different size groups and
harvest bigger ones selectively
using gill net

 Pond water control structures:

o Dikes – system of partitioning of fishpond area for water control and stock manipulation,
trapezoidal in shape width, side slope and height depends on the properties of the soil material
 Parts of dikes:

SIDE SLOPE

Booms or
riprap

1. Crown or top – Main dikes subjected to wave action should have a minimum crown width
equal to the height of the maximum wave
2. Berm –a narrow path or footwalk reserved between the base of the dike and the excavated
pond. It also serves in fortifying the dike and in holding or trapping eroded soil from the
dike top and wall.
3. Freeboard – additional height of a structure example: perimeter dike has a freeboard of 0.3
to 1.0 m above high water level to prevent overflow
4. Puddle trench is essential to prevent seepage under the main dike. Measures 30 cm in
width and 50 cm in height dug along the central path of the main dike.

Page | 35
 5. Booms or riprap are used to protect the dam. Booms consist of one or more rows of logs
chained together and anchored securely in front of the dike or about 2 m in front. Riprap
are composed of stone, concrete blocks or concrete slab construction placed on the dam
face.
6. Side slope – ratio of vertical to horizontal length. Perimeter dike has side slope of 1:2,
secondary dike 1:1.5 and tertiary dike 1:1 which means that tertiary dikes are steep.
 Types of dikes:
1. Primary, main or perimeter dike – the dike that encloses and protect the entire pond
system, retains water for the whole farm and serves protection from flooding. Has puddle
trench and freeboard.
2. Partition dike – secondary dike – smaller than the main dike with gradual slope and which
enclose the NP, TP and RP.
3. Partition dike – tertiary dike – the smallest and lowest in height, enclose the catching
ponds and fry acclimation pond.
Parts Primary Secondary Tertiary
Crown or top width 2-4 1-2 <1
Base or bottom width 4-10 3-7 1.3-2
Side slope 1:2 1:1.5 1:1
Berm 0.5-0.6 0.5 <0.5
 Important considerations:
1. The height of the dike must be 0.3 to 1.0 m higher than the maximum flood level in the
last 10 years or the highest astronomical tide.
2. Must be of adequate size and shape to hold water to prevent seepage.
3. After dike construction, leakage is usually caused by the damage of the dike due to
crustacean burrows, particularly the species Thalassina anomala. They make burrows in
the soft mud under the dike thereby causing “piping” by which sand and silt particles are
moved by seepage flow.
4. Effective measures for preventing leakage include: minimizing the amount of seepage
flow through proper construction, trenching, embedding vertical plastic membrane inside
dike, covering dike with concrete bricks, riprapping, minimizing destruction by crustaceans
by desalinizng and drying out embankment soils.
o Gates
 Components of main gate:

Page | 36
 1. Floor – the floor serves as the foundation of the structure and this must be lower than
the pond bottom elevation. The floor of the main gate must not be exposed during
extreme low tides (If exposed then water can’t come in)
2. Apron – the apron generally rest on the foundation piles which are made of seasoned
bamboo driven at 0.3 m intervals into the soft soil with the butt end up. This serves as the
protection to scouring and future seepage of water at the gate’s sides.
3. Cut-off walls – these are provided at both ends of the gate floor to prevent seepage and
undercutting of water over the gate’s foundation. They extend down into the soil at a
minimum depth of 0.6 m.
4. Side or breast walls – side walls define the sluice way in addition to their being retaining
wall for the dike fill. Grooves or double cleats for flashboards and screens are built on
these walls. The top of these walls are as high as the top of the dike.
5. Wing walls – these provide the transition from the sluice way into the main canal in
addition to retaining the earth at both sides of the gate. The best angle of inclination
towards the outside is 45°.
6. Bridge or catwalk – this is a reinforced concrete slab or thick wooden planks that span the
side walls.
7. Flashboards – slabs or flashboards are generally wooden planks, 2.5 – 5 cm thick and 30
cm wide inserted into grooves or double cleats. They are used to control the amount of
water flowing through the gate.
8. Screen – these are usually made of wood bamboo strips or of fine polyethylene meshes
attached to a wooden rectangular frame that fit into the grooves. These are used as to
prevent the exit of the cultured fish and the entry of predators into the ponds.
9. Pillars – In wooden gates, these are vertical supports where wooden walls are nailed.
10.Braces – In wooden gates, these wooden frames hold or fasten two or more pillars
together or in place. They keep the steady opening of the gate.
 Classifications of gate:
1. Sluice gates (Open top) – are those pond gates constructed open on top (not concealed)
across the dikes with 2 pairs of grooves provided at the central portion of the sidewalls
for fitting the slabs and another 2 pairs for each of the gate ends for the screens. Allow
rapid water discharge rates but do not allow passage of vehicular transport across them.
2. Monk gates (Closed/ culvert type) – are those gates whose central bodies are concealed
in the dikes, i.e. the top of the main body parts of the gate is covered with soils which
allows motor vehicles to pass over

Sluice gate
Monk gate
Page | 37
  Types of gates
1. Primary/ Main gate – pond gate/s constructed on the perimeter dike. It is the largest and
tallest gate that links the pond system to the source of water. It is usually situated at the
central side of a main dike facing the source of water. It regulates the exchange of water
between pond system and tidal stream. Requirements in designing the main gate:
 It should be as high as the main dike.
 Its floor elevation should be lower than the lowest pond bottom elevation and as low
or slightly lower than extreme low tide or lower than 0 datum.
 It may have 1-4 openings as waterway depending upon the size of the entire pond
system to be flooded (Different water depth = different gate opening requirement)
 Each opening must have 4 pairs of grooves: 2 pairs 2 pairs for slabs or flashboards to
fit at the central gate portion and 2 pairs for screens – one at each end of the gate.
 Its 4 wings should be constructed 45° outward. Wings should be properly designed
to provide easy current flow.
 The gate foundation must be rigid and stable. Its floor and apron should rest or sit on
a combination of wooden piles (tulus) and layers of boulders and gravel (common in
gates in Philippines and Indonesia) or just wooden piles alone (gates in Malaysia).
 It must be provided with cut-off walls and aprons which are wide enough to include
portions susceptible to scouring and undercutting of water.
2. Secondary gates and tertiary gates: provide control from the main canal into the ponds.
Usually made of wood but treated with coal tar for durability. Reinforced concrete can be
used but expensive. Usually located centrally on the shorter side of the pond along the
canal.
 Secondary gates are those gates situated on the partition dikes. Regulate water level
in the NP, TP and RP units. Are smaller than main gate with 1 – 2 openings per gate
with a width of 0.8 – 1 m per opening.
 Tertiary gates are those gates installed in the catching ponds. Are the smallest gates
with opening width of 0.5 – 0.8 m
o Water supply canal - these canals serve the purpose of supplying and draining water to and from the
pond. The main water supply canal starts from the main gate and usually transverse the central
portion of the fish farms. The floor of this is sloping towards the gate floor. Elevation of the canal
should be lower than original ground level.
 Types of supply canal:
1. Main Water Supply Canal (MWSC) starts at the main gate usually traverse the central
portion of the fish farm. Sloping towards the floor of the main gate
2. Secondary water supply canal starts from MWSC to inner portion.
3. Tertiary canal supply water to NP & TP. Usually considered part of NP or TP system.
Modified as CP
o Aerators - these are devices used to supply oxygen or agitate or break up the water surface to effect
the fast transfer of oxygen from air to water during which time the oxygen in the pond is at critical
level, e.g. <3-4 mg/I (ppm), and to remove the excess oxygen in the pond as well as the toxic gases
such as the ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Mechanism involved:
Increase the liquid surface area available for oxygen transfer (Smaller bubbles = more air exposed to
water = higher oxygenation rate). Makes sure that water with low DO is brought into contact with air
or O2 gas. Aeration systems used in commercial aquaculture:
 Aeration by mechanical agitation

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 1. Gravity aerators – utilize energy released when water loses altitude to increase air-water
surface area. Free energy source – water is pumped to a higher elevation and allowed to
fall back to the area through gravity. Examples:
 Streams – turbulent motion of streams causes surface water to be continually
changed improving oxygen transfer rate
 Dams – water moving through turbines or over the overflow gates has considerable
 Rapids – mechanical agitation and increased turbulence result as rapidly moving
water strikes rocks
2. Surface Aerator – suck water from the bottom of pond and throw it into the air as a
fountain. Water drawn into the vertical tube by propeller is pumped upward, deflected
radially and sprayed in an umbrella pattern over the water surface BUT create waves that
can damage dams of ponds by erosion and build-up of heavy silt under aerator
3. Turbine aerators – Propeller SUBMERGED in the fluid to be aerated. It circulates the liquid
as the propeller rotates causing greater aeration to take place to the surface. Consist of a
propeller or a series of propellers attached to the same vertical shaft
4. Paddle wheel aerators – create movement on the SURFACE of the pond. Most common
type used in large ponds. Large diameter paddlewheels transfer more oxygen than smaller
diameter aerators and flat paddles are less effective than other designs.
5. Tractor-powered aerator – used for emergency aeration in large ponds when fish are
severely stressed from low DO concentration, mounted on trailers and powered by the
tractor HOWEVER large tractors are an inefficient power source because most of the fuel
consumed is used to run the engine
6. Vertical pump aerators – consist of submersible, electric motor with an impeller attached
to the shaft BUT have small motors (<1 hp) and do not produce a large area of oxygenated
water
 Aeration by pulsed air – a blower generates air at relatively low pressure through pipes to air
stones or other diffusers. Well adapted to small scale facilities and for fry and small fish since it
does not cause damage due to water turbulence
1. Diffuser aerators – example: blowers. Electric-fed devices that inject air or oxygen into a
body of water in the form of bubbles and oxygen by diffusion across the liquid film. Since
bubbles rise in a water column, there is relative motion between water and bubbles that
causes water circulation and renewing of the surface area in contact with the bubbles =
increased oxygen transfer
Note: Bubble diameter strongly influences aeration characteristic = decreasing bubble size
is most desirable. Why? 1) Smaller bubbles = greater surface area exposed to gas
exchange, 2) Smaller bubbles = lower rise velocities than larger ones, increasing bubble
retention time for a given gas flow and liquid depth
2. Supersaturation oxygenation system – commonly used in trout farming, supersaturates
water in oxygen allowing even higher rearing densities while easing digestion for the fish. In
tropical aquaculture, it is premature to envisage this type of installation due to expense.
 Aeration methods:
1. Emergency - aerators are operated temporarily when oxygen falls to or below 3 mg/l,
during a crisis. Tractor powered paddle wheels or irrigation pumps are typically used.
Aeration is continued until oxygen levels have stabilized at 5 mg/L or higher.
2. Supplemental - aerators are operated whenever conditions leading to oxygen depletion
have developed, or nightly during the last 2-3 months of the season. Aerators are turned-
on between 10 PM - midnight and left running until 10 AM the next morning or until

Page | 39
 oxygen levels have stabilized at 5 mg/L or higher. Supplemental aeration is recommended
for intensive production densities above 2 tons/ha.
3. Continuous - aeration equipment is operated continuously (24 hrs daily). Some producers
manage highly intensive fish farms (>5 tons/ha) & run electric aerators continuously from
July to the end of Sept or until water temperatures have dropped to 18-20°C & are falling.
Economics of this practice should be carefully evaluated.
 Aerator placement:
1. Placed where they will enhance pond circulation patterns. Placing paddlewheel aerators off
the bank near the middle of the long axis of the pond to direct currents across the short
axis in large, rectangular ponds
2. The worst placement is in a corner, with currents directed diagonally across the pond.
When several aerators are placed in a pond, they can be located where the current of each
aerator enhances the flow produced by the others aerators.
3. Putting all the aerators in one end of the pond reduces the cost of the electrical supply &
makes routine maintenance easier.
4. Portable aerators, such as tractor PTO-driven paddlewheels, should either be placed in the
same location each time they are used so that fish become accustomed to the location or
placed where oxygen- stressed fish have congregated.
5. If a portable aerator is used to supplement an existing aerator or to replace a
malfunctioning permanent aerator, it should be placed near the other aerator so that fish
are not forced to swim a long distance to find the new aerator.
 Aeration practices:
1. The need to aerate varies seasonally as water temperature affects the rates of respiration
& photosynthesis.
2. Many farmers also maintain a few tractor-powered aerators for emergency situations.
3. Aerators should be started before DO falls below 3 mg/L. Oxygen levels are lowest just
before sunrise each morning.
4. Some ponds may need no aeration, while others require continuous aeration throughout
the day.
5. Paddlewheel aerators are used in most large ponds (>0.5 ha) and vertical pump aerators
are commonly used in small ponds
o Fish graders – grade and separate fish according to their individual size. If not graded, smallest ones
have difficulty in gaining access to the food (due to physical competition with larger fish) and are
stressed resulting in poor growth performance
 Manual – boxes fitted with differently sized screens; small fish go through the screen and
larger ones are retained in the box
 Mechanical – fish are conveyed between 2 bands or varying gap, being constantly sprayed
with water and they fall through the gap when the width allows it, smaller fish falling
through first
o Fish counters/ bioscanners – electronic register or counter that is places at the end of an outlet of
the fish grader
o Fish pumps- are machines used in pumping water into and out of the ponds. These are very
necessary during the dry season when the water level is low and the salinity of brackishwater
ponds becomes too high (above the optimum).
o Fish elevators – used to move fish out of growing units for grading, loading on a truck or simple for
harvest

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 Other facilities/features in pond system:
o Peripheral, central or diagonal ditch (0.5 to 1.0 m in depth) – during dry season, water temperature
may increase especially in shallower parts, these ditch or canals inside pond compartments are
deeper than general pond bottom and serve as hiding place for shrimp during critical pond
conditions
o Drainage canals (DC) – these are support structures usually constructed in the outer sides of the
pond parallel or perpendicular to the WSC. These are recommended in intensive culture, especially
of shrimps, to effect flow-through system and better water management.
o Diversion pond – distributes tidal inflow to various ponds and provides independence in the
operation of individual pond compartment
o Reservoir pond – for flow through system. The pump raises the level of water in the reservoir even
during low tide so that gravity flow through in the RP can still be possible.
o Sedimentation basin/ Settling pond – located near the water source before incoming tide enters the
ponds. It is intended to settle suspended solids carried by the inflowing water
o Spillway/ floodway – facilitates removal of excess floodwater of rainwater; protects the farm from
flooding
o Flumes - open channels or elevated canals constructed on top of the dike for purpose of supplying
well-oxygenated water into various pond compartments. These can be made of concrete hollow
blocks, prefabricated concrete slabs, or marine plywood. These are recommended in semi-intensive
and intensive prawn farming.
o Chilling tank – for harvested fish
o Road system

Peripheral ditch Central ditch

Drainage canal Page | 41

Diversion canal
 Reservoir, Spillway, Drainage and Feeder Canal

Section 5. Pen, Cage and Pond construction

Pen construction – rearing of fish in fixed net enclosures supported by frameworks made of bamboo,
wood or metal and set in sheltered, shallow portions of lakes, bays, rivers and estuaries.
o Construction of Fishpen:
 Construction of Framework
 Prior to installation, the bamboo poles or the anahaw logs are cleared of sharp edges to
prevent damage to nets. When bamboo poles are used the diaphragm is removed to reduce
buoyancy by forcing an iron rod throughout the length of the pole to be submerged or by
boring holes at the internodes up to the length to be embedded into the mud and the length
to be submerged in water.
 For the anahaw logs, a triangular anchor made of bamboo is fastened near the end of the
logs to prevent it from floating after being driven into the lake bed.
 At the start of the framework construction, guide poles are placed using the corners of the
proposed plan. This serve as the starting point. Another of guide poles are staked at about
25 to 100 m part which are aligned from the corners.

Page | 42
  A rope will then be used to align the poles to be installed between each of the guide poles.
After the area has been closed by vertical poles, horizontal members will then be reaching by
waves. These prevent added stress to the framework. Likewise, bracing will also be installed
to prevent mis-alignment. This process is repeated until the framework is completed or
closed.
 Square – Area = S2 Perimeter = 4S
1. Example: Side = 100 m Area = (100m)2 = 10,000 m2 = 1 hectare
Perimeter = 4 x (100 m) = 400 m of fence (banatan) needed to enclose pen
Thus for a square fishpond with area of 1 hectare, 400 m/hectare of fence is used
(10,000 m2/400 m of fence).
2. Example: Side = 200 m Area = (200m)2 = 40,000 m2 = 4 hectares
Perimeter = 4 x (200 m) = 800 m of fence (banatan) needed to enclose pen
Thus for a square fishpond with area of 4 hectares, 200 m/hectare of fence is
used (40,000 m2/800 m of fence).
Note: If the shape of an area remains the same, you can enclose 4 times the area
with only 2 times the amount of fence. For example, for 1 hectare you need 400
m of fence but for a square with an area 4x greater than that (4 ha) you only
need 2x amount of fence (800 m). Thus, more cost efficient to construct bigger
pens.
 Rectangular – Area = L x W Perimeter = 2L + 2W
1. Example: Length = 200 m, Width = 50 m Area = 200 m x 50 m = 10,000 m 2 = 1
hectare
Perimeter = 2(200 m) + 2 (50 m) = 500 m of fence (banatan) needed to enclose
pen.
Note: A square is the most efficient 4 sided figure. For the same amount of area
(1 hectare), a rectangular pen needs more fence.
 Preparation of Net enclosure Assembly
 Net fabrication will be based on the physical data of the proposed site. i.e., area, depth of
water and mud, highest water level or flood levels and characteristics of species to be
cultured. The perimeter of the pen must be known before the nets are cut and assembled
according to specifications.
 Barrier net is an outside enclosure provided with strong framework and large- meshed
netting materials (the commonly used nets are 3 knots and 7 knots polypropylene knotted
nets). It is used to protect the inner main pen from strong waves and floating debris. The net
does not extend to the bottom but only at mid-depth of the water column.
 The main fishpond module contains the nursery and grow-out components. The bottom of
the netting is embedded at least 1m into the mud with appropriate anchoring materials. The
upper side is raised 1 m above the water level with a line of floats to keep the net upright in
case of accidental detachment from the posts.
 The length of the nets needed is determined by multiplying the total perimeter of the pen by
1.3. This is the ideal allowance for net pen and cage. It gives equal stretching to the four
sides of the mesh.
Example: perimeter pen = 400 m. Therefore, the length of perimeter net required = 400 x 1.3
= 520 m

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Cage construction
o Components of a floating cage:
1. Cage bag – part of the cage that holds the fish and prevents the entry of predators. As long as the
net can prevent the escape of fish, large mesh are recommended since they provide large
passageway for water circulation, easier to handle, slow rate fouling and less expensive. Small-sized
circular cages, pens and tanks are for fish that swim incessantly around, while small square and
rectangular units are for slow-moving fish or those fish which do not move around incessantly. Two
classifications of materials used for the cage bag:
 Flexible netting materials composed of the following:
a. natural fibers, e.g. cotton nets
b. synthetic fibers (man-made or artificial), e.g. nylon, polyethylene net (PE). Nylon
and polyethylene nets are the most common kind being used because they are
strong and light, cheap, and can be treated with anti-fouling chemicals.
 Rigid and semi-rigid materials (or in short rigid meshes), e.g. extruded plastics, galvanized
steel, and plastic-coated steel. Cages made of rigid mesh materials are called rigid cages.
 Determining knot size (K). Knot size is the number of knots counted for a distance of 6
inches of a stretched net. Example: What is the mesh size of a 7K net?
6"
𝑀𝑒𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠) = 𝑥2
𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑠−1
6"
𝑀𝑒𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠) = 𝑥2
7−1
Mesh size = 2”
 For nursery of Tilapia, 25K to 40K knotless nylon is used. Then K decreases as it reaches
market size 17K  12K  10K  8K. Square mesh is preferred than diamond mesh.

 Estimation of Net Materials Needed:

Problem: How many rolls of needed for 10 units of cages with dimensions of 8 m
(width) x 12 m (length) x 3 m (depth) using PE Net (#14 Single Width) with net width of
3m. Note 1 roll = 90 m.
Formula: Total length of net needed per cage = Length of sides + Cage flooring + cover
1. Length of sides = Perimeter of rectangle = 2L + 2W
2. Cage flooring = No of net column x cage length
No. of net column = Cage width
3
3. Cage cover = cage flooring
Solution:
1. Length of sides = Perimeter of rectangle = 2L + 2W = 2(12 m) + 2 (8 m) = 40 m
2. No. of net column = Cage width = 8 m / 3 = 2.66 ~ 3
3
Cage flooring = No of net column x cage length = 3 x 12 m = 36 m
3. Cage cover = cage flooring = 36 m
Total length of net needed per cage = Length of sides + Cage flooring + cover
= 40 m + 36 m + 36 m = 112 m
Total length of net needed for 10 cages = 112 m x 10 = 1,120 m
No of rolls needed ( 1roll =90 m) = 1,120 m/ 90 m = 13 rolls
2. Frames/ Framework - is used to suspend the net cages or cage bags in the water and to provide
sufficient weight to maintain stability of the net cages against tidal waves, currents, or monsoon
winds. Frame could be bamboo, lumber, metal or synthetic material. To protect from rapid

Page | 44
 deterioration due to corrosion and fouling, protective coating such as coal tar and epoxy paint
should be applied to their surfaces. Framework designs:
 Single-braced
 Double-braced: inner frame holds the enclosing net for the fish and outer framework holds
the barricade net which would prevent flotsams (floating debris) and other debris from
damaging the net enclosures which contains the fish
3. Collar and supports - (these are floatation materials), e.g. rectangular styrofoam, foam-filled drums,
foam-filled tubing, air-filled drums, full length bamboos or any material with high buoyancy,
resistant to fouling and could withstand water pressure, forces of wind and waves.
4. Mooring systems – maintains the cage in position and prevents towing of cages by water current.
The number of mooring points, the material chosen for anchor and lines and how they are
attached to the frame are important factors in structural durability.
 Anchor lines – should be light and strong, flexible, highly resistant to fatigue, impact,
abrasion, stretch and twisting. Length should be 3x the depth of water. Rope made of
synthetic fibers, metallic wire, ropes and chains are commonly used for mooring lines.
a. Metallic wire ropes have excellent strength but have the disadvantage of being too
heavy and costly.
b. Synthetic fiber ropes are light flexible and also have excellent strength but are
relatively less resistant to abrasion and cuts. Materials commonly used in the
fabrication of synthetic fiber ropes are nylon (polyamide), Dacron (polyester),
polypropylene, and polyethylene
 Nylon is recommended for the high strength and high shock absorption
requirements.
 Dacron is not suitable for shock absorption but is recommended for conditions
demanding high strength combined with low and long term stretch.
 Polypropylene is appropriate where strength and long term stretch are not
critical and rope floatability is desired.
 Anchor weights/sinkers are materials used to hold the cage/s in place. These are may be iron
anchor, concrete blocks, bags of sand or pebbles, iron rod, or wooden peg. Types of anchor:
a. Deadweight anchors are recommended for mooring involving essentially vertical
tension. A typical example of this type is concrete block.
b. Embedment anchors are designed to dig into the bottom as they are being pulled by a
horizontal force. It is recommended for sandy and muddy bottom.
c. Special anchors are combinations of deadweight and embedment anchors. They are
designed to resist vertical and horizontal components of tension.
 Mooring system (with chain)
Chain
10 ft
Polypropylene rope
Mooring block 27 m
1-1.5 tons

 Mooring system (plain rope) Polyester rope

10 m HDPE +
galvanized
iron cage

Mooring block
Polypropylene rope
1-1.5 tons
30 m
4 blocks per cage

Page | 45
o Technological prerequisites:
1. Availability of seeds from the wild but preferably from hatchery
2. Availability of fairly efficient formulated feeds for culture, a feeding program, and feed
delivery system
3. Existence of sustainable methods to produce the fish at low costs and lower market value
4. Availability of disease monitoring, diagnostics and treatment technology
5. Acceptance by a number of markets, local and export
o Preparatory activities before actual sea cage operation
1. Site selection
2. Securing permits and licenses – permit from LGU covering the area, environmental control
certificate (EMB-DENR)
3. Training of manpower for the sea cage operations
4. Installation of mooring facilities – orientation of cages should be PERPENDICULAR to prevailing
winds
5. Continuing environmental monitoring of sea cage operation site
6. Preparation and acquisition of required service equipment
7. The business plan
8. Product specifications and markets
o Activities during sea cage culture
1. Sourcing and purchasing of seeds – move continuously along wall of the basin, swim
vigorously against the current, react quickly when container is tapped
2. Transporting of seeds
3. Seeding – stocking is usually done in the morning or late aftermoon
4. Feeding – feeds constitute the biggest bulk of production cost (>60%) – extruded/ floating
feeds
5. Growth monitoring – sampling every 15 or 30 days
6. Grading of stocks – splitting (biyak) done 3 months after stocking
7. Net Changing and maintenance - Nets should be changed as needed to a net of bigger mesh
size to allow efficient passing of water through the cage. However make sure that mesh size is
smaller than the smallest of the stock fish to prevent escaping.
 Classification of fouling organisms found in cages:
 Algae fouling – cyanophytes, rhodophytes, chlorophytes
 Animal fouling – mollusks, annelids
 Effects of fouling organsims:
 Block the net meshes cutting the flow of water
 Reduce the rate of DO supply
 Restrict the outflow of waste metabolites in the net cage/ pen which adversely
affect the fish
 Affect routine handling and floatation mechanics of the cage
 Reservoirs of infectious diseases
 Factors that contribute to fouling
 Temperature – high temp, more fouling
 Nutrient status of site – high nutrients, more fouling
 Low current velocity – low current, more fouling
 Depth of water – must not be more than 8 m for fixed cages and pens and not
less than 3 m for floating cages
 Surface current – exceeding 1 m/s is not recommended.
 Example of net change scheme:

Page | 46
 Fingerlings (grams) Net mesh size (K) Schedule
13-15 22 weekly
15 up 17 weekly
50-150 14 after 15 days
150-250 12 after 15 days
250-350 10 after 20 days
350 up 8 after 20 days

8. Harvesting – after every harvest, nets should be cleaned and dried to get rid of the algae
growth on the net. Scrubbing the net or the use of high powered gun is commonly used.
9. Marketing
o Determination of Size, Depth and Shape
1. The dimension of the cage/pen is dependent mainly on the manageability of the owner as far as
operation and maintenance is concerned. The physical and biological traits of the fish must also
be considered. Large enclosures would require high investment and large number of people
during harvest.
2. The depth of the cage is usually determined by the natural productivity of the water. Since
natural food production are relatively higher in the surface, seldom do floating cages have
depth exceeding 5.0 meters. The depth or height of fish pen depends on the physical data of
the site, i.e., the depth of water and mud, data on highest water level or flood level, and the
characteristics of fish to be cultured.
3. The shape of the enclosure is influenced by the characteristics of the cultured fish. For milkfish
in open water, circular shape is best; for tilapia square. Circular enclosures are recommended
for bighead carp. Generally, the most economical shape of cage/pen is one that has least
perimeter. Circular shape require the least materials per unit area but relatively hard to
construct. Circular cages have frames resistant to water current and wind since there are no
corner connections. However, it cannot be subdivided into smaller compartments
Pond construction
o A fishpond is properly designed when the arrangement of the pond compartments, water control
structures and all other facilities mutually harmonize each other giving the most efficient water
management and manipulation of stock.
o A general rule is to MINIMIZE the number of gates, dikes and canals to lessen the expenses for earth
work and maintenance.
o Tools and equipment needed:
 For maintenance and repairs
1. bolo, ax, chain saw – for cutting trees.
2. carpentry tools – for use in the construction of laborers’ hut, farm house, pond gates, and
others.
3. digging blades – for excavating blocks of soil.
4. shovels – for excavating blocks of soil and for mixing concreting materials manually.
5. wheel barrow – for hauling soils and some light supplies and materials.
6. bamboo raft or non-motorized banca – for hauling excavated soils into the dumping area.
7. Wooden mallet or tamping device – used to compact soil blocks on top and sides of dikes,
manually raised and made to fall against the dike surface repeatedly
 Heavy equipment – for mechanical construction
1. dozer crawlers or scrapers – for excavating and leveling of pond surfaces.
2. backhoe or hydraulic excavator – for excavating soil.

Page | 47
 3. pay loader – for loading truck carriers with excavated and/or scraped soils.
4. pay hauler or dump truck – for hauling soils from the excavation site to the dumping site.
5. concrete mixer – for use in mixing concreting materials.
 Nets and traps
1. Fingerling seine – used for catching milkfish fingerlings and shrimp juveniles
2. Fingerling suspension net – used to hold fingerlings during counting or before transport
3. Gill net seine – dragged over the pond from one end to the other. The fish are gilled on
the net but some jump over while small ones pass through the net meshes so that this
net is usually used for partial harvesting
4. Screens on water control structures – fine meshed net or Manila hemp cloth as screens
on frames on gates. For pipes: a fitting bamboo basket is used/ meshed net bag to screen
off unwanted organisms
5. Bag nets on gates – constructed so that their openings could fit wooden frame for
screens on gates for harvesting. With the force of the current, the shrimp from the ponds
are led into the bag net where they are collected
6. Cast net – for small scale individual catching or sampling to monitor growth or for partial
harvesting
 For monitoring and maintenance of water quality
1. Portable water pump – to effect water movement when tide condition is not conducive
2. Paddle wheels – remedy critical oxygen condition.
3. Analysis kits
 Other facilities
1. Chilling/ chamber box – during harvest, filled with clean water and crushed ice
2. Fertilizer platforms – where sacks of inorganic fertilizer are placed so that nutrient
substances dissolve slowly into the water instead of chemically reacting with pond soil
3. Devices to exclude predators and pests – crab hooks, eel hooks, scaring devices
o Activities during pond construction:
 Earthwork
1. Site clearing – sequence of clearing is to start in places where the main dike and main
gate are to be located or constructed. Full scale clearing continues as the construction of
main dike and main gate proceeds. Clearing the site of vegetation can be accomplished
by any or a combination of the following methods:
a. Underbrushing – cutting of vegetation including nipa trees and shrubs of less than
10 cm in diameter with the use of bolo.
b. Falling – cutting down big trees left after underbrushing by manual or mechanical
means or both. A chainsaw is effective in falling trees and in cutting logs.
c. Uprooting of stumps – removal of tree stumps and root system by manual labor or
by the use of small machines, like winch and pulley block run by an engine. Stumps
are short trunks left after cutting big trees.
2. Top soil stripping
 Construction of dikes – done by arranging soil blocks properly in between driven bamboo or
mangrove piles as reinforcement
1. Staking of center lines and templates of dikes
2. Preparation of dike foundation (puddle trench)
3. Construction of dikes – blocks of soil excavated far from the piling site will be transported
by any or a combination of the following: rafts or flatboats, line system, and/or sliding
system.

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 * In the line system, workers form a single line and position at 1 – 2 m apart and then
relay the excavated block of soil to each man until it reaches the piler.
* In the sliding system, the worker throws the block of soil on the board letting it to slide
down to the base of dike for piling. This system is applied when the source of blocks is
close to the piling site.
4. Excavation of pits in preparation for the construction of gates
5. Levelling of pond bottom – one reason for low pond productivity is due to rough or
poorly levelled pond bottom
 Construction and installation of gates
1. Allow buffer/ salvage zone: 100 m from sea to the main peripheral dike or 20 m along the
river bank
2. Measure area of the proposed gate. Give a space allowance of about 1-2 m from all sides
of the gates for easy movement of workers as the markers are placed.
3. Provide adequate gate foundation – bamboo and gravel
4. Construct the form for the flooring of gate – adequate reinforcement using vertical and
horizontal steel bars. Flooring of the main gate should be at least 30 cm lower than that
of the inside water supply canal (WSC) and the flooring of the latter should be at least 15
cm below those of the secondary gates.
5. Pour concrete mix (cement, sand and gravel). Allow to harden then cure the concrete by
sprinkling freshwater on it every day for 2 weeks. If gate is made of wood, it should be
treated with coal tar for durability.
Note: The main gate is constructed ahead of the main or perimeter dike to allow time for
curing of concrete and have it used while the main dike is being completed.
 Excavation and concreting of water supply canal – constructed following the same procedures
as in dike construction. The bottom is, however, excavated deeper than the pond bottom and
secondary gates of the canal is purposely designer for filling and draining the fishpond.
 Construction and installation of outlets from supply canal to ponds
 Construction of flumes (optional)
 Construction of dike protection (optional)

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 Chapter 4. Preparation of culture units

 The objective of pond preparation is to provide a grow-out environment with optimal environmental
conditions, free of diseases and their vectors, without predators and competitors, as stress-free as
possible, and with ample supply of adequate food organisms.
 Pond preparation provides a mechanism to control the pond bottom environment and minimize animal
stress, and promote desirable natural primary productivity. Steps:

Section 1. Preparing the pond bottom – steps done after soil sampling
A. Draining
 Open all water inlet/outlet gates, quickly drain the pond as completely as possible and flush
vigorously the internal drain canals to resuspend and flush out as much as accumulated sludge
as you can. This should be done before the sludge dries out and solidifies.
 Heavy chains and rakes are dragged along, or people can walk along the internal canals to
resuspend sludge material.
 During rainy season it is not possible to dry pond bottoms due to defective design and
construction. The only action feasible during wet season is to physically remove as much
sludge as possible.
 Sludge removal is critical, because if left undisturbed, it will become anaerobic, reduced
sediment which will generate toxic metabolites such as methane, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia,
nitrite, ferrous iron and others, negatively affecting water quality and production during the
next production cycle.
 This is very important when culturing burrowing species such as L. vannamei, which burrows
periodically over the diet cycle and after molting. A molting animal burrowed in anaerobic
sediments will be much more susceptible to a variety of lesions and infections, and the stress
will reduce appetite and hence growth and production
 Low areas with standing water should be drained by pumping, or digging drainage ditches, if
possible. It is important to note that this drainage method should not be used if drainage
canals discharge directly into open water. It is designed for production areas with
sedimentation ponds and discharge canals that meander through coastal land, allowing
sediment and organic matter to settle out before entering the coastal water.
 Application of nitrates when pond bottom cannot be completely dried out – sodium nitrate
oxidize soil and aid decomposition of organic matter
B. Drying – dry the pond for about 3-5 days until the bottom soil hardens and cracks. The pond’s
surface should be cracked to a minimum of two inches (5 cm) during this process, to oxidize the
soil, eliminating anaerobic conditions. The drying out period is sufficient by the appearance of
cracks or by the ability of the pond soil to support a man’s weigh without sinking.
 Mud layer is the “chemical laboratory” and “primary nutrient store” of the pond ecosystem.
The advantages of air drying and exposing the pond bottom to atmospheric oxygen and
sunlight prior to fertilization include:
1. Elimination of fish or shrimp predators, parasites and their eggs and unwanted aquatic
macrophytes
2. Removing excess mud or silt deposits from the pond bottom
3. Oxidation and removal of obnoxious gases (e.g. hydrogen sulfide, H2S) resulting from
organic matter decomposition;

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 o Rate decomposition is greatest at a soil pH of 7.5-8.5, so in acidic pond soils many
farmers add lime products to enhance soil pH and hence increase organic matter
decomposition
4. Improvement in soil texture and primary nutrient availability for future phytoplankton
production by facilitating the breakdown and decomposition of organic matter through
oxidation with subsequent mineralization of the surface mud layer
5. Reduced mud sediment demand for oxygen once the pond is filled with water
6. A well aerated and partially oxidized soil, makes the bottom better suited for
colonization by desired benthic food organisms
7. Kills disease-causing microorganisms
 Drying is not recommended when:
1. When ponds are infested with burrowing Callianassidae shrimp, as this will cause these
animals to burrow even deeper.
2. For coastal and river plain soils such as “cat’s clay” and “mine overburn” which contain
pyrtite and other sulphur containing minerals. Upon exposure to air, these minerals
oxidize to form sulphuric acid and iron sulfate compounds (jarosite) which are toxic
C. Tilling/ Cultivating the pond bottom – done with the use of plow or rake (for small ponds) to a
depth of 10-20 cm (optional step depending on condition of bottoms). Alternate cycles of tilling
and flushing are commonly used to reduce the iron content in acid sulfate soil. It is also common to
incorporate a nitrogen source such as urea into the soil before tilling, with the objective of
increasing the rate of organic matter decomposition.
 Purpose of tilling/ cultivating:
1. to make the subsurface nutrients available at the surface for the growth of natural
fishfood;
2. to eradicate the burrowing fish enemies
3. to eliminate and destroy the pond weeds
4. tilling the surface soil ensures complete oxidation of lower layers of anaerobic mud
5. For shrimp: since they forage and spend most of their time on the bottom, it is
necessary to remove, or dry out excess black (sulfuric) mud, debris, and organic
compounds that accumulate in the surface of the soil where it interferes with the
water. Certain viruses and pathogenic bacteria can be harbored in the mud.
D. Levelling the pond bottom – done to make the pond bottom surface level and sloping toward the
gate for ease of draining and drying
E. Disinfection - eradicate all stages (eggs, larvae, juveniles and adults) of species of fish, crustaceans,
insects and other predatory and competitor species. Inadequate disinfection of ponds will affect
considerably the yield of a pond.
 Competitors - pests in pond culture systems can cause production losses through competition
for food and space with cultured species. Some of these pests can also cause damage to the
dikes and other structures of the ponds:
1. In brackishwater ponds, undesirable fish species like tilapia and gobies compete with the
cultured species. These competitors gain access in ponds during their early life history
with the incoming water.
2. Snails, particularly belonging to family Cerithidae, are serious competitors of herbivorous
fish because of their grazing on the algal food in the pond and they disturb the pond
sediments causing the slow the growth of benthic algae.
3. Polychaete worms burrow on the pond bottom making the soil porous which hinders the
growth of benthic algae and decreases the water holding capacity of ponds.

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 4. Burrowing shrimps (Thalassina) and crabs (Scylla) burrow in dikes causing leaks in ponds.
Thalassina is easily detected by occurrence of high mounds at the entrance of their holes.
5. Fouling organisms like barnacles, mussels and oysters attach to gates and screens
hindering flow of water in ponds.
6. Wood-boring organisms (Teredo) attach and eventually destroy wooden gates and other
wooden structures in ponds.
 Predators - piscivorous fish, reptiles, birds and mammals greatly reduce yields in aquaculture
systems:
1. In brackishwater ponds, the most common species of predatory fish are Elops
hawaiiensis, Megalopa cyprinoides and Epinephalus sp.
2. Sea snakes cause substantial losses of juvenile fish in fishponds.
3. Several bird species like pelicans, herons, cormorants and kingfishers are the most
destructive predators of pond-cultured fish.
4. Otters (Lutra), found in temperate areas, are predatory mammals that can greatly
reduce fish stocks.
5. Poaching by man is also a major cause of losses in aquaculture.
 Entry of unwanted predatory species and competitors in ponds can be prevented by proper
screening of gates and by draining and drying of the pond bottom. Predatory birds are
discouraging from entering the pond through the use of scare devices and eliminated using
traps or by shooting them. Attachment of wood-boring mollusks and crustaceans are
minimized by thick coating of preservative paints in wooden structures and by regular cleaning
and drying. Burrowing crustaceans and aquatic snakes are eliminated through the use of
trapping devices.
 Many products are commonly used to disinfect ponds before stocking shrimp. In general, the
use of pesticides (particularly chlorinated hydrocarbons and organophosphates such as
Baylucscide and Endrin) is not recommended, because of their slow biodegradation, and
potential to accumulate in sediments and bioaccumulate in the food web. Alternatives to
these are:
1. Tobacco dust – nicotine active compound
2. Mixture of hydrated lime and ammonium sulfate fertilizer (21-0-0) in a ratio of 5:1 –
releases heat and ammonia which kills unwanted organisms
3. Derris root – 5% to 8% rotenone as active compound
4. Teaseed (Camellia dripisera) cake – 10% to 13% saponin active compound
 Uncontrolled growth of aquatic weeds also affects adversely aquaculture operation.
Macrophytes growing in ponds restrict the movement of fish and other cultured species,
prevent light penetration which reduces pond productivity, and use up nutrients rendering
them unavailable for growing algal food. Examples of aquatic weeds are:
1. Floating weeds e.g. Eichhornia – with leaves above the water surface and roots
under the water
2. Emergent weeds e.g. Nymphaea – rooted in the bottom but have some parts
above the water
3. Submerged weeds e.g. Hydrilla – completely under water
4. Marginal weeds e.g. Typha – fringe the shore line of the water body.
 Aquatic weeds can be removed by manual and mechanical methods e.g. weed cutters. Weed
control can also be done through chemical methods using herbicides. However, most herbicides
are also lethal to the cultured organisms. Herbicides can also reduce pond productivity due to
its residual effects in the water and the pond bottom. Biological control using herbivorous fish
is recommended because of its low cost with less environmental impact. Several species of fish

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 have been used to control growth of aquatic weeds like grass carps, certain species of tilapias
and tawes (Pontius javanicus)

Section 2. Soil conditioning

 A process of bringing the soil from its undesirable/bad state to normal or suitable and desirable state
(pH of 6.5 – 7.5) with the use of neutralizing or buffering material such as lime or acid-forming
fertilizer (alum or gypsum). Generally, it is advisable to maintain total alkalinity and total hardness
between 20 – 200 mg/L CaCO3.
 Use lime when the soil or water is acidic.
 Use acid-forming fertilizer, alum, or gypsum, when soil or water is excessively high in pH or highly
alkaline:
o Alum (Al2(SO4)3 · 14H2O) hydrolyzes to release hydrogen ions.
o Gypsum (CaSO4 · 2H2O) increases calcium hardness resulting in the precipitation of CaCO 3. Also
helps to clear water turbidity caused by mud that is washed into the pond by rains.
Unit 1. Liming
A. Application of lime in pond soil or water for the following purposes:
o It raises the pH and alkalinity of acid waters, to desirable levels, establishing an alkaline reserve
or pH buffering system
o It increases the availability of Carbon for photosynthesis. Also by making CO2 available to
photosynthesis, it reduces the potential of oxygen depletion
o It raises the pH of the mud bottom to desirable levels and consequently reduces the capacity of
the mud to absorb plant nutrients such as inorganic phosphates, thus increasing their
bioavailability to pond food organisms
o It creates a more favourable environment for microbial growth and accelerates the
decomposition and mineralization of organic matter within the sediment
o It serves as a direct source of soluble Calcium for pond food organisms
o It assists in the clarification of turbid waters by facilitating the flocculation and precipitation of
organic clay/ colloids in suspension (including humic acids) thereby improving light penetration
for photosynthesis
o It serves as a pond disinfectant by killing fish parasites and their intermediate hosts, animal
competitors and unwanted green plants.
B. What is lime? A material or substance derived from limestones and shells, like oyster shells, which
contain mainly of calcium carbonates (CaCO3).
1. pulverized limestone (agricultural lime) – CaCO3
2. dolomite lime (also pulverized lime or agricultural lime) – CaCO3 + MgCO3
 These two are prepared by crushing limestones to particle sizes of 10 mesh (1.70 mm
diameter) to 60 mesh (fine with <0.24 mm diameter) with rock crusher. Particle sizes
which pass a 60-mesh screen have a fitness value of 100% which means fastest to
dissolve.
 It has a neutralizing value of 100% CaCO3.
 It is relatively slow acting but of low cost.
 It is used mainly for neutralizing acidity and increasing pH as well as for precipitating
suspended clay and silt particles and excess dissolved organic material.
3. burnt limestone (quick lime or unslaked lime) – CaO is prepared by heating limestone in a
furnace or in a very high degree of temperature between 500°C - 600°C : CaCO3  CaO+ CO2
 It has a neutralizing value of 173 – 179% CaCO3.
 It is the fastest acting lime.

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 It is used for neutralizing acidity, increasing pH, precipitating excess dissolved organic
material and suspended clay and silt soils, killing pests and parasites, and curing
diseases.
It is caustic and can damage eyes and skin. So caution in handling.
4. hydrated lime (slaked lime) – Ca(OH)2 is prepared by treating burnt lime with water : CaO+ H2O
 Ca(OH)2
 It has a neutralizing value of 135 – 136% CaCO3.
 It is also fast acting but next only to burnt lime.
 It is used for neutralizing acidity, increasing pH, precipitating excess dissolved organic
material and suspended clay and silt soils, killing pests and parasites, and curing
diseases.
 It is caustic and can damage eyes and skin.
o Distinguishing one lime from the other: This is done by examining or analyzing the pH of a
slurry of 10-20 parts distilled water and 1 part liming material (10-20:1).
 pH of agricultural lime will not be more than pH 10.
 pH of burnt lime or hydrated lime will exceed pH 12.
o Decision on what kind of lime to be used must be strictly considered:
 Applying lime should foster greater rates of organic matter decomposition aside from
neutralizing acidity.
 Use of quicklime (CaO) or hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2) which have very high CaCO 3
efficiency may kill microbial organism, and decomposition will be temporarily stopped
or greatly retarded. Agricultural lime is, therefore, the best for the decomposition of
organic matter.
 Apply lime in the pond bottom surfaces and on tops and sidings of pond dikes to
neutralize the acidity and perhaps to kill the disease-causing organisms
C. Procedures of liming:
o Soil should be analyzed first for its condition whether acidic or alkaline and for its quality in
terms of nutrient and organic matter contents
o Lime shall be broadcast or spread all-over the drained but moist bottom
o Lime shall be thoroughly mixed with the soil to attain maximum efficiency
o Best time to apply lime is: seven days after rotenone application and seven days before
applying fertilizer
o Liming best works when lime is applied on a sunny day
o Do not dissolve lime in plastic bucket
D. Amount of lime needed depends on the following:
o The acidity of the water and soil and consequently varies from region to region and from pond
to pond.
o Heavy loam or clay soils require more liming than sandy soils and newly excavated ponds.
o Type of lime used, since the neutralizing capacities of these compounds are different.
o Ponds that do not respond to fertilization are more likely acidic since inorganic phosphate
present in fertilizers precipitate when pH is low.
o Acid sulfate soils or those ponds with plenty of decaying bakawan (Rhizophora) and nipa roots
require more lime.
o If pond bottom turn reddish after exposure to sunlight for more than 3 days or “Jarosite” seen
as yellow color of the soil are observed, the pond is acidic.

𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝐻−𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝐻
o 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 = 0.1 𝑥 𝑁𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 (𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙) 𝑥 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑 (ℎ𝑎)𝑥 0.5 𝑡𝑜𝑛/ℎ𝑎

Page | 54
 o Example: Current pH = 6.5, Desired pH = 6.8. How much needed for 1 ha of pond using a)
agricultural lime – neutralizing value 100% b) quicklime lime – neutralizing value 173% and c)
hydrated lime – neutralizing value 135%?
o Solution:
6.8−6.5 𝑡𝑜𝑛
a) 𝐴𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 = 𝑥 1 ℎ𝑎 𝑥 0.5 = 1.5 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑟 1,500 𝑘𝑔
0.1 𝑥 1 ℎ𝑎
6.8−6.5 𝑡𝑜𝑛
b) 𝑄𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 = 𝑥 1 ℎ𝑎 𝑥 0.5 = 0.867 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑟 867 𝑘𝑔
0.1 𝑥 1.73 ℎ𝑎
6.8−6.5 𝑡𝑜𝑛
c) 𝐻𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 = 𝑥 1 ℎ𝑎 𝑥 0.5 = 1.11 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑟 1,111 𝑘𝑔
0.1 𝑥 1.35 ℎ𝑎

Unit 2. Fertilization
 Refers to the addition of organic and/or inorganic fertilizers to soil or water to stimulate and maintain
growth of desirable phytoplankton and other kinds of algae for food of animal organisms including
fish. Liming  organic manure first  leave for 2 to 3 days (pond bottom must be moist at this step)
 apply inorganic fertilizer
 Augment the production of natural food organisms within a water body. All aquatic organisms rely on
the simultaneous operation of two interlinked food chains:
1. Light dependent “autotrophic” or organic matter SYTHESIZING food chain
 Relies on the fixation of solar energy by green plants during photosynthesis with the
production of new organic matter from CO2 and water and subsequent consumption
of these plant organisms by grazing animals. Includes:
a. Green plants – i.e. phytoplankton: principal autotrophs or primary producers
b. Non-photosynthetic anaerobic bacteria and blue green algae –
chemosynthetic autotrohps – able to synthesize organic matter from
inorganic carbon by using chemical energy derived from cellular oxidation of
inorganic substrates such as hydrogen sulphide, sulphur, nitrogen, divalent
iron and hydrogen
2. Heterotrophic or organic matter CONSUMING food chain
 Relies on microbiological degradation of non-living organic matter or detritus into the
new microbial biomass with the release of inorganic nutrients and CO 2; the new
microbial biomass (mainly bacteria) serving as feed source for protozoa, nematodes
and benthic animals and the released inorganic nutrients and CO2 in turn being
available for photosynthetic production by autotrophs

Detritus
Inorganic Microbial
and Food for fish
nutrient and biomass
Organic Microbial Used by
CO2 released increased
matter degradation Microbes
Used by Plankton
plants Photosynthesis biomass
increased

 The effectiveness of a pond fertilization program can be quickly determined by measuring the
turbidity (transparency) of the water body by means of a Secchi disk (based on the assumption that
the main source of turbidity within pond is the abundance of phytoplankton):
 Secchi disk visibility of 30 cm to achieve and maintain proper fertilization. Less than this
means excess of phytoplankton production.

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  If secchi disk is not available, the rule of thumb is to submerge one’s arm to the elbow; if one
is just able to see the ends of one’s fingers, the water should be productive enough.
A. Purpose of fertilization:
o Phosphate (P) is limiting in freshwater ponds. Nitrogen (N) is limiting in brackishwater ponds.
o Fertilization increases production of culture species by increasing biomass of phytoplankton and
subsequent links in the food chain
o Increased production of pond organisms through fertilization reduces the cost of supplemental
feeding
o A growing phytoplankton blooms helps remove nitrogenous wastes such as ammonia, other toxic
substances, and will tie up heavy metals
o A healthy phytoplankton blooms helps to enrich pond waters with dissolved oxygen
o A phytoplankton bloom produces turbidity that helps reduce bird predation of culture species
o Fertilization helps to control submerged aquatic weeds by encouraging growth of phytoplankton
bloom, that shades out rooted vegetation
o Fertilization may indirectly control mosquitoes by controlling weeds
B. Do not fertilize if:
o Ponds with excess outflow of water lose nutrients before they can be used. The detention time
of water in ponds should exceed 7 days for optimum used of nutrients. Intentional water
exchange flushes out nutrients and plankton from ponds and counteract fertilization.
o Ponds with acid soil bottoms may not respond to fertilization. In this case corrective liming
should be practiced before fertilization
o Ponds with very fertile watershed may not require fertilization.
o Ponds used to culture coldwater species, such as rainbow trout should probably not be fertilized,
except in certain instances to control weeds. Dense phytoplankton blooms caused by fertilization
will result in stratification of dissolved oxygen so that it is found only in surface waters.
o Ponds can be too fertile, whether from fertilization or from natural means.
o In ponds where both fertilization and feeding are practiced, water gradually accumulates
nutrients. Fertilization, therefore, becomes less important as feeding rates increase, and
eventually can be discontinued.
o Fertilization should cease when the cost is greater than the economic gain
C. Classes of fertilizers
1. Organic fertilizers - are fertilizers capable to be decomposed and which contain varying amounts
of nutrients. Applied mainly to stimulate the HETEROTROPHIC food chain of aquaculture ponds.
o Mechanism involved: Organic fertilizers act mainly through the heterotrophic food chain
by supplying organic matter and detritus to the pond system; the manure serving as
substrate for growth and bacteria and protozoa which in turn serve as a protein rich food
for other pond animals – whereas autotrophic production within fertilized ponds is
limited by available solar energy, heterotrophic production will depend upon the carbon
and nitrogen content of the added manure and its consequent susceptibility to microbial
decomposition.
o Examples:
1. animal manures, dung or droppings – from hog, cattle, poultry, and birds. Animal
manures are readily available, inexpensive nutrient packed resource containing 72-
79% N and 61-87% P originally fed to the animal.
 Nutrient composition of animal manure is highly variable (depending on the
diet of the animal, the age of species of the animal and the type and
proportion of bedding material present and handling and treatment of
manure prior usage)

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 2. green manures – from leaves of legumes, grasses, rice straw and rice bran.
3. compost plant and animal materials
4. night soil – human waste
o Efficacy of applying organic fertilizers depends on the following factors:
1. The Carbon to Nitrogen (C:N) ratio of the applied manure will determine the rate of
bacterial decomposition in water and hence the time lag between application and
increased heterotrophic pond productivity.
 as animal manures, green weeds, grass, oil seed
meals – more rapidly decomposed by bacteria than wastes with

 Ideal C:N ratio for bacterial growth is 20:1 – the smaller the particles of
organic matter, the faster will be the colonization and decomposition by
bacteria and protozoa
2. The stimulatory effect of an animal manure on natural pond productivity will be
determined to a large extent by its method of distribution and application (i.e.
quantity and frequency of application) to the pond. The better the distribution of
manure over the pond area, the better the fertilization effect achieved. Methods of
distribution:
 Carried out by the hand from the
shore or from a small boat (method in
small ponds)
 Soft manure is shoveled into a
basket of parallel iron rods, suspended 10-
20 cm below the water line attached to the
side of a boat and dispersed as the boat
moves and forces water into the basket
 The use of pump built into the
bottom of a boat; the manure is shoveled
into a hopper, diluted with pumped water
and sprayed out into the pond through a
flexible hose

3. Manures which produce fine colloidal particles are more rapidly colonized and
decomposed by bacteria and will be more effective than manures presented in
large lumps or heaps
4. There is a maximum amount of manure that a pond can aerobically digest per unit
area per unit time; the addition of manure above this maximum level lead to the
accumulation of organic matter on the pond bottom and the development of
undesirable anaerobic conditions.
5. To obviate the possible dangers of water deoxygenation within manure loaded and
eutrophic ponds (due to unchecked peaks in bacterial growth and phytoplankton
blooms), manures should be added as frequently as possible, at least daily, on a
little and often basis

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 6. Although oxygen demand of manure itself is not great if manure is evenly
distributed over pond surface it is recommended to apply manure to a pond during
mid-morning when oxygen levels are rising rapidly due to photosynthesis; this in
turn would minimize the oxygen demand caused by the bacterial breakdown of the
manure itself during critical pre-dawn hours.
7. Increase manuring rate as fish biomass or standing crop increases.

2. Inorganic fertilizers - are fertilizers that are not decomposed but rather dissolved in water. The
mineral composition of chemical fertilizers is expressed either as % of equivalent N, P2O5
(phosphoric acid) or K2O (potassium monoxide) = N-P-K
o Mechanism involved: act principally on the AUTOTROPHIC and grazing food chain by
directly stimulating phytoplankton production within the pond  indirectly augment the
production of the grazing phytoplankton and benthic food organisms
o Adult fish and shrimp species which can feed directly on autotrophs:
 Phytoplankton: Silver, Indian, Bighead carp, Tilapia
 Benthic algae: Milkfish, Tilapia, Mullet, rabbit fish, rohu, freshwater prawn,
penaieds
 Vascular aquatic plants: Grass carp, Tilapia, Rabbit fish
o Versus organic fertilizers: Chemical (inorganic) fertilizers have exact constituents, fast
effect and slight pollution, no consumption of DO in the water, small application amount
and convenient operation. However, it acts on the autotrophic components of the pond
which is then fed upon by zooplankton (not nutritionally nice as bacteria encouraged by
addition of organic fertilizers). Moreover in most ponds applied with chemical fertilizers,
the predominant species of phytoplankton are Chlorophyta, which is nutritionally worse
than predominant species in ponds applied with organic manure such as Chrysophyceae,
Bacillariophyceae and Cryptophycaea.
o Classification of inorganic fertilizers
1. Single element fertilizers – contain only one fertilizer element

2. Incomplete fertilizers – contain two fertilizer elements

o Granular
 Monoammonium phosphate 16-20-0
 Diammonium phosphate 18-46-0
o Liquid
 Ammonium polyphosphate 10-34-0 or 11-37-0
 Ammonium orthophosphate 13-38-0 or 9-32-0
3. Complete fertilizers – contain all three major nutrients
o NPK 14-14-14

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o Efficacy of applying inorganic fertilizers depends on the following factors:
1. Pond use
 Newly constructed ponds = high initial fertilizer application than ponds with a
history of fertilization and accumulated bottom sediments
 Not all ponds have to be fertilized. Large unfertilized ponds which are fished by
only a few people may produce excellent fishing. Heavily fished ponds should
generally be fertilized.
2. Natural soil fertility
 Sometimes less fertilizer is needed in ponds in watersheds where cattle are
grazing, due to nutrients from droppings.
 Ponds on fertile pasture soils – lower fertilization rates than infertile woodland
soils
 Rich alluvial soils with high organic matter content require lower fertilization
rates than infertile sandy loam soils for growth of lab-lab
3. Fertilizer solubility
 A fertilizer will only be effective if it is soluble. Nitrogen based fertilizers are very
soluble while phosphate fertilizers vary in solubility depending on particle size
and chemical composition
4. Application method
 Liquid fertilizer – because they are heavier than water, they must be diluted
with water or applied into turbulence so that they mix with pond water and
don’t sink to the bottom. Other methods of application:
o Drip it slowly into the water from the bow of a boat driven by an outboard
motor so that the wake of the boat and the action of the propeller will mix
fertilizer into the water before it has a chance to sink. It can also be applied
by pouring it directly into the turbulence caused by the outboard motor.
o Pour the liquid fertilizer into a wash tub, plastic trash can or similar container
placed in a boat. The liquid fertilizer is then diluted at 5:1 with pond water
and is siphoned or drained over the transom.
o Still another approach is to set up a vessel as described above at the pond's
edge. Dilute the fertilizer by mixing more than 10 parts of water with it and
slosh or splash the mixture onto the pond surface. A small pump can also be
used to dilute the fertilizer with water and then pump the solution out onto
the pond. This method is only appropriate for ponds smaller than 2 acres.
o Liquid fertilizer can be applied full strength using a garden sprayer. Direct
the spray onto the pond surface while walking around the pond. With some
sprayers the fertilizer must be diluted with water so that it will pass through
the small nozzle openings.
 Granular fertilizer - should be kept from direct contact with the pond mud,
because phosphorus in the fertilizer becomes trapped in the mud and becomes
unavailable to the algae. Phosphate fertilizers should either be dissolved first in
water or applied within: 1) perforated canisters, 2) suspended perforated sacks
and 3) underwater platforms that rely on gradual dissolution and distribution of
fertilizer by wave action and wave circulation. Example:
o Dissolve in a pail with water ⅓ to ½ of the total amount of fertilizer to be
applied. After which, the fertilizer in solution will be spread all over the
pond surface. The rest will be wrapped in cloth, then hang it on the stake/s
or be placed on a pre-installed platform in the pond for gradual dissolution

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 5. Excess water flow
 A large continuous flow of water through the emergency spillway or standpipe
will flush fertilizer from the pond. If the volume of water flowing out of the
pond during any month of spring or summer is more than the total pond
volume, fertilization is usually ineffective.
 Ponds which typically have strong flow-through after rain events or are a part of
a stream where water retention time is low- that is the pond has a lot of flow-
through- fertilization nor lime is not recommended.
 Change water only every after 13–14 days from previous date of fertilization to
avoid early loss of fertilizer nutrients.
6. Muddy water
 When muddy water reduces visibility to less than 12 inches, algae respond
poorly to fertilizer because the sunlight they need for growth is blocked.
Therefore, fertilizing muddy ponds is usually ineffective.
7. Pond weeds
 Do not fertilize weedy ponds--the fertilizer will only make the weeds grow
faster. Large population of aquatic macrophytes compete with phytoplankton
for available nutrients and sunlight
8. Liming
 Ponds with soft, acid water may not respond to fertilizer. If the water does not
turn green from plankton bloom development after 6 to 8 weeks of fertilization,
liming may be necessary.
 Acidic muds strongly adsorb inorganic phosphates in the fertilizer rendering
fertilization ineffective. Also pond food organisms do not grow well in acidic
environment or water with low base carbon and calcium concentrations.
 Agricultural limestone will increase water hardness and alkalinity and decrease
acidity, thereby increasing the effectiveness of fertilizers.
9. Water chemistry
 Alternatively, too high calcium carbonates (hard waters) and elevated pH result
in the precipitation of phosphate in applied fertilizers in the form of insoluble
calcium phosphate, rendering it unavailable to the primary autotrophs
 Thus, phosphate fertilizer application rates should be higher if water is hard or
pH is high.
10. Measuring algae density
 Because all ponds are not equally productive or responsive to fertilization,
intervals between fertilizer applications can best be determined by measuring
plankton density. This method may be more economical than strictly following
fixed intervals of a standard fertilization schedule.
11. Temperature and weather-related factors
 Do not apply it during heavy cloudy and/or rainy hours or days. Phytoplankton
and other desirable algae do not respond very well during these weather
condition.
 Apply it on a sunny day between 9 AM – 12 Noon for fast assimilation by plant
organisms.
o Determining available amount of nutrients present in given inorganic fertilizers
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 (𝑘𝑔) =
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑥 % 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑢𝑠𝑒 (𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)
Example:

Page | 60
 1. 50 kg 46-0-0 = 46%N, the rest filler (gypsum or lime)
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑁 (𝑘𝑔) = 50 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 0.46𝑁 = 23.0 𝑘𝑔 𝑁
Plus 27.0 kg filler
2. 50 kg 16-20-0 = 16%N, 20%P, the rest filler (gypsum or lime)
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑁 (𝑘𝑔) = 50 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 0.16𝑁 = 8 𝑘𝑔 𝑁
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑃 (𝑘𝑔) = 50 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 0.20𝑃 = 10 𝑘𝑔 𝑃
Plus 32.0 kg filler
3. 50 kg 14-14-14 = 14%N, 14%P, 14%K, the rest filler (gypsum or lime)
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑁 (𝑘𝑔) = 50 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 0.14𝑁 = 7 𝑘𝑔 𝑁
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃 (𝑘𝑔) = 50 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 0.14𝑃 = 7 𝑘𝑔 𝑃
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐾 (𝑘𝑔) = 50 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 0.14𝑁 = 7 𝑘𝑔 𝐾
Plus 29.0 kg filler
o Determining the required amounts of inorganic fertilizers with the required dosage:
𝑅𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔)
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔 ) =
% 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)
Example:
1. Recommended Dosage: 40-0-0 Available Fertilizer: 46-0-0
40 𝑘𝑔
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔) = = 86.96 𝑘𝑔 46 − 0 − 0
0.46 𝑁 𝑖𝑛 46−0−0
2. Recommended Dosage: 30-20-0 Available Fertilizer: 46-0-0, 16-20-0
20 𝑘𝑔
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔) = = 100 𝑘𝑔 16 − 20 − 0
0.20 𝑃 𝑖𝑛 16−20−0
 100 kg x 0.20 P = 20 kg N  P requirement satisfied
 100 kg x 0.16 N = 16 kg N  but 30 kg of N is needed so use 46-0-0 to get the
remaining 14 kg N
14 𝑘𝑔
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔) = = 30.43 𝑘𝑔 46 − 0 − 0
0.46 𝑁 𝑖𝑛 46−0−0
Summary: 100 kg 16-20-0
30.43 kg 46-0-0
3. Recommended Dosage: 25-10-4 Available Fertilizer: 46-0-0, 16-20-0, 14-14-14
4 𝑘𝑔
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔) = = 28.57 𝑘𝑔 16 − 20 − 0
0.14 𝐾 𝑖𝑛 14−14−14
 28.57 kg x 0.14 K = 4 kg K  K requirement satisfied
 28.57 kg x 0.14 P = 4 kg P  but 10 kg of P is needed so use 16-20-0 to get the
remaining 6 kg P
 28.57 kg x 0.14 N = 4 kg N  but 10 kg of P is needed so use 16-20-0 to get
the remaining 6 kg N
6 𝑘𝑔
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔) = = 30 𝑘𝑔 16 − 20 − 0
0.20 𝑃 𝑖𝑛 16−20−0
 28.57 kg x 0.14 K = 4 kg K  K requirement satisfied
 (28.57 kg x 0.14 P = 4 kg P from 14-14-14) + (30 kg x 0.20 P = 6 kg P from 16-
20-0) = 10 kg P  P requirement satisfied
 28.57 kg x 0.14 N = 4 kg N from 14-14-14) + (30 kg x 0.16 N = 4.8 kg N from 16-
20-0) = 8.8 kg N  but 25 kg of N is needed so use 46-0-0 to get the remaining
16.2 kg N
16.2 𝑘𝑔
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 (𝑘𝑔) = = 35.22 𝑘𝑔 46 − 0 − 0
0.46 𝑁 𝑖𝑛 46 − 0 − 0
Summary: 28.57 kg 14-14-14
30.00 kg 16-20-0
35.22 kg 46-0-0

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 o Determining the amount of fertilizer to be used given land area
The standard amount or rate of fertilizer application is 50 kg/ha of 16-20-0. How much
amount of the same fertilizer is needed if the area to be fertilized is only 3500 m 2 (convert
to ha first, 1 ha = 10,000 m2?
1 ℎ𝑎 2
10,000 𝑚 2 𝑥 3500 𝑚 = 0.35 ha
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑥 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟
= 0.35 ha x 50 kg/ha = 17.5 kg 16-20-0
o Determining the amount of fertilizer to be used when required dosage is in ppm (Note 1
ppm = 1 g/m3)
How much amount of 16-20-0 will be needed in a one-hectare (10,000 m2) pond having a
water depth of 1 meter and requiring a treatment or dosage of 5 ppm (1 ppm = 1 g/m3)?
To be fertilized volume: 10,000 m2 x 1 m (water depth) = 10,000 m3
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑥 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟
= 10,000 m3 x 5 g/m3 = 50,000 g or 50 kg 16-20-0
o Determining equivalence of amount of inorganic to organic fertilizer
If one hectare pond would require 50 kg of inorganic fertilizer having a phosphorous
content of 20%, how many kg of organic fertilizer containing 0.41% phosphorous would
be needed as equivalence of the former fertilizer in terms of phosphorous content?
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑥 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟
50 kg = 1 ha x Dosage of fertilizer
Dosage of fertilizer = 50 kg/ ha
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃 (𝑘𝑔) =
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑥 % 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑢𝑠𝑒 (𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃(𝑘𝑔) = 50 kg x 0.2 P = 10 kg P for inorganic fertilizer
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃(𝑘𝑔) = 50 kg x 0.0041 P = 2400 kg of animal manure

Section 3. Water filling and installation of net substrate to increase food production and provide additional
feeding area for the fish
 Net substrate is made of nylon netting (0.5 mm mesh) which is cut into strips measuring 30 cm
wide with length depending on the size of the pond
 Net strips are seeded with natural food organisms by dipping in lablab, mud and water mixture
and air dried for 5 days
 The net substrates are installed perpendicular to the sluice gate and the lower edges are set
about 5 cm from pond bottom to allow free movement of the fish

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 Chapter 5. Activities during culture

Section 1. Stock management

Aquatic plants and animals hold greater potential than terrestrial plants/ animals for the following
reasons:
1. Body temperature about the same as environment (ectothermic) – since the body temperature of
aquatic animals is near that of their environment, energy normally required to regulate body
temperature can be directed towards growth
2. Body density similar to the environment – energy used to overcome gravity can be used for
growth
3. Reduced energy required for getting food – some fish like plankton feeders have reduced energy
consumption needed for finding food since food is found suspended in the water column
4. Efficient conversion – since hey use less energy to regulate body temperature, density and search
for food, the fish can converts food to flesh more efficiently
5. Rapid growth – some species of fish, especially those that eat phytoplankton can grow very fast
6. Live in multidimensional environment – different species inhabit various space and positions
within the same environmental area
Unit 1. Stock selection
1. Growth performance
 Fast growth
 Can be grown to marketable size in short time
 The size and age at first maturity; should reach marketable size before first maturation so
that most of the feed and energy are used for growth
2. Reproductive habits
 The ability to reproduce easily, especially in confinement, is a primary requirement.
 For a successful culture, a stable supply of seed (young) must be available.
 Also, the reproductive process of the species must be understood and genetic selection and
improvement must be possible.
 Reproduction should produce large quantities and occur frequently (High spawning
frequency and fecundity).
 Eggs and larvae need to be large, hardy and easy to culture.
 Shorter incubation period and larval cycle often contribute to lower mortality of larvae and
greater survival in hatcheries
3. Egg and larvae requirements
 After reproductive ability, the next factor to consider when selecting an aquatic species to
culture is nutritional needs and feeding habits.
 For feeding habits, a species can be selected low on the food chain or high on the food chain.
 An aquaculture species low on the food chain consumes low cost feed or low cost vegetable
matter or by indirectly consuming primary foods within the pond.
4. Nutritional needs and feeding habits
 Aquatic animals, like terrestrial animals, require protein, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins
and minerals.
 Unlike terrestrial animals, some of the nutritional needs are met directly from the aquatic
environment.
 Research on the optimal amounts and forms for each species continues.
 The more completely nutritional needs are understood, the more efficiently other aquatic
animals can be produced.

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  Ability to accept artificial diet.
5. Polyculture possibilities
 Selecting polyculture as a criterion for determining which species to produce depends on the
type of production system.
 For an intensive culture system, such as trout or catfish production, growth rate could be
more a concern than the efficiency in use of water space and nutrients.
 Polyculture increases the total aquatic production in a volume of water by using species that
occupy different dimensions of the water and feed on different feedstuffs.
6. Adaptability to crowding
 Aquaculture required species that are used to crowding.
 Crowding increases productivity of a space while increasing management for space.
 Aquatic species selected for culture exhibit adaptability to withstand crowding.
7. Disease resistant
 Species vary widely in their ability to resist disease.
 Aquaculturists select species for disease resistance based on the conditions at their
production site.
8. Market demand
 Production of an aqua crop can be successful and efficient, but without a market, production
efforts are wasted.
 A market for a product consists of;
1. Desire by consumers
2. Price consumers can afford
3. Prepared, easy to use forms of the product
4. Storage to reach consumers
5. Desired flavour
 Ideal organisms to be cultured in pens depending on salinity:
1. Freshwater
a. Habitats with high natural productivity (lakes, oxbow lakes, reservoirs, rivers, swamps,
mining pools etc):
 Species suggested (of potential in the tropics) are: milkfish, Chinese carps,
Indian carps, mullets, Tilapia mossambica, T. nilotica, Puntius gonionotus,
common carp, eals, catfish etc. Clarias gariepinus the African catfish can also
be tested.
b. In habitats with low natural productivity in freshwater bodies, species which “are not
able to survive on natural productivity alone but can grow well with supplementary
freding” have been suggested,
 e.g. Laptobarbus, Pangasius, Clarias batrachus, Oxyeleotris and among
crustaceans, Penaeus spp. Macrobrachium etc. several other African species
could also be included in tests.
2. Brackishwater
a. This is a most variable environment and is considered as a more difficult environment
when compared with those of freshwater and marine. The species chosen should be
able to grow well in changing salinities. Despite the changes in tidal height and salinity
the environment offers advantages in enclosure culture, especially in terms of
protected sites.
 Species of potential value are: milkfish, sea bass, mullets, siganids, sea eel;
among crustaceans, Penaeus spp. and crabs.

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 3. Marine
 Milkfish, pompano, yellow-tail, tuna, grouper snapper, sea bass, sea bream,
carangids, pomfret and among crustaceans, spiny lobsters. In the western
temperate areas salmonids (especially trouts, Atlantic and Pacific salmons)
and placed and turbot are of proven value.

Unit 2. Stocking practices

 Stocking rate - defined as the number of fish seed stocked per unit water surface, with due
consideration to the size and/or age group of the stocking material. It is based on the following: 1)
level of production, 2) types of food, 3) pond unit in the case of pond, 4) kinds of fish, 5) culture
system, e.g. pond, cage/pen.
 Stocking rate is limited by carrying capacity (maximum weight of fish stock that can be sustained by a
pond by either the food produced within the pond or made available to the fish. How to increase
carrying capacity:
1. Increased by fertilization and/or supplemental feeding. Fertilization increases the production of
plankton or benthic algae as fish food while supplemental feeding compensates for nutrients
which are in short supply in the pond.
2. Aeration and running-water systems usually increase the amount of dissolved oxygen thereby
increasing the carrying capacity of a pond.
3. Polyculture (stocking a number of species in the same pond) and by stock manipulation
(methods used to manage the fish population in the pond). Examples of stock manipulation
methods are the multi-stage stocking where fish of uniform size are stocked in progressively
larger ponds and multi-size stocking where fish of different age groups are stocked in the same
pond.
 Stocking techniques:
1. Refreshen the pond with tidal water a day before stocking.
2. Stock the fish during colder part of the day, in the early morning or in the evening.
3. Acclimatize fish before stocking:
 transfer the fry to white plastic or porcelain basin upon arrival;
 remove the unwanted species;
 take salinity and temperature readings of the transport water and the pond water;
 adjust the difference in salinity by increasing not more than 5ppt/hour;
 provide aeration in the counting basin;
 count/ calculate the fry before stocking.
 Or, when stocking directly into the culture pond is to be made without pouring fish seeds
in the white basin anymore for clearing of unwanted species, then the plastic bags are
allowed to float in the pond until the water temperature stabilizes (in about 10 minutes
or so), pour small amount of water inside each bag to adjust salinity, and finally.
4. Release fry in different areas of the pond
 Two interpretations of stocking rate:
1. Stocking rate in terms of number of fish per unit area or volume of water, e.g. 5 fish/m2
2. Stocking rate in terms of weight per unit area or volume of water , e.g. 0.4 kg/m 2
 Computations involving fish stocking:
o 𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑥 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒
Example: If the standard rate of stocking is 20,000 per hectare (ha), how many fish will be
needed to stock in a 50 m x 80 m pond?
1. Compute Area = Length x Width = 50 m x 80 m = 4,000 m2

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 1 ℎ𝑎
2. Perform necessary unit conversions (10,000 m 2 = 1 ha) = 4,000 m2 x = 0.4 ha
10,000 m2
20,000 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ
3. 𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑥 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 0.4 ha x = 8,000 fish
ℎ𝑎

Example: In a modular pond system of 1:2:4 ratio of RPS/PPS, the total stocking density per
RPS/PPS shall be based from RPS3/PPS3, the pond with the largest compartment. If the
stocking rate in the RPS3/PPS3 having an area of 4 hectares (ha) is 3,000 fish/ha, how many
fish would be stocked in RPS1/PPS1, with an area of 1 ha.
3,000 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ
𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑥 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 4 ha x = 12,000 fish
ℎ𝑎
Note: RPS1/PPS1 and RPS2/PPS2 will be stocked with the same 12,000 fish each as in
the RPS3/PPS3 because the fish are still in their fingerling stage. Take note that the
fish are transferred from one compartment to the other as they grow.

o 𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)𝑥 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘

Example: Your 4-hectare grow-out or rearing ponds (RPs) require 128,000 bangus fingerlings
for the whole year round of culture operation, say 4x in a year. If this above figure represents
70 % of the total purchase, how many bangus fry then are you going to purchase to include
the allowance for 30 % mortality to be incurred in the NP and TP before they could be raised
in said RPs?
𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)𝑥 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘
128,000 = 0.7 x Initial Stock
𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑
Initial stock = = 182,857 fry
𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)
Example: What is the survival rate of stocks if only 128,000 have been accounted for from the
original of 182,857 bangus fry purchase after having them raised in the NP and TP?

𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 = 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)𝑥 𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘

128,000 fry = Survival rate x 182,857 fry
𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑
Survival rate (decimal) = = 0.7 or 70%
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘

Section 2. Sampling and Feeding Management

Unit 1. Stock sampling practices and techniques
I. Purposes of sampling
 To monitor fish growth
 To have basis in adjusting the feed ration
 To check the health condition of the fish
 To check the occurrence of disease
II. Time and frequency of sampling
 Sampling should be done every month and not at shorter periods to avoid stressing or
hurting the fish.
 The minimum ideal sampling size is 10% of the stock but this could be reduced to smaller
percentage rate if only to free them from stress.
III. Methods of sampling
 To stupefy or make the sample fish calm for ease of weighing, the following chemical
substances may be used:
 10 – 15 ppm Phenoxyethanol

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  Or mixture of the following: 10 mL (2 parts) isoprophyl alcohol, 10 mL (2 parts)
quinaldine sulfate; and 5 mL (1 part) sulfuric acid (H2SO4) (concentrated)
 Use 10 – 15 ppm of the above-mixture (or 4.5 – 6.5 liters of water per drop of the
mixture or 1 drop of the mixture per 4.5 – 6.5 liters of water)
 Use the mass or bulk weighing technique and then determine the average weight by
dividing the total weight obtained by the number of fish taken as samples.
Example: Bulk weight of 50 fish = 330 g
𝐵𝑢𝑙𝑘 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 330 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ = = = 6.6 𝑔
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑑 50 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑥 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙) 𝑥 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ
Example: If the total number of stock is 50,000 fish and on sampling day no mortality is
recorded (Survival rate = 100% = 1.0), then the present total weight of stock at the time
of sampling is:
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑥 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙) 𝑥 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ
= 50,000 fish x 1 x 6.6 g/fish = 330,000 g = 330 kg

 Estimating the prawn biomass in pond:

𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝜋𝑟 2
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑝
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 𝑥 𝑃𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑡
IV. Growth of Fish - increase in size and/or in number of cells or tissues in living organisms.
Practically, growth is increase in size with respect to body length, depth, and weight of an
organism, e.g. fish. Expressed in:
 Absolute growth (g) = W2 – W1
 If the fish has increased in weight from W1 to W2 during the time period between
Time 1 and Time 2, then the weight gain (W2 – W1) is an expression of absolute
growth.
W2 – W1
 Absolute growth rate (gram per day) =
T2 – T1
W2 – W1
 Relative growth rate (% per day) = 𝑥 100
W1(T2 – T1)
ln W2 – ln W1
 Specific growth rate or Instantaneous growth rate (% per day) = 𝑥 100
T2 – T1
b
V. Weight-length relationship: W=aTL
 A – coefficient of body shape: 0.1 for fishes which are small-sized and with a rounded body
shape, 0.01 for streamlined-shaped fishes and 0.001 for eel-like shaped fishes
 B =3: Isometric growth – no change of body shape as an organism grows and that weight
increases as the third power of length.
o B < 3: Negative allometric growth – fish becomes more slender as it becomes
longer – fish grows faster in length than in weight
o B>3: Positive allometric growth implies that fish becomes relatively stouter or
deeper-bodied as it increases in length – fish grows faster in weight than length
VI. Fulton’s Condition factor - stands for a measurement of relative plumpness of fish based on
length and weight relationship. A plump fish of a given species and length will show a higher
condition factor than a thin individual. Condition or plumpness of fish may be determined using
the standard formula called the coefficient of condition (K)
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠)
𝐾= 𝑥 100
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ3 (𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚)
Example, Fish 1: Weight = 96.92 g Length = 17.75 cm

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 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠) 96.92 𝑔
𝐾= 3 𝑥 100 = = 1.73
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚) 17.753
Example, Fish 2: Weight = 41.63 g Length = 13.49 cm
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠) 41.63 𝑔
𝐾= 3 𝑥 100 = = 1.70
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚) 13.493

Summary: In the two examples above, fish 1 denotes plumpness that is slightly higher than
fish 2. Take note that condition factor of fish species of dissimilar body forms cannot be
compared with each other because they have different coefficient of condition (K). Fish
which is laterally compressed and deep in proportion to length has higher value of K than
fish which is slightly compressed with a bit longer and narrow deep body in proportion to
length

Unit 2. Classification of formulated feeds:

a. Artificial foods – those that are introduced or given to aquatic animals being reared
 Classification based on use:
1. Complete feeds – meet all nutritional needs of cultured animal
2. Supplementary feeds – augment major nutritional elements
 Classification based on ingredient number:
1. Single-ingredient feed:
a. plant origin
b. animal origin
2. Compound feed or formulated feed with two or more ingredients
 Classification based on ingredient complexity:
1. Purified diet – a diet which contains pure nutrient, e.g. casein (99.99% protein); made of
synthetic amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates of known composition and chemically
pure vitamins and minerals - expensive
2. Semi-purified diets – contain natural ingredients in a pure form like casein, corn starch,
corn oil etc.
3. Practical diet – a diet which contains varied nutrients from a single ingredient (e.g. fish
meal), or from compound feed (e.g. commercial pellet feed)
 Classification based in use:
1. Pre-starter feed – has the highest protein level
2. Starter feed
3. Grower feed
4. Finisher feed – the lowest protein content
 Physical attributes of good feed
1. Ingredients should be finely ground/uniform in color
2. Without fines or dust
3. Firm and water stable
4. Pellet of uniform/ correct size
5. Palatable
 Physical form/ shape of feed/ diet
1. Pellet (normally tubular shape). Two kinds of pellets:
a. Sinking pellets – best for demersal or bottom feeders although good for column
feeders and surface feeders reared in low water level
b. Floating pellets – best strictly for surface and column feeders

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 2. Granulized
3. Crumble (broken pellet, irregular in shape)
4. Ball form
5. Powder or mashed form
6. Cubes
7. Flakes
 Physical condition of feed/ diet:
1. Dry feed – are those with ≤ 10 % moisture content (MC)
2. Moist to semi-dry feed – are those with 30-40 % MC
3. Wet feed – are those with 46-70 % MC (e.g. trash fish, fresh mussel meat etc)
 Problems on feed quality:
1. Rancidity – peroxidation of lipids, promoted by high temperature
2. Aflatoxin contamination
3. Vitamin loss – heat, moisture, light, high pH, certain minerals, lipid oxidation – 50 to 95%
Vitamin C activity is destroyed

Unit 3. Live food for larvae

 Live food organisms usually have a much better contrast than artificial feeds and generally have a
triggering effect by their continuous movement, allowing an enhanced perception by the feeding larva
- eyes of fish larvae usually only contain cones in the retina resulting in poor visibility, whereas the
eyes of juvenile fish also contain rods with more visual pigments in the retina.
 The swimming activity of live food organisms generally assures a good distribution of food items in the
water column, facilitating more frequent encounters with the developing larvae which in most cases
have a low mobility
 Abundance and maximal diversity of food organisms of different sizes and nutritional composition
provide maximal chances for meeting all the requirements of the predator larvae.
 Criteria for selecting diet

o Three groups of live diets are widely applied in industrial larviculture of fish and shellfish:
1. different species of 2 to 20 μm microalgae
2. the 50 to 200 μm rotifer Brachionus plicatilis
3. the 400 to 800 μm brine shrimp Artemia spp. (meta-) nauplii
 Micro-algae - Phytoplankton comprises the base of the food chain in the marine environment - used to
produce mass quantities of zooplankton (rotifers, copepods, brine shrimp) which serve in turn as food
for larval and early-juvenile stages of crustaceans and fish
o "green water technique" - algae are used directly in the larval tanks, where they are believed to
play a role in stabilizing the water quality, nutrition of the larvae, and microbial control
o Suitable algal species have been selected on the basis of their mass-culture potential, cell size,
digestibility, and overall food value for the feeding animal.
o Most frequently used species in commercial mariculture operations are the:

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 1. diatoms Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira pseudonana, Chaetoceros gracilis, C.
calcitrans,Phaeodactylum tricornutum – salinity 30 ppt
2. the flagellates Isochrysis galbana, Tetraselmis suecica, Monochrysis (Pavlova) lutheri, Dunaliella
tertiolecta – lower salinity requirement of 20-25 ppt
3. the chlorococcalean Chlorella spp.

 Algal production – the nutritional value of algae is affected by culture age and growth phase, light
characteristics and intensity, nutrient limitation and source and cell density
o Physical and chemical requirement:
1. Culture medium - Concentrations of cells in phytoplankton cultures are generally higher than
those found in nature. Algal cultures must therefore be enriched with nutrients to make up for
the deficiencies in the seawater. F/2 medium by Guillard and Ryther’s: most widely used
 Macronutrients:;
 Nitrate – short supply in seawater
 Phosphate – short supply in freshwater
 Silicate - specifically used for the growth of diatoms which utilize this compound for
production of an external shell
 Micronutrients - consist of various trace metals and the vitamins thiamin (B1),
cyanocobalamin (B12) and sometimes biotin
 Enrichment media for growth of most algae: Walne medium and Guillard’s F/2 medium –
very complex and costly – alternative enrichment media are composed of agriculture-grade
rather than laboratory-grade fertilizer
2. Filtered and treated water - Culture water should be: 1) free of suspended solids, plankton (e.g.,
protozoans, ciliates and other algae species), bacteria and 2) free of unacceptably high
concentrations of dissolved organic
o Bacteria can be eliminated from the phytoplankton culture by washing or plating in the
presence of antibiotics. The sterility of the culture can be checked with a test tube
containing sea water with 1 g.l-1 bactopeptone. After sterilization, a drop of the culture to
be tested is added and any residual bacteria will turn the bactopeptone solution turbid.
o Contamination with bacteria, protozoa or another species of algae is a serious problem for
monospecific/axenic cultures of micro-algae. The most common sources of contamination

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 include the culture medium (sea water and nutrients), the air (from the air supply as well as
the environment), the culture vessel, and the starter culture.
o Seawater used for algal culture should be free of organisms that may compete with the
unicellular algae, such as other species of phytoplankton, phytophagous zooplankton, or
bacteria.
 Mechanical filtration: removes suspended solids, plankton and bacteria and is usually
used with the other forms of treatment. The type to be used depends on the
condition of the incoming water and the volume of water to be treated. Usually
consists of a series of filters that remove increasingly smaller particles—sand filters or
polyester filter bags (20- to 35-μm), followed by cartridge filters (10-, 5-, 1-μm) or
diatomaceous earth (DE) filters. Small volumes of seawater can be filtered to remove
bacteria using 0.22- or 0.45-μm membrane cartridge filters.
 Chemical filtration. Dissolved inorganic and organic compounds (DOC), metals,
pesticides, and other contaminants can prevent or retard microalgal growth. Activated
carbon (charcoal) filtration is
helpful in reducing DOC, while
deionization resins are
effective in removing metals
and hydrocarbons.
 Heat sterilization.

 Chemical sterilization.
 Chlorination is the simplest and most common through use of sodium
hypochlorite solution or granular swimming pool chlorine is also effective;
neutralize the residual chlorine by adding an excess of sodium thiosulphate
solution (Na2S2O3 · 5H2O).
 Ultraviolet irradiation (UV) and ozone (O3) disinfection. Both are most effective
after mechanical filtration has removed suspended particulates. Sterilization is
defined as the absolute destruction of all microbial organisms (including bacterial
spores), while “disinfection” does not eliminate all microbes but reduces their
numbers to a level where the risk of infection is small enough to be acceptable.
 UV (germicidal energy) is an efficient, simple and reliable way to kill
microorganisms in culture water  kills a microorganism by penetrating its cell
wall and destroying its nuclear material. Low-pressure mercury vapor UV bulbs
are best suited for disinfection because their spectral wavelength (254 nm) is
close to the most efficient germicidal wavelength (265 nm). However, the killing
power of UV is affected by turbidity/coloration of the incoming water, distance
from the source, exposure time (flow rate), species, and age of the bulb. Wattage
and flow rate are the most important factors in achieving UV sterilization; the
slower the flow rate, the higher the kill rate for a given bulb wattage.
 Ozone is a strong oxidizing agent that is particularly effective in removing
dissolved organics, pesticides, color and nitrates. It is highly unstable and quickly
reverts to O2, but it is also highly corrosive and must be handled with special
materials – at high levels can produce chloramines which are toxic and to marine
animals. Ozone is not recommended for operators who lack experience and the
monitoring equipment to properly manage ozone levels.

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3. Light - Light is the source of energy which drives this reaction and in this regard intensity,
spectral quality and photoperiod need to be considered.
o Light intensity requirements vary greatly with the culture depth and the density of the algal
culture: at higher depths and cell concentrations the light intensity must be increased to
penetrate through the culture
o Light may be natural or supplied by fluorescent tubes. Too high light intensity (e.g. direct sun
light, small container close to artificial light) may result in photo-inhibition.
o Spectral quality : Fluorescent tubes emitting either in the blue or the red light spectrum
should be preferred as these are the most active portions of the light spectrum for
photosynthesis.
o Photoperiod: The duration of artificial illumination should be minimum 16 h light per day +
8h dark to 24 h of light
o Irradiation of 2,500 to 5,000 lux is optimal for photosynthesis with a maximum of 10,000 lux.
Requirements for phytoplankton culture is referred in terms of Photosynthetically Active
Radiation (PAR). Light source can be:
i. Internally illuminated culture vessels are costly to construct but inexpensive to operate.
Mounting the lamps inside a glass or clear plastic cylinder within the culture vessel
reduces the distance the light must travel to penetrate the culture.
ii. Metal halide lamps are usually used to illuminate larger and since they generate
considerable heat, they should be placed at least 12 inches above the surface
iii. Natural light - best to use the morning sun – duration and intensity not easily
controlled, which may cause overheating, insufficient irradiance or photoinhibition if
light is too intense for too long
iv. Artificial light is usually preferred over sunlight. Precisely controlled in terms of quality
and quantity but costly and accounts for almost 95 percent of the cost to culture
microalgae
4. pH - In the case of high-density algal culture, the addition of carbon dioxide allows to correct for
increased pH, which may reach limiting values of up to pH 9 during algal growth.
 As culture density increases, more carbon is consumed through photosynthesis, reducing
CO2 concentration and causing the pH to rise. At about pH 10 some nutrients will
precipitate, algal growth will be retarded, and the culture could completely collapse. This
can be prevented if the pH is maintained by introducing CO2 into the air delivery system.
This can be done manually (while the cultures are illuminated), pulsed intermittently using
a timer and solenoid valve, or, most effectively, by using a pH monitor/controller.
5. Aeration and mixing - necessary to prevent sedimentation of the algae, to ensure that all cells of
the population are equally exposed to the light and nutrients, to avoid thermal stratification
(e.g. in outdoor cultures) and to improve gas exchange between the culture medium and the
air.
 Depending on the scale of the culture system, mixing is achieved by stirring daily by hand
(test tubes, erlenmeyers), aerating (bags, tanks), or using paddle wheels and jetpumps
(ponds). However, it should be noted that not all algal species can tolerate vigorous mixing.

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 6. Temperature - Temperatures lower than 16°C will slow down growth, whereas those higher
than 35°C is lethal for a number of species

 Growth dynamics

1. lag or induction phase

o This phase, during which little increase in cell density occurs, is relatively long when an algal
culture is transferred from a plate to liquid culture. Cultures inoculated with exponentially
growing algae have short lag phases, which can seriously reduce the time required for upscaling.
o The lag in growth is attributed to the physiological adaptation of the cell metabolism to growth,
such as the increase of the levels of enzymes and metabolites involved in cell division and carbon
fixation.
2. exponential phase
o During the second phase, the cell density increases as a function of time t according to a
logarithmic function
3. phase of declining growth rate
o Cell division slows down when nutrients, light, pH, carbon dioxide or other physical and chemical
factors begin to limit growth.
4. stationary phase
o In the fourth stage the limiting factor and the growth rate are balanced, which results in a
relatively constant cell density.
5. death or "crash" phase
o During the final stage, water quality deteriorates and nutrients are depleted to a level incapable
of sustaining growth. Cell density decreases rapidly and the culture eventually collapses.
o Culture crashes can be caused by a variety of reasons, including the depletion of a nutrient,
oxygen deficiency, overheating, pH disturbance, or contamination.
o The key to the success of algal production is maintaining all cultures in the exponential phase of
growth.

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 o The nutritional value of the produced algae is inferior once the culture is beyond phase 3 due to
reduced digestibility, deficient composition, and possible production of toxic metabolites.
 Algal culture techniques
o Hatcheries use wither intensive indoor culture with artificial lighting or extensive outdoor culture in
large tanks, raceways or ponds with natural lighting. Potential for culture crashes increases as the
degree of control over environmental factors such as temperature, illumination, nutrient
availability, pH and potential contamination decrease.
o Algae can be produced using a wide variety of methods, ranging from closely-controlled laboratory
methods to less predictable methods in outdoor tanks. The terminology used to describe the type
of algal culture include:
1. Indoor/Outdoor. Indoor culture
allows control over illumination,
temperature, nutrient level,
contamination with predators and
competing algae, whereas outdoor
algal systems make it very difficult to
grow specific algal cultures for
extended periods.
2. Open/Closed. Open cultures such as
uncovered ponds and tanks (indoors
or outdoors) are more readily
contaminated than closed culture
vessels such as tubes, flasks,
carboys, bags, etc.
3. Axenic (=sterile)/Xenic. Axenic
cultures are free of any foreign
organisms such as bacteria and
require a strict sterilization of all
glassware, culture media and vessels
to avoid contamination. The latter
makes it impractical for commercial operations.
4. Batch, Continuous, and Semi-Continuous. These are the three basic types of phytoplankton
culture discussed below.
o Batch culture
i. A single inoculation of cells into a container of
fertilized seawater followed by a growing period
of several days and finally harvesting when the
algal population reaches its maximum or near-
maximum density. In practice, algae are
transferred to larger culture volumes prior to
reaching the stationary phase and the larger
culture volumes are then brought to a maximum
density and harvested.
ii. Disadvantages: 1) yield per tank is less since
entire culture is harvested, 2) the need to
prevent contamination during the initial
inoculation and early growth period. Because the
density of the desired phytoplankton is low and the concentration of nutrients is high, any

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 contaminant with a faster growth rate is capable of outgrowing the culture. 3) Batch cultures
also require a lot of labour to harvest, clean, sterilize, refill, and inoculate the containers.
o Continuous culture - culture in which a supply of fertilized seawater is continuously pumped into a
growth chamber and the excess culture is simultaneously washed out, permits the maintenance of
cultures very close to the maximum growth rate. Two categories of continuous cultures can be
distinguished:
i. turbidostat culture, in which the algal concentration is kept at a preset level by diluting the
culture with fresh medium by means of an automatic system.
 Have photoelectric monitors connected to solenoid valves that control the withdrawal of
algal suspension and addition of fresh medium as a function of cell density
ii. chemostat culture, in which a flow of fresh medium is introduced into the culture at a steady,
predetermined rate. Growth rate and not the cell density is kept constant.
 Act on principle of limited nutrients, so if concentration of limiting nutrient falls below a
certain level, a fixed quantity of nutrient solution is added
o Semi-continuous culture - prolongs the use of large tank cultures by partial periodic harvesting
followed immediately by topping up to the original volume and supplementing with nutrients to
achieve the original level of enrichment. May be indoors or outdoors, but usually their duration is
unpredictable. Competitors, predators and/or contaminants and metabolites eventually build up,
rendering the culture unsuitable for further use. Since the culture is not harvested completely, the
semi-continuous method yields more algae than the batch method for a given tank size.
 Algal production in outdoor ponds
o Large outdoor ponds either with a natural bottom or lined with cement, polyethylene or PVC
sheets have been used successfully for algal production. Shallow tanks and ponds about 1 m depth
are more effective than deeper water, permitting better light penetration
o Cultures from indoor production may serve as inoculum for monospecific cultures. Alternatively, a
phytoplankton bloom may be induced in seawater from which all zooplankton has been removed
by sand filtration.
o Only suitable for a few, fast-growing species due to problems with contamination by predators,
parasites and "weed" species of algae.
o Outdoor production is often characterized by a poor batch to batch consistency and unpredictable
culture crashes caused by changes in weather, sunlight or water quality.
o Propagation techniques in pond culture:
1. Lablab
i. Apply chicken manure by spreading evenly over the pond bottom at the rate of 1000 –
2000 kg/ha for new ponds (1– 4 years in use) and 500-
use.
ii. Admit water to a depth of about 3 – 5 cm; apply 50 kg/ha urea (46-0-0) to hasten
decomposition of the manure; and then allow the pond to dry for 3 days.
iii. Re-admit water to average depth of 8 – 10 cm.
iv. Apply 16-20-0 fertilizer at 100 kg/ha or 18-46-0 at 50 kg/ha by spreading evenly over the
pond bottom the next day.
v. Admit an additional 5 cm depth of water every 3 days until it reaches the 20 cm level.
vi. Apply 16-20-0 at 15 kg/ha every 7 days but not less than 3 days before stocking of fish.
vii. Three days before stocking, gradually drain 25% of water and refill to the desired level of
20 – 30 cm (NP), 30 – 40 cm (TP), and 50 – 60 cm (RP). Admit water gradually to avoid
disturbance of lablab growth.
viii. Stock fish on the 28th to 35th day from the time of spreading the manure depending on
the thickness (about 1 cm) of lablab.

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 ix. To maintain a luxuriant growth of lablab, apply a side dressing of 15 kg/ha of 16-20-0 every
2 weeks during the rearing period. Stop fertilization 20 days before harvest.
2. Plankton
i. Fill the pond with water to a depth of at least 60 cm, preferably 75 – 100 cm.
ii. Apply 1 – 2 tons/ha of chicken manure contained in bags by soaking them in the pond for
at least 24 hours before releasing. Add 50 kg/ha urea after the manure had settled down.
Organic fertilization along with urea which serves to hasten decomposition of manure
could also be done before admission of water into pond.
iii. Apply 16-20-0 at 50 kg/ha or 22 kg/ha of 18-46-0 one week after the 1st fertilizer
application. One half (½) of this amount will be dissolved in pail of water and spread over
the pond water surface. The other half will be put in a thin cloth bag or any substitute and
then hang strategically on a stake positioned in the pond for gradual release of fertilizer
nutrients.
iv. Observe the productivity of plankton for the next 7 days through the green to yellowish-
green turbidity of water. Visibility reading using a device called Secchi disk is ideal at 30-40
cm below water surface. Turbidity above this range indicates low plankton productivity and
signals further or additional fertilization. Fish stocking shall be done 2 weeks or so after
filling of water during which time plankton growth is at 30 – 40 cm Secchi disk level
 Culture of sessile micro-algae – special techniques for abalone which feed in nature by scraping
coralline algae and slime off the surface of rocks using their radulae.
i. Sessile micro-algae are grown on plates of corrugated roofing plastic, which serve as a substrate
for the settlement of abalone larvae.
ii. After metamorphosis, the spat graze on the micro-algae until they become large enough to feed
on macro-algae.
iii. The most common species of micro-algae used on the feeder plates are pennate diatoms (e.g.
Nitzchia, Navicula). The plates are inoculated by placing them in a current of sand filtered
seawater.
 Harvesting and preserving micro-algae
o Algal paste/ concentrate: reduces physical space required, can be refrigerated then diluted when
used.
o High-density algal cultures can be concentrated by either:
i. Chemical flocculation - Products such as aluminum sulphate and ferric chloride cause cells to
coagulate and precipitate to the bottom or float to the surface. Natural organic agents are:
gelatin, chitosan and sodium alginate.
 Recovery of the algal biomass is then accomplished by, respectively, siphoning off the
supernatant or skimming cells off the surface.
 Due to the increased particle size, coagulated algae are no longer suitable as food for filter-
feeders.
ii. Centrifugation – for large volumes of algal culture – usually performed using a cream separator;
the flow rate being adjusted according to the algal species and the centrifugation rate of the
separator.
 Cells are deposited on the walls of the centrifuge head as a thick algal paste, which is then
resuspended in a limited volume of water.
iii. Filter screens/ cartridge filters: effective for small-scale harvests
o Preservation of micro-algae:
i. Frozen conditions – cryoprotective agents (glucose, dimethylsulfoxide) are added to maintain cell
integrity during freezing. Disadvantage: cell disruption and limited shelf life

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 ii. Concentrated cultures of Tetraselmis suecica kept in darkness at 4C maintain their viability but
loses it in freezing
iii. Cultures stored in hermetically sealed vials lose their viability more rapidly than thpse kept in
cotton-plugged vials.
 Nutritional value of micro-algae:
o Depends on its cell size, digestibility, production of toxic compounds, and biochemical composition
o The content of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA), in particular eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3,
EPA), arachidonic acid (20:4n-6, ARA), and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA), is of major
importance in the evaluation of the nutritional composition of an algal species to be used as food
for marine organisms.
 Significant concentrations of EPA are present in the diatom species (Chaetoceros calcitrans,
C. gracilis, S. costatum, T. pseudonana) and the prymnesiophyte Platymonas lutheri, whereas
high concentrations of DHA are found in the prymnesiophytes (P. lutheri, Isochrysis sp.) and
Chroomonas salina
o Rich source of ascorbic acid
o Protein content per cell – more susceptible to medium-induced variation than the other cellular
constituents.
o Growth of animals fed a mixture of several algal species is often superior to that obtained when
feeding only one algal species
 The effects of the presence of micro-algae in the larval rearing tank include:
o stabilizing the water quality in static rearing systems (remove metabolic by-products, produce
oxygen)
o a direct food source through active uptake by the larvae with the polysaccharides
o present in the algal cell walls possibly stimulating the non-specific immune system in the larvae;
o an indirect source of nutrients for fish larvae through the live feed (i.e. by maintaining the
nutritional value of the live prey organisms in the tank);
o increasing feeding incidence by enhancing visual contrast and light dispersion, and
o microbial control by algal exudates in tank water and/or larval gut
 Replacement diet for live food
1. Preserved algae
o Centrifugation of algae into a paste form and subsequent refrigeration until required (limited
shelf-life and/or the high prices of the presently available algal pastes)
o Outdoor pond production on a large scale has led to the bulk availability of a limited number
of "algal meals", such as spray-dried Spirulina and a spray-dried extract of Dunaliella salina
o Innovation: large scale production of marine micro-algae under heterotrophic growth
conditions, by utilizing organic carbon instead of light as an energy source.
 Heterotrophic algal cultures can attain up to 1,000 times higher densities than
photoautotrophic cultures
o Unfortunately, heterotrophic mass-production techniques have only been realized for a few
algal species, and most of the species that are known to be of high nutritional value (e.g.
Chaetoceros, Isochrysis, Skeletonema, Thalassiosira, Monochrysis) are not capable of growing
in the dark.
2. Micro-encapsulated diets
o Dietary ingredients can be encapsulated within digestible capsules and delivered to
suspension-feeders without losses of nutrients to the aqueous medium
o Possible problems: settling, clumping and bacterial degradation of the particles, leaching of
nutrients, and low digestibility of the cell wall material

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 3. Yeast- based diets
o Because of their suitable particle size and high stability in the water column yeasts can easily
be removed from suspension and ingested by filter-feeding organisms
o Problem: limited nutritional value of yeasts was reported for various species of filter feeders
and attributed to their nutritionally deficient composition and/or undigestible cell wall.
o Nutritional value and digestibility of yeast-based diets can be improved through the addition
of limiting essential nutrients and the chemical treatment of the yeast cell wall
o Baker’s yeast, marine yeasts and lipid enriched yeast diets are used as sole diet or in
combination with the alga Chlorella for rearing rotifer
 Scale-up of culture
o Progressive batch culture – transferring small volume of cultures of concentrated inoculum into
larger volumes of treated, enriched water. To maintain high-quality cultures, transfers should be
made during the exponential growth phase. Possible contaminants during culture:
1. Chemical: residual chlorine from the sterilization process
2. Biological: excessive levels of bacteria (indicated by cloudy water), protozoans or rotifers
(culture water turns off-color and clears), competing microalgae (color change or crust
attached to culture vessel walls) or macroalgae (green or brown strands in culture vessels)
o This is a typical series for large-scale production:
1. 25-mL test tubes (10-mL stock culture) inoculates….
2. 500-mL flasks (250-mL starter culture) inoculates….
3. 2.8- to 4-liter flasks (1,000-mL intermediate culture)
inoculates….
4. 20-liter carboys (16-liter culture) inoculates….
5. 250-liter cylinders (180-liter culture) inoculates….
6. 12,000-liter tanks (10,000-liter culture) inoculates….

o Stock cultures – inocula for large volume production of

phytoplankton used for harvest or feeding. Kept in small, transparent, autoclavable container such
as 25-mL test tubes or 250- to 500-mL borosilicate glass, flat-bottomed, conical flasks fitted with
cotton wool plugs at the necks.
 Master cultures; normally supplied as monospecific algal cultures from reputable culture
collections, kept in specialized maintenance media (i.e. F/2 media)
 Used to provide lines of starter cultures, often maintained in seawater agar medium
impregnated with suitable nutrients in petri dishes or slants in test tubes
 Requirement: 4 to 12°C plus 2 or more 8W fluorescent lamp (450 lux), out of direct sunlight, no
aeration, no CO2, subculture at monthly intervals
 Creating axenic (bacteria and protozoan-free pure cultures)
Select individual
Collected by size Culture in highle
colonies through
(filtration) or filtered,
agar streaks,
Monospecific (uni- density autoclaved,
micropipette
algal cultures) (centrifugation) or enriched seawater
isolation, liquid
inoculation in agar in the presence of
dilution or flow
plates antibodies
cytometer sorter
o Starter cultures
 In 500 mL flasks with 250 mL culture medium
 Since they provide inocula, they need to grow quickly
 Requirement: 18 to 22°C, 4750 to 5250 lux, aerated with air + CO 2 mixture

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o Intermediate cultures
 Requirement: 18 to 22°C, aerated with air + CO2 mixture to provide carbon source and control
pH (7.5 to 8.2)
 Can either be:
1. Batch culture – used for delicate species and rapidly growing diatoms
i. Batch cultures are inoculated with the desired species that will grow rapidly under
optimal conditions until the rate of cell division begins to decline, indicating the transition
from the exponential phase to the stationary phase*.
ii. At that point, the culture is completely harvested and the container is washed, refilled
(with sterilized, enriched medium), and inoculated to begin a new culture.
*Inoculation  Lag phase (2-3 days)  Exponential phase (4-6 days) Stationary
Phase (longer period for flagellates but shorter for diatoms) – light penetration and/or
nutrients become limiting
*Stationary phase – culture of flagellates remain in this phase by recycling of nutrients
from dead and decaying cells but in the case of diatoms, which produce self-inhibiting
metabolites (against bacterial growth), the culture collapses
2. Semi-continuous culture – used for hardier species of flagellates
i. Partially harvested before the light limiting stage is reached
ii. Harvested volume is replaced with fresh culture medium and process is repeated 2 or 3
days later
o Large-scale culture – culture is contained in a tall, marrow cylinder, being the most efficient
configuration.
i. Basic conditions of culture are the same as stock, starter or intermediate culture but the main
difference is water treatment:
 Autoclaving/ submicron filtration is too expensive for the large volumes needed
 Seawater filtered to 1 to 2 micron is acceptable for large species: Tetraselmis and
Skeletonema. Otherwise, pasteurization or chemical sterilization is recommended
ii. Heavy-gauge polyethylene tubing can be cut to a suitable length and one end heat-sealed to
form a sterile, flexible culture container that is either a cylinder or an oblong bag
iii. In PE bags: several advantages - 1) a sealed container is less likely to become contaminated than
a rigid container with an open top or lid; 2) bags do not require daily maintenance and cleaning;
and 3) they cost less to install and use space more efficiently
 least expensive way of constructing large-scale culture vessels. Such containers can be
used indoors with artificial illumination or outdoors in natural light
 a relatively short lifespan because the internal surface attracts culture debris and bacteria
that reduce light penetration and are a source of contamination
 At the end of a culture run, it is necessary to replace the bag
 Large-scale outdoor bag cultures are often positioned horizontally to maximize sunlight
penetration
 >30 cm diameter results in less light penetration
iv. Circular tanks or rectangular tanks with overhead illumination are obsolete. Some hatcheries
continue to use large, circular tanks with internal illumination. Lamps are mounted inside a glass
or clear plastic cylinder
v. Advanced algal production system: photobioreactor systems – can provide higher algal
densities, more efficient space usage (smaller footprint), continuous or semi-continuous
production, longer production cycles with less contamination, lower labor requirement

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 Productivity – determined as the total number of algal cells harvested from a culture each day.
Estimating algal density:
1. Spectrophotometer/ fluorometer – measures chlorophyll A content in an algal culture and this can
be used to obtain a quick approximation of cell density.
o BUT: chlorophyll A content in algal cell is not constant and varies with the nutritional state of
the cell  affects accuracy of cell density estimates
o Standard cell density – in order to compare yields of different species in a culture system, a
common factor based on dry weight biomass of harvested algae is applied – different alga
species vary widely in linear dimensions and in weight per cell
o Post-harvest cell density – cell density per unit volume (cells per microliter) immediately after
harvesting and replacement of the volume removed with fresh culture medium
 Cell density relative to light intensity that will largely dictate the growth of the culture in
the following 24 hour period
 Maximum yield = optimal PHCD + light energy input that is not limiting
 Above optimal PHCD - light becomes increasingly limiting due to self-shading effect of
cells at higher culture densities – yield can be improved at high illumination intensity due
to accelerated cell division rate
2. Haemacytometer – volume of each chamber = 0.1 mm3

3. Coulter counter (multisizer) - Algal cells pass through a small aperture (2 to 10 μm) and a slight
electrical current travelling between two electrodes. Each time a cell passes between the
electrodes, the current is impeded and the cell is counted.
 The advantages of the Coulter Counter are its accuracy and efficiency; the disadvantages are
that it does not discriminate between algal cells and other particles, dense culture needs to be
diluted (using NaCl solution or membrane filtered seawater) to get an accurate count, and
they are expensive.
 When diluting, remember to multiply by dilution factor. Example: 0.2 mL algal culture in 20 mL
seawater. Dilution factor = 20/0.2 = 100. Multiply counted algal cells by 100 to get final algal
density
 For the following topics: see appendix page 328
o Rotifers
o Artemia
o Zooplankton
o Copepods and Mesocosm Systems
o Cladocerans, Nematodes, Trocophora larvae

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Unit 4. Nutrition requirements of aquatic animals
 Nutrition - the sum of the processes by which an animal or plant takes in and utilizes food substances,
series of processes by which organisms acquire and assimilate food for tissue growth and replacing
worn and damaged tissues. Cost of feed represents > 50% of variable operating costs
 Precise nutritional requirements are difficult to ascertain because they change with variations in the
environment, fish size/age and reproductive condition of the fish. These requirements include:
A. Protein
 Composed of Carbon (50%), Nitrogen (16%), Oxygen (21.5%) and hydrogen (6.5%)
 Proteins are considered the most expensive component of the diet and it is recommended that
the amino acid profile of feeds should be balanced so that maximum growth can be attained at
the lowest possible cost.
 An ideal diet would be one in which all the lipids and carbohydrates will be used for metabolic
activities and proteins mainly used for growth (protein sparing). Due to high cost of animal
protein, plant proteins from soybean, peanuts, corn, cottonseed, and wheat had been used in
feed formulation.
o Anti-nutritional substances in plant proteins:
1. Memosine - found in ipil-ipil/ river tamarind (Leucaena leucocephala) that interferes with
enzyme synthesis in the liver, poisonous AA which cause pathological changes in the
storage cells of the shrimp’s digestive organ BUT high protein content can range from 14.9
to 37.7% with higher concentration in young leaves
2. Aflatoxin – found in peanut, results in aflatoxicosis or red disease
3. Cyanogens - found in cassava that releases poisonous hydrocyanic acid upon hydrolysis
4. Gossypol – in untreated cottonseed meal, endogenous toxin present in the gland of
cottonseed that binds phosphorous and proteins in a diet, causes anorexia and ceriod
accumulation in the liver  persist during production unless the cottonseed is glandless or
gossypol removed through addition of iron salts or phytase
5. Phytic acid, lectins (destroys red blood cells) – in soybean meal  untreated soybeans a
and other legumes have trypsin inhibitor which binds trypsin to form an inactive compound
in a diet  this inhibitor is inactivated by dry heating or cooking
6. Thiaminase – in untreated/ raw fish meal
7. Peroxides – in poorly stored and unprotected oils which binds proteins and vitamins in a
diet
 Protein requirements vary with:
1. Species
2. Size
3. Protein quality
4. Water temperature
5. Feeding rates
6. Natural food presence
7. Non-protein energy – sparing effect of dietary lipid and carbohydrate on dietary protein
 Maintenance protein requirement - Defined as the required protein for to attain nitrogen
equilibrium in the body. Protein needed to maintain proper physiological functions necessary for
survival. Measured by:
1. Direct method: Fish fed starved or fed with zero protein diet and total nitrogen loss from
fecal, urinary and branchial routes are measured. These excreted nitrogen is the
maintenance protein nitrogen
2. Indirect method (ideal): Fish fed with increasing level of protein in diet and the level that
results to zero growth is the maintenance protein level.

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  Function:
1. Growth function – used to make new proteins.
2. Maintenance function – replace existing proteins
3. Make up much of the structure of an animal’s body
4. Act as a substrate for energy production in cellular metabolism (biological fuel)
5. Function as nutrient transporter and defense molecules (circulating, mobile proteins such
as immune bodies)
6. Regulatory and signalling role in cellular communications (hormones)
7. Important as enzymes which catalyze biochemical reactions to maintain life
 Types:
1. Fibrous proteins are found in muscle and connective tissues
2. Collagenous proteins, in the skin and membranes
3. Globular proteins, in blood
4. Enzymes and hormones are proteins with specific functions.
 Amino acids are considered to be the building blocks of proteins and 20 amino acids have been
identified. Essential amino acids are those that cannot be synthesized and are required in the
diets of the animals. Since amino acid requirements are not known for most cultured animals, the
amino acid profile of the animal tissue has been used as a guide for feed formulation.
o Ten essential amino acids
1. Arginine
2. Methionine
3. Histidine
4. Phenylalanine
5. Isoleucine
6. Threonine
7. Leucine
8. Tryptophan
9. Lysine
10. Valine
o Ten Non-essential amino acids (NEAA) - can be synthesized by the organism through the
presence of EAA.
1. Alanine
2. Glutamic acid
3. Asparagine
4. Glutamine
5. Aspartic acid
6. Glycine
7. Cysteine
8. Proline
9. Serine
10. Tyrosine
B. Carbohydrate
 Carbohydrates provide the most abundant and relatively the least expensive source of energy in
aquaculture. They are the most simple, in terms of chemical constituents, of the energy-
containing food groups which contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
 Sugars and starches are the most common forms in which carbohydrates occur in nature. Sugars
can occur as monosaccharides like glucose, fructose and galactose or as disaccharides which are
formed by two simple sugars like sucrose = glucose + fructose and lactose = glucose + galactose.

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 Complex sugars, known as polysaccharides, are compounds made up long chains of simple sugars
such as starches and cellulose.
 Dietary starches are used for manufacture of floating feeds. About 20% of dietary carbohydrates
can be used by fish. When processed in high moist temperatures, for making pelleted feed, starch
gelatinizes and its digestibility therefore improves
 The poor utilization of carbohydrates in some species may partly be due to the fact carbohydrates
tend to occur in feeds/diets as polysaccharides which may be poorly digested by many aquatic
species. Many marine animals do not encounter such substances in nature and may not be
equipped with proper enzymes to digest them e.g. absence of enzyme amylase to assimilate
starch.
 Carbohydrates, aside from providing energy, have the physical function of texturizing
manufactured feeds and acting as a binder in the formulation of pellets. They also contribute to
the stability of pelleted feeds. Example: alpha starch, hemicelluloses, lignosulfates.
C. Lipids
 High energy nutrients (15% of diet) – contain more energy per unit than any other biological
product
 Dietary lipids are important they provide energy and a source of essential fatty acids, cholesterol
and lecithin which are necessary of maximum growth and survival.
 Lipids helps in the absorption of other nutrients such as fat-soluble vitamins. Polyunsaturated
fatty acids are required for membrane permeability and plasticity, enzyme activation and other
functions. Dietary phospholipids such as lecithin serve as important components of cell
membranes. Cholesterol, which is not synthesized by crustaceans, is essential in the production
of hormones.
 Types of fatty Acid
1. saturated fatty acid – without double bond, and solid at room temperature. Example: lard,
beef tallow
2. Unsaturated fatty acid – with one or more double bonds. Liquid at room temperature.
Example: linolenic acid, linoleic acid, EPA, DHA
D. Minerals
 Inorganic elements that are not produced or destroyed as a result of their functions in life
processes. They comprise the inorganic components of the dry weight of an animal. Major
minerals (macronutrients) are needed in larger quantities compared to minor minerals
(micronutrients), which are needed in trace quantities.
 Macronutrients
1. Calcium
2. Phosphorus
3. Sulfur
4. Sodium
5. Chlorine
6. Potassium
7. Magnesium
 Micronutrients
1. Cobalt
2. Copper
3. Fluorine
4. Iodine
5. Iron
6. Manganese

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 7. Molybdenum
8. Selenium
9. Zinc
 Minerals are required for various biological functions such formation of skeletal tissues,
respiration, digestion and osmoregulation. Calcium and phosphorus are needed in bone
formation and maintenance of acid-base equilibrium. Potassium, sodium, and chlorine are
involved in osmotic regulation.
 Marine animal live in a medium than contains minerals in concentrations at or above those
necessary to meet their requirements, whereas freshwater animals live in a mineral deficient
medium obtain most of their required minerals from the diet. Since marine waters generally
contain an abundance of minerals, supplementation of diets for animals cultured in this
environment may not be necessary.
E. Vitamins
 Vitamins are a chemically diverse group of organic substances that are not synthesized by
organisms or are synthesized at rates insufficient to meet the needs of the organism.
 They constitute only a minute fraction of the diet, more catalytic in their function and they
are essential for maintenance of normal metabolism and physiological functions. They are
classified as water-soluble vitamins and fat soluble vitamins.
 It was observed that if natural food organisms are available to cultured animals, as in
extensive pond culture, prepared feeds may not need any vitamins supplements. On the
contrary, in intensive farming, where natural food items do not contribute much to dietary
intake, the addition of adequate quantities of vitamins was found to be essential.
 Digestive Physiology and its relevance to artificial feed formulation
 Profitability of Aquaculture depends on the optimum conversion of feed nutrient into tissue
biomass. Dependent on nutrient digestibility and availability. Digestibility depends on the:
1. Feeding habits
2. Digestive organ morphology
3. Physiological state of the fish
4. Developmental stage
5. Season (temperature)
6. The physical and chemical attributes of the feed
 Anatomical and physiological adaptation of the digestive tract – ensures optimum intake,
digestion and absorption.
1. Carnivorous species
o possess specialized prey capture mechanism such as well-developed teeth, strong
gill rakers (short, serrated)
o hook so that prey could not escape, puncturing of prey ensures that “nutrients”
from prey are extracted
o short, thick gut & muscular Y-shaped stomach
o “Single meal”- hibernation after eating
o Digestion start fast, since food is highly digestible (eating fresh food)
o Example: salmon, trout, halibut
2. Omnivorous species (emphasizing animal sources of food)
o Pouched stomach or intestinal sac
o Examples: Catfish, Tilapia
3. Omnivorous species (emphasizing plant sources of food)
o Stomach absent

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 o Examples: Carp, Goldfish
4. Vegetarian (macro herbivorous-macrophytes: seaweeds) species
o use mechanical means modified teeth to triturate (initially grind) the food example
pharyngeal teeth (in C. idella, T. rendalli)
o gut passage fast, gut is long ( longer than body length) since food has low
digestibility and to maximize digestion and absorption
o relative gut length – ratio of gut: body length  high RGL means that species
consumes high proportion of indigestible matter (i.e. algae)
o maximize retention time (time of food contact with digestive tract) & enzyme
action for optimum absorption
o eat a lot, high feed intake (continually eating) - feed intake of up to 100% body
weight per day was recorded for grass carp
5. Phytoplankton feeders
o possess specialized gill rakers for filtering
o stomach very low pH (1.4-1.7) to digest cell walls of plant material, tubular
stomach with muscular gizzard
o long midgut , frequent but small meals.
o Example: Milkfish possesses gizzard-like organ before the intestine to maximize
food breakdown
 Mouth structure relates to feeding habits.
o could be used in predicting the appropriateness of a pellet type diet (hard or soft, floating
or sinking)
o For example: does it possess the appropriate structures to feed on shellfish (then it can
crush hard pellets)? Does it normally feed off the bottom (use sinking pellets)? If on the
surface (use floating or slowly sinking pellets). By looking at the mouth it is easy to tell if
the fish is a carnivore or omnivore that determines what-type of feedstuffs will be
acceptable. The size of the mouth and the esophagus can also be used as a general guide
for pellet size.
 Catabolism breakdown of complex molecules to simple products. Anabolism is synthesis of
more complex compound from simple precursors
 In crustaceans, the hepatopancreas is the organ responsible in digestion, absorption and
storage of food. Digestive processes in fish are coordinated processes that include:
1. Physical – grinding, puncturing, crushing, mixing
2. Chemical –acid digestion in stomach
o Oxynticopeptic cells (both acid and pepsinogen is produced in these cells). Acid
secretion, denatures protein (conformation and function is changed, not same with
digestion), breakdown cell stuctures, emulsifies fats (usu. Acidic). Prepares the
nutrients for enzymatic digestion.
o The digesta exits the stomach. Bicarbonate is secreted by the acinar cells of the
pancreas to raise the pH of the digesta. Elevated pH is essential to protect the
intestinal cells from acid damage and prepares the digesta for enzymatic digestion
in the intestine at elevated pH.
3. Enzymatic – specific breakdown of macromolecules
o Enzymes (catalytic proteins) hydrolysis /digest food materials to a form absorbable
by brush border membrane of the enterocyte (outside membrane of villi).
o Intestinal enzymatic digestion could be:
1. lumenal or extra cellular
2. membrane bound

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 3. cellular in the cell (enterocyte)

o Protease & Peptidase - Digest proteins & peptides into free amino acids. Can be:
1. Endoproteases: which cut in the middle of a peptide chain
Example: Trypsin is an endopeptidase cuts the bond of arginine linked
amino acids
2. Exoproteases : which work on the free ends of peptide chains (N-terminal).
Example: aminopeptidase is an exopeptidase that cuts amino acids from
the amino end of a peptide chain one at a time.
o Lipases - hydrolyzes fats to release fatty acids. They are named to reflect the
substrates on which they act. Example: triacylglycerol lipase cleaves the fatty acids
from triglycerides; phospholipases cleave fatty acids from phospholipids, and so
on.
1. In general, short chain fatty acids (2–10 carbons) and glycerol are absorbed
directly through the brush border of the enterocytes.
 Enterocytes are intestinal absorptive cells, simple columnar
epithelial cells which line the inner surface of the small intestine.
Has microvilli on the apical surface to increase surface area for
absorption
2. Long-chain fatty acids (12 and more carbons) are cleaved by lipase and
emulsified by bile salts to form negatively charged aggregates called
micelles. Micelles are transported from the lumen to the brush border,
where they dissociate and the fatty acids diffuse across the epithelial
membrane.
o Carbohydrases - Enzyme that acts on starch to form simple sugar. Starches,
polysaccharides, and cellulose are the primary carbohydrates in plants. Chitin is the
primary carbohydrate in invertebrates, glycogen.
o Physiological adaptation - Level of protease activity is higher in carnivore.
Carbohydrases activity is low in carnivore. Why?
 Herbivore and omnivore are as just efficient as carnivore in digesting
protein. Strategy: long exposure time (enzyme contact to feed) long gut
and frequent meals.
 Larval Digestive Physiology
o Concerns in larval nutrition
1. Despite the voluminous basic scientific works on most fish larvae, nutritional
physiology of the larvae remains an enigma.
2. Until now, artificial diet that could replace live foods for the larvae, has not
been developed.
3. The cultivation of larvae is generally carried out under controlled hatchery
conditions and usually requires specific culture techniques because:
 Larvae are very small (small mouth size) and extremely fragile

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  Not physiologically fully developed – incomplete development of
perception organs (eyes, chemoreception) and digestive system
o Characteristics of larvae digestion process
1. Larval fish starts to feed, prior to the complete maturation of the digestive
organ.
2. Intestinal tract is shorter (0.5x body length)
3. Gastric glands, not functional immature (e.g. pancrease, gall bladder, liver)
4. Poor digestive capacity (low enzymatic production).
5. Almost all larvae are carnivores
o Prior to feeding/ after hatching – nutrition comes from yolk. Digestion of complex
compounds from yolk is by:
1. Extracelullar (membrane bound enzyme digestion)
2. Intracellular digestion (absorbed by pinocytosis & digested inside the cell)
o First feeding stage prior to full maturity of digestive organs. Period varies per species.
 Period where digestive organs are still developing. Digestive enzymes are
detected as zymogens (inactive form).
 Larval/ mouth size at first feeding: the mouth size at first-feeding usually
mechanically restricts the size of the food particles which can be ingested. Mouth
size is proportional to body size and influenced by egg diameter and period of
endogenous feeding (yolk sac consumption period
 Example: Atlantic salmon has large eggs  upon hatching = large larvae with
large yolk sac (sufficient endogenous food for 3 weeks). Thus at first feed can
already consume particles as large as 1 mm and already has well developed
digestive tract with functioning enzymes (allow digestion of feed crumbles)
 BUT other fish larvae do not have a functional stomach, only a short digestive
tract with few functional enzymes at the onset of first feeding. Therefore fish
larvae need food source that:
i. Is partially and easily digestible (feed should contain large amounts of free
amino acids instead of indigestible complex protein molecules)
ii. Contains enzyme systems which allow autolysis (self-destruction of food
particles)
iii. Supplies in abundance all essential nutrients required
 These three conditions are not met by formulated feeds resulting in poor growth
and survival in small fish larvae (thus the need for live food)
o Pre/ post metamorphosis
 period where digestive organs are developed comparable to adults functionality
 digestion is by both intracellular and extra cellular but extracellular dominates in
later period
 acid and enzymatic digestive processes have become more efficient
 Larval Diets
o Zooplanktons are the natural feed of the larvae in the wild. Nutrient composition may
vary /species of zooplankton and are affected by environmental conditions.
o Why does larval fish that feed on live planktons survive better than those feeding on
artificial diets? digestibility
o Nutritional value of planktons for larvae is defined by the bioavailability (form) of their
nutrients rather than their nutrient composition. Bioavailability is dictated by
digestibility.

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 o Zooplanktons contain a high amount of free amino acids, suitable for the immature &
underdeveloped larval digestive system.
o Differences in levels of free amino acids (pre-digested) among species of zooplankton
may explain the differences in their value as live feeds for fish larvae.
 Example: Levels of free methionine in wild zooplankton (mostly copepodid=
larval stages of calanoid copepods) is about twice the level of free methionine
in Artemia.
o Bioavailability of a given nutrient is not only dependent on its concentration in
zooplankton but also on its form and the competence of the larval gut to assimilate
that nutrient.
o Artificial diets prepared resembling nutrient composition of zooplankton may not
necessarily be nutritionally balanced for larval fish. Also larvae may not consume
enough artificial diet to support growth or larvae will not recognize artificial diet as
food.
 Factors affecting feed intake of larvae:
1. Physical properties of the diet
Example: Color, texture, shape and chemical properties affecting gustation and
olfaction
2. Condition of the rearing environment
Example: light intensity, wavelength, degree of polarization and contrast, and/or may
3. Most fish larvae are visual feeders, although taste buds and olfaction also influence
feeding. This makes vision and chemoreception the two most important sensory
systems used by first-feeding larvae to locate and ingest food.
 Nutrient Digestibility
o Digestibility: is used for dietary nutrients that need to be digested before they can be
absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract of animals (e.g., proteins, carbohydrates, and
fats),
o Availability: is used for nutrients that are absorbed without being digested or
decomposed in the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., vitamins, minerals, and amino acids).
o Bioavailability: is defined as the proportion of a nutrient in a diet that is absorbed and
used for biological functions. Usually determined using biological responses:
i. Growth
ii. Nutrient retention
iii. Tissue levels
iv. Enzyme activities
o However, it is difficult to measure the actual utilization of some nutrients. Absorption
is sometimes used to approximate the bioavailability of dietary nutrients, assuming
that all or almost all of the absorbed nutrients can be used.
o Not always true: Bioavailabilitity measured in terms of absorption. Absorption
measured in terms of digestibility. Some nutrients are transformed into other
forms/compounds. Amount utilized cannot be usually measured.
o Example: absorption is sometimes used to approximate the bioavailability of dietary
nutrients, assuming that all or almost all of the absorbed nutrients can be used. Free
amino acid diets have a higher absorption of total nitrogen (91%). Absorption of
casein–gelatin diet is 82%. When fed to carp (Cyprinus carpio), which diet do you think
will promote better growth in carp? Why?
 Absorptive index in free amino acids is high BUT Casein gelatin diet promotes
better growth in adult carp, constant and small amount of digestion utilizing

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 all the available nutrients. Cells utilize nutrients that are needed, free amino
acids will mostly go into waste
o Apparent digestibility or apparent availability is defined as: Apparent – less than
precise, estimated. Digestibility = measure the intake – the fecal matter; measure of
the availability of the nutrients

o True digestibility – difference: the endogenous excretion of nutrients is measured.

Endogenous meaning other nutrients fed by the fish other than the feed you gave.
Even zero nutrient in diets, nutrient will still be found in feces due to endogenous
sources.

o For major nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and lipids, apparent digestibility is almost
similar with true digestibility. Measurement of the true digestibility, therefore, has
little practical meaning in most feeding practices.
o Practical methods of Digestibility measurement:
1. Direct Method - requires both knowledge of the total amount of feed
consumed and the collection of all the faeces produced. Feed consumption is
frequently unknown and total collection of faeces is usually impractical.
 Impractical Way: not commonly used
2. Indirect Method - requires the inclusion of an indigestible indicator substance in
the diet. Measuring the ratio of the amount of nutrients to the amount of
indicator substance in the diet and in the feces, the percentage of nutrients
absorbed can be determined. Technique requires only a small fecal sample
instead of a complete collection of feces. There is no need to measure the
amount of feed ingested by the fish.
 Popular: commonly used nutrient digestibility studies of fish feeds
 Indicator substances must be: non- absorbable, nontoxic (for both test
animals and experimenters), tasteless; not affect normal digestion,
absorption, and physiological functions must have a rate of passage to
gastrointestinal tract equal to the nutrient being tested, need to be
precisely quantified;
 The most commonly used indicator in fish and animal feeds is chromic
oxide (Cr2O3). Included in diets at levels of 0.5 or 1%. Diet and fecal
samples containing chromic oxide can be analyzed colorimetrically with
relatively simple and inexpensive procedures.

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 o Collection of Feces
1. Fish should be fed test diets containing an indicator for five to seven days
(under normal feeding regimes and temperatures) before fecal samples are
collected.
2. Continuous collection of feces may have an advantage over a single collection.
Feces (plus water, if feces are collected in a settling column) are dried using an
oven or freeze-dryer, depending on the nutrient being tested, and the dried
material is finely ground for chemical analysis
o Calculation of Nutrient Digestibility
1. First compute the concentration factor CF: concentration of inert marker in the
diet and feces. This factor indicates the portion of the feces that corresponds to
a unit amount of the diet.

2. Next compute the nutrient

content in feces is divided by the CF, to determine the amount of nutrient
excreted in the feces per diet. The overall calculation procedure of nutrient
digestibility in diets is expressed as follows:

Unit 5. Feed Formulation and Evaluation

 Objective of feeding: good health, optimum growth and yield and minimum waste
 Feed formulation is the process of mixing together various feed ingredients, vitamin and mineral
supplements, and additives at the right proportions to produce diet that contains the required amount
of nutrients and energy
 Major Factors governing choice of feed ingredients:
1. Suitability of ingredients for species being cultured (type and quality)- feed ingredients are
chosen based on their nutrient and energy content, digestibility and pelletability. They must be
free from adulteration and toxicity.
2. Quantity and regularity of supply - select ingredients which are regularly available in sufficient
quantities.
3. Cost - select feedstuffs which are cheaper in terms of cost per unit weight of protein.
Example: Which of the following examples of ingredients is cheaper?
a. Assorted fish meal containing 55% protein and costing P22/kg.
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃ℎ𝑝 22
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 = = = Php 40/
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙) 0.55
kg
b. Anchovy meal containing 70% protein and costing P27/kg.
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑃ℎ𝑝 27
𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 = = = Php
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙) 0.70
38.6/kg
Summary: Anchovy meal is cheaper in terms of per kg of protein although higher
in cost on the basis of per kg of ingredient.

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 Balancing a feed ration:
1. Pearson’s square technique - technique of balancing feed ration which calculates the exact
quantities of ingredients for the feed formulation based on the required protein level given.

2. Multiple or trial and error method - a method whereby the total protein content of the diet is
calculated by just summing all the protein contributions of the listed ingredients. The calculated
total protein contributions of the ingredients are often not equal to the protein requirement.

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Methods of evaluating formulated feeds
1. Physical - Two methods in determining the physical characteristics of a feedstuff or a feed formulation:
 Macroscopic or gross observation. This refers to the evaluation and observation of the feedstuffs
or feeds which uses the following senses:
 Sense of smell – to detect rancidity and foul odor
 Sense of taste – to detect off flavour  palatability test: to make sure the feed is
consumed by the fish as shortly as possible, checks if appetite is enhanced or depressed
 Sense of sight – to identify and eliminate extraneous and undesirable materials, to detect
presence of molds and insects, and to observe the compactness of the feed
 Sense of touch – to feel the hardness, softness, coarseness and fineness of the feedstuffs
or feed formulation
o Water stability – must be > 4 hours for shrimp and <1 hour for milkfish and tilapia. The
following are measured upon immersion:
 Qualifying the extent of pellet disintegration after a given time
 Measuring the percentage of pellets that break under a fixed weight
 Measuring the time it takes for the pellet to lose its core
 Microscopic examination. This refers to the examination of feedstuffs or feeds on their starch,
bacterial or mold, and moisture content
2. Biological - a way of evaluating the effect of the food/feed on the animal itself. Two parameters used
to evaluate the effect of food/feed on the animal:
 Direct parameters:
 Growth, Survival
 tissue and skeletal changes

 Indirect parameters:
 feed conversion ratio (FCR) or feed efficiency (FE) – for food consumption. A feed
conversion above 2 is poor suggesting:
 poor quality feed is fed
 the feed (size or nutritional quality) is not suitable for the age of fish being grown
 the culture conditions are stressful to the fish
 fish are over-fed
 survival rates at harvest are low. Low survival rates may arise as a result a result of
stocking small sizes, poor handling at stocking or predation.

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  protein efficiency ration (PER) – for protein consumption

 productive protein value (PPV) or apparent net protein utilization (ANPU) – for protein
utilization

3. Chemical - a method of evaluating feed which determines the amount of the six (6) feed fractions or
components such as moisture, crude protein, crude lipid or fat (EE, ether extract), nitrogen-free
extract (NFE), crude fiber, and ash (mineral matter) contents through a system known as the
proximate analysis. This method also determines the other nutrients that the feedstuff or diet itself
contain.
 Moisture Content and Dry Matter

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  Crude Protein content – determined either by:
 Macrokjeldahl or kjeldahl method – which estimates the total nitrogen content (NC) which
is in turn, used to determine the quantity of protein by multiplying the NC obtained with
6.25.
 Chemical score – a method used to determine quality of protein. This is done by comparing
the EAAs in fish or feed protein with that of the whole egg protein.
 Essential amino acid index (EAAI) – also for determining the quality of protein. If the EAA
required by fish is not known, then compare the EAA of the diet to the species muscle to
be fed.
 Crude Lipid content – determined either by:
 Folch method – lipid is extracted by blending procedure using 2:1 ratio of chloroform and
methanol respectively.
 Bligh and Dyer – lipid extraction using:
o 1st blending – 1:2:0.8 chloroform, methanol and water
o 2nd blending – 2:2:0.8 chloroform, methanol and water
o 3rd blending – 2:2:1.8 chloroform, methanol and water
 Ether extract – a traditional method of extracting lipid with ethyl ether in a Soxlet
apparatus.
 Crude Fiber content – determined by: Initially by washing the organic residue that remains after
boiling the sample material with H2SO4 solution, NaOH solution, and ethanol in this sequence.
Finally, by drying the washed defatted sample in an oven at 105°C until constant weight
 Ash - analyzed by incinerating the fiber content in furnace at 550°C - 600°C until carbonaceous
matter is oxidized.
 Nitrogen-Free extract = 100 – (MC + Crude Protein + Crude Fat + Crude Fiber + Ash)
4. Other Evaluation
 Gross energy (GE). GE of a feed or a feedstuff is determined with a bomb calorimeter. It is
the total heat or combustion of a feed being analyzed. It is usually expressed as
kilocalories per kilogram of feed (or kcal/kg feed).
 Digestible energy = gross energy minus the energy lost in feces, expressed in mega joules
of DE per kg
 Metabolizable energy = digestible energy minus energy lost in urine and gastrointestinal
(GI) gas
 Net energy = metabolizable energy minus energy lost in the process of digestion

Unit 6. Feeding Management

I. Feeding administration – how to distribute feeds?
1. What needs to be ensured when administering feeds?:
 Rapid and positive consumption of feed by the fish
 Minimal metabolic energy expenditure associated with feeding – feed the fish the largest
particle size it can consume

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  Fish has equal access to the feeds
2. Ways to administer feeds:
 Feed tray – 1 x 1 or 1 x 2 m fine meshed net, submerged 15-20 cm below surface
 Advantage: Low cost, simple
 Disadvantage: Limited feed administration, significant nutrient leaching and feed
disintegration
 Hand feeding- ration broadcasted by hand for 15-30 minutes
 Advantage: Allows uniform feeding and observation of appetite and feed response
 Disadvantage: Costly (due to labor costs)
 Demand feeder – feed release mechanism triggered by fish on demand
 Advantage: Cost and labor efficient, reflects appetite of fish
 Disadvantage: Critical to determine fish ratio to ensure uniform feeding, cannot be
used for smaller than 20 g fish, must be used with maximum feeder
 Automatic feed blower – feed automatically broadcasted by electrically powered feed
blower
 Advantage: Wide area distribution (1:5,000 feeder: fish ratio)
 Disadvantage: does not reflect appetite, high power consumption
 Automatic feed spreader – feed automatically broadcasted by electrically powered feed
separator
 Advantage: Wide area distribution (1:10,000-15,000 feeder: fish ratio), lower power
consumption
 Disadvantage: Does not reflect fish appetite
3. When not to feed fish:
 Poor feeding response
 At least 1-2 days before transportation
 Before sampling/ harvest and on the sampling/ harvest day
 When treatments are applied to the pond
 Temperature is too low (20°C – reduced feeding; <16°C – stop feeding)
II. Feeding Strategies – how often to feed fish during entire culture period?
1. Daily Feeding:
 Feeding with naturally grown lablab, plankton, or lumut (without any fertilization)
 Feeding with naturally grown lablab, plankton, or lumut through use of organic and
inorganic fertilization
 Feeding with naturally grown food plus supplemental feeds
Example: Supplemental feeding on milkfish pond culture
 Feeding with supplemental feed to meet the nutrient requirement of fish for
maintenance and growth when natural food is inadequate  Delayed feeding:
start feed only after natural food is insufficient
 Supplemental feed is also given when you wish to raise more fish in your pond to
produce a higher crop and still have good growth
 Usually supplemental feeding is given one month after milkfish fingerlings are
stocked when their biomass is about 300 – 400 kg per hectare at the rate of 2 – 4%
of fish body weight when natural food (lablab or lumut) is low and at 1.5 – 3%
when these are abundant.
 Supplemental feeds could be in the form of formulated pellet feed (commercial or
homemade) and/or single-ingredient feed, like the rice bran, bread crumbs, and/or
any other natural or artificial foods.

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  Feeding frequency: 3 times a day when natural food is scarce and feed is given at 9
– 10 AM, 12 – 1 PM, and 4 – 5 PM. The total feed for the day will be divided into 3
of which 25%, 40% and 35% of such daily feed will be given to each feeding time
respectively. When natural food is abundant, a feeding frequency of 2 times per
day given at 9 – 10 AM with ⅓ of the daily ration and at 3 – 4 PM with ⅔ of the
daily ration is well and good.
 In tilapia culture, it is recommended by certain author/s that a feeding frequency
of 3x/day is ideal for the 25 – 100 grams tilapia and 2x/day for those > 100 grams.
2. Subsatiation feeding – feed 100% on Day 1 then 67% on Day 2, 100% on Day 3 so forth
3. Alternate feeding – feed today then do not feed the next then feed again on the next
4. Complete feeding and ad libitum feeding
 Ad libitum feeding – is giving unrestricted amount of feed until satiation or until the fish are
so fully satisfied that they do not consume all the given food within the usual feeding time.
 Complete feeding – is feeding with food that contains all the necessary nutrients (protein,
fat, carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral) and with sufficient amount of feeds required by
fish for maintenance and growth. It is also a feeding strategy that is employed when
natural food is absent or negligible and where formulated feed is given a day or two after
fish stocking until one day before harvest.
 In complete feeding, it is better to employ the sliding feeding scheme, i.e. from high to low
feeding rate, for example 12-10-8-6-4-3% of fish biomass rather than the flat rate, e.g. 4%
or 5% or whatever single percentage rate which will be used all throughout the duration of
the culture period. The 12-10-8-6-4-3% feeding rate scheme had been established to be
ideal for 4-month shrimp culture. To be economical in feeding and profitable with the
undertaking, it is recommended that the fish be fed to 90% satiation for the first 10 days
and to 80% satiation for the rest of the culture periods until harvest day.
 How to do the above scheme? The easiest way to do this is to determine 100%
satiation on day one and measure the amount of unconsumed feed by first drying it
in the oven or other means whichever technique is available and fastest and then
weigh. The dried unconsumed feed will then be subtracted from the weight of the
feed given previously to get the feed consumption which is equivalent to 100%
satiation. Subsequently, multiply the weight of consumption by 0.9 to get the 90%
satiation. This technique is observed in tilapia culture and it may apply to other
species, like the milkfish.
 Information about the bioenergy of milkfish is that: 1) it is a daytime feeder, eating
mostly during the latter part of the day around 11 AM to 3 PM and 4 PM to 6 PM, 2)
it had significantly higher growth when fed at 4% of its body weight than at 3%
feeding rate, 3) it empties its gut in 6 – 7 hours.
III. Feeding Frequency – how often to feed fish in a day?
 Depends on fish size, reduce starvation and result in uniform sizes
 Fish should be consumed within first 15 minutes.
Stage of fish Feeding frequency
Fry 4-8 times a day
Fingerlings 2-4 times a day
Juveniles 2-4 times a day
Adults 1-2 times a day

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IV. Feeding Rate – percent of body weight given as food
 Optimal feeding rate (OFR) – expressed as percentage of body weight, which allow the lowest
(or best) FCR. The fish receives the amount of food necessary for the maintenance of normal
vital functions as well as encouraging growth
 Maximal feeding rate – allows the highest growth speed. FCR in this scheme is usually not as
good as OFR since fish are induced to consume more food than is necessary, which leads to
waste
 Maintenance feeding rate – used to keep the fish at the same body weight where only the food
necessary for sustenance is given
V. Feeding Procedures – proper ways of distributing feeds
1. Handle feeds properly:
 Check labels
 Purchase feeds that can be consumed within 4 to 6 weeks
 Protect feeds from moisture, heat and direct sunlight
 Store feeds in cool, shaded, dry and well ventilated room
 Protect feeds from other animals and insects
 Do not use pesticide/ toxic materials near the feeds
 Do not keep feed that has been molded or spoiled.
2. Feed the fish, not the pond. During feeding, observe fish carefully to see how actively they eat.
A good appetite is a sign of good health and good water quality.
3. Feeding frequency is the number of times fish are fed in a day. Feeding frequency should be
modified according to the size of fish and natural food productivity.
4. Frequent feeding is recommended when the fish are small, when the natural food is scarce, and
when the feeds are less stable in water.
5. Increase feeding rate when natural food production is low.
6. Adjust feed size with the size of the fish. Use bigger feeds as fish grow. To do this, every 15 to 30
days, check on new fish biomass present in the pond and adjust the daily feeding ration
accordingly.
7. Broadcast the feed over a wide area. It allows for more fish to avail of given feed, minimizing
size variation in fish population and feed wastage. However, there was an observation made
that milkfish had better appetite or ate actively when fed in one common but wide feeding tray.
This can be explained by the so called social interactions.
8. The ration should be reduced by 25 % when the temperature drops to 25-27 °C and by 50%
when either the temperature falls to 21-24°C, salinity is over 36 ppt, or dissolved oxygen (DO) is
less than 3 ppm. Stop feeding when dissolved oxygen drops below 1.5 ppm.
9. Feeding them in trays or with feeding area. In shrimp ponds, 6-8 is ideal number of feeding trays
(1 x 1 m in size) in every hectare.
10. Condition the fish to sounds before feeding.
11. Provide appropriate feed:
𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦) =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑥 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙 )𝑥 𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑥 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙)
Example: You have stocked 50,000 milkfish fingerlings having an average body weight of 3 grams.
If these fishes be fed with commercial feeds at the rate of 10% of their biomass daily, how much
amount of such feeds would be prepared each day? (Assume that there is no mortality recorded
yet, so survival = 100% = 1 in decimal form)
𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 50,000 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑥 1 𝑥 3 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑥 0.1 = 15,000 𝑔 𝑜𝑟 15 𝑘𝑔 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠

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 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑔)
𝐹𝐶𝑅 =
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑔)
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 (𝐴𝐹𝐶𝑅)𝑜𝑟 𝑆𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 (𝑆 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒), 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 =
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡

Example: For the culture of 9,000 fish to a marketable size of 250 gram/ fish, the FCR is 1.75. How
much feeds (in kilogram) were used for the culture period
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑔)
𝐹𝐶𝑅 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑔) = 𝐹𝐶𝑅𝑥 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡
Weight biomass harvested = Total number of fish harvested x weight per fish
= 9,000 fish x 250 grams/ fish = 2,250,000 g
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑔) = 𝐹𝐶𝑅𝑥 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑
= 1.75 x 2,250,000 g = 3,937,500 g or 3,937 kg
Example: How to determine the percentage share of the following types of feed from the total
amount needed based on the rate of feed type. (Based on the previous problem).
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑥 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒
a. Starter feed – 5%
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 = 3,937 kg x 0.05 = 197 kg
b. Grower feed – 25%
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 = 3,937 kg x 0.25 = 984 kg
c. Finisher feed – 70%
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 = 3,937 kg x 0.70 = 2,756 kg

Example: What would be the apparent food conversion ratio if at the end of a 120-day culture
period, the fish stocks that had consumed 1,500 kg of feed had grown to a total weight of 1,015
kg from an initial of 15 kg?
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 (𝑘𝑔) 1,500 𝑘𝑔 1,500 𝑘𝑔
𝐴𝐹𝐶𝑅 = = = = 1.5
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 − 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 1,015 𝑘𝑔 − 15 𝑘𝑔

g. Apply 50 kg/ha of 16-20-0 or 20 kg/ha of 18-46-0 every 2 weeks plus 1000 kg/ha chicken manure
every month thereafter to maintain the abundance of plankton. Stop fertilization 20 days before
harvest.
A. Growing of Lumut
B. Filamentous algae or lumut grows favorably in lower salinities ( < 25 ppt) and a water
depth of 20-60 cm. In growing, the same fertilization program used for lablab production
is applied. Lumut occurs naturally, but seeding may be resorted to when growth is sparse.
Fibrous or silky filaments are best type or life stage of lumut for seeding or planting
purposes. These are planted either by staking, sowing, or spreading. Luxuriant growth is
not entirely desirable because this plant and the fish stock will compete for living space.

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Section 3. Water quality management
Unit 1. Water Sources for Aquaculture
a. Ground water – usually pollution- free but low in oxygen content (little to no exchange of oxygen
with atmosphere) since normally contained in aquifer; best water source for hatcheries
 Aquifer – underground water bearing stratum of rocks, sand or soil. Groundwater reserve
depends on area and depth of the aquifer and yield is related to substrate permeability and
distance of water traveling through the aquifer. Content of dissolved chemicals depend on
the surrounding geology: low in suspended solids, pollutants and pathogens and constant
temperature year round BUT low in dissolved oxygen plus high concentration of toxic gases
(do not volatilize to the atmosphere) and metals (Fe, Mn, As)
 Types of ground water:
1. Spring – water that flow out of ground automatically when aquifer is exposed to
ground – water discharge reduced during dry season
2. Depression below water table – water seepage through shallow excavation into the
aquifer and water level rise to that of water table, pumping required to circulate water
above ground
3. Wells:
 Water table wells - excavation below water table – water from unconfined
aquifer
 Artesian/ flowing wells – water discharge freely without pumping, aquifer
recharge area must be in higher elevation than well outlet – water from
confined aquifer

b. Surface water – exposed to sources of pollution; most are well-oxygenated. Divided into 4 major
sources:
1. Rivers/ streams
 Cons: exposed to prevailing climatic conditions, water level fluctuation, turbidity,
temperature, mineral contaminants, pollution, cannot be considered free of fish
pathogens (due to resident or migratory fish populations)
 Pros: DO concentration is usually high (due to turbulence), can provide large quantities
of water that may not require pumping, streams are generally free of high levels of
carbon dioxide; maybe supersaturated with atmospheric gases due to photosynthesis or
entrainment of air below dams
2. Lakes, reservoirs – stratification in relation to water intakes
3. Brackish and seawater – tidal and salinity fluctuation, corrosion and fouling problems

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 4. Canals for irrigation or transport – contaminants: agricultural and industrial discharges,
conflict with water use schedule
5. Domestic potable water supply –
 Cons: problem with chlorine/ chloramine content, expensive, contamination with
copper, zinc or lead may result from leaching of pipes and fittings
 Pros: convenient source of water for small-scale facilities where no other source is
practical
Pollutant Sources and pathways:
 Pollutants can be released into the environment as gases, dissolved substances or in the particulate
form. Ultimately they reach the aquatic environment.
 Pollution may result from point sources or diffuse sources. (Sometimes a diffuse source may result
from large number of individual point sources) Difference between point and diffuse sources:
a. POINT SOURCES: is pollution input that can be related to a single outlet i.e. discharge of domestic
waste waters, industrial wastes etc.  may be collected, treated or controlled.
b. DIFFUSE SOURCES:
i. ATMOSPHERIC Diffuse source:
 combustion of fossil fuels
 ore smelting
 wind blown soils
 volatilisation from agriculture, waste disposal and previously polluted regions.
ii. NON ATMOSPHERIC DIFFUSE SOURCES - Classification based on land use:
 Pollution from urban development areas
 Pollution from industrial areas
 Pollution from agricultural areas
 Pollution from natural sources
 Classification of Pollutants:
a. Chemical Pollutants:
i. Organics are categorized as compounds containing a carbon atom. Organics deplete
dissolved oxygen and can also be toxic (poisonous). Major effects of inorganic materials
include changes in the pH of water and toxicity caused by materials such as heavy metals.
ii. Insoluble inorganics may result in sludge deposits. Oil can form surface films and taste and
odor producing substances
b. Physical Pollutants
i. Undesirable color caused by suspended solid and vegetable and organic extract.
ii. Turbidity caused by suspended material (silt, clay, planktonic microorganisms), is measured
by standard methods which are measure of interference of the passage of light through
the water while
iii. Temperature, significantly affects physical, biological and chemical processes - due to the
use of water for cooling purposes.
iv. Foam, caused by industrial waste and detergents.
v. Suspended Solids inhibit photosynthesis, retards biological activity, cause reduction in
waste assimilative capacity, measured by evaporation or filtration.
vi. Radioactivity (these may also be caused by chemical pollutants)
c. Physiological Pollutants
i. Taste and odor problems
ii. Hydrogen sulfide can be smelled at concentrations of 0.0011 mg/l
iii. Fish flesh can be tainted by taste and odor-producing materials.
d. Biological Pollutants

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 i. Primary biological pollutants cause disease - waterborne diseases are caused by bacteria,
virus, protozoans, helminths
ii. Secondary may increase biological growth
 Eutrophication: natural or artificial addition of nutrients to water bodies and the resultant
effects of those added nutrients.

Unit 2. Water quality

 Water is chemically inert, has a high heat capacity (holds heat efficiently), is relatively polar affording
it the ability to act as an excellent solvent and is quite dense.
 Its boiling point is quite high compared to similar molecules and its freezing point quite low.
Therefore, it exists as a liquid over a rather broad range of temperature making it a suitable medium
to support life forms. Water quality parameters of interest to aquaculture include:
1. Temperature
 What is it? Most important physical factor to consider in aquaculture because of its
influences in the aquatic environment. No other single factor affects the development and
growth of fish as much as temperature.
 Measurement: It is the intensity factor of heat which is measured by a mercurial
thermometer, yellow spring instrument (YSI) or other means.
 Tolerance: Temperature fluctuation should be minimal. Abrupt change by ≥5°C is stressful or
lethal, so care must be taken.
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. Most cultured aquatic organisms are ectothermic and are unable to control body
temperature other than by behavior (by temperature selection).
ii. It affects the metabolic rates of organisms.
 Rate of respiration increased with increasing temperature.
 Dissolved oxygen consumption increases with increasing temperature.
 Metabolic rate increases 2- or 3-fold for every increase of 10°C.
 Increased metabolic rate leads to higher oxygen consumption and waste
production (CO2, ammonia).
iii. It affects solubility of gases
 Solubility of oxygen is less at high temperature compared with lower temperature.
iv. It affects the stability of water column which means that there is no uniformity of
temperature in the water columns. The non-uniformity of temperature in the water
columns is known as the thermal stratification or layering. Warmer water is at the upper
column, except when temperature drops to below 4°C where warmer water is at the
lower column.
v. It influences growth of aquatic organisms (plants and animals, including finfishes and
shellfishes). At the ideal range of 27-29°C, fish growth is accelerated with high survival.
vi. It influences spawning and shortens the time of hatching. At higher degree in the ideal
range, spawning and hatching are hastened or accelerated, e.g. 29-31°C in tilapias.
 Temperature outside the temperature tolerance limits (< 21°C and > 35°C) will
impart stress and disease and eventually will cause mortality.
 Factors Influencing Increase of Heat in Water
i. Dissolved substances
ii. Suspended particulate matters
iii. Plankton

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 Example: In fishpond, the water temperature at the surface is equal to 31°C before
the start of a bloom of plankton and becomes 35°C at the height of a bloom based
on an observation. From this fact, it could be generalized that the greater the
density of plankton the more light is absorbed at the surface and consequently
much heat is generated in the aquatic environment
 Aquaculture considerations:
i. feeding regime must be appropriately adjusted to the water temperature
ii. know that grow-out period will be affected by environmental temperatures
iii. need to avoid abrupt temperature changes
iv. to minimize stress while transporting fish, it may be advisable to reduce the water
temperature thus reducing fish activity and toxic waste accumulation
v. cultured species must be carefully selected to match their temperature
requirements to the regional environmental temperatures
2. Salinity
 What is it? Measure of the total concentration of all dissolved salts present in a natural body
of water expressed as grams of salt per kilogram of water (g/kg). The term salinity does not
restrict itself to the levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) present. Although this accounts for a
major part of it, the term salinity also includes all other dissolved ions such as potassium,
magnesium, calcium and sulfate ions in smaller concentrations as well as trace amounts of
many salts. Aside from g/kg, salinity is also expressed in various units or ways as follows: ppt
(parts per thousand), ‰ and % (percent), e.g. seawater is about 35 ppt, or 35‰, or 3.5%
salinity.
 Measurement: The first 2 methods above are to be used when salinity is suspected to be
high
i. Density technique (least expensive). Recorded density is converted to salinity by
employing conversion table. Instrument used to measure density is hydrometer.
ii. Refractive index of seawater method (simplest and most rapid method). It directly
measures the salinity of water. Instrument used: refractometer (which is quite
expensive)
iii. Conductivity method (method of high precision). The device used in this method is
much more expensive and yet requires a fairly large sample. It is useful more often
to the researchers than to the aquaculturists.
iv. Titration method. This requires reagent solutions (chemicals) and is done in the
laboratory with the aid of a burette, Erlenmeyer flask, etc.
 Tolerance: Fluctuating salinity, especially a sudden change (decrease or increase) of at least
5 ppt S, greatly causes stress or even death of fish
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. It affects solubility of oxygen. DO decreases with increasing salinity and vice versa.
Example: At the same temperature of:
30ºC and 0 ppt S, DO is 7.6 ppm
30ºC and 10 ppt S, DO is 7.1 ppm
30ºC and 20 ppt S, DO is 6.8 ppm
30ºC and 30 ppt S, DO is 6.4 ppm
ii. It affects the osmoregulatory function of most aquatic vertebrates including fish.
Osmoregulation requires a significant amount of energy to maintain the fish body fluids
to counteract the effect of salt concentration of the habitat that may lead to mortality.
 Factors Influencing salinity:

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 i. Rainfall - directly and indirectly reduces salinity of coastal marine water
ii. Freshwater run off - Freshwater run-off from rivers greatly reduces the salinity of CMW
and so culture site should not be immediately adjacent to the mouth of the river.
 Aquaculture considerations:
i. Water salinity influences metabolic rates. Thus, feeding must be adjusted according to
salinity.
ii. Salinity requirements may vary with development.
iii. Because of their greater tolerance to salinity variations, most aquacultural species are
euryhaline
3. Light
 What is it? Light is a radiant energy. The ultimate source of light energy is the sun.
i. Sunlight is less absorbed in aquatic system at a lower angle, like 1- 45°.
ii. Absorption and penetration of light rays to the deeper zone is attained at higher degree
or angle, like 70-90°; at lower angle more light rays are scattered or diffused and
subsequently reflected to the atmosphere. This is the reason why in the later part of
March up to the early part of November in the Philippines, when more light is absorbed,
the natural bodies of water are warmer and production of phytoplankton and other
kinds of algae are far better than during colder period, i.e. from late November up to
the early part of March, when light energy is less absorbed and scattered.
iii. The relation of light absorption to application of inorganic (chemical) fertilizer is that
phytoplankton quickly response to fertilization at greater absorption of light energy.
 Functions of light
i. Supplies energy necessary for primary productivity (PP), i.e. production of all kinds of
plants, except fungi, for food of animal organisms. The process involved in PP is known
as photosynthesis.
ii. Illuminates dark water for the aquatic animals to see their foods – direct effect.
iii. Determines the kinds and amounts of food available for fish.
iv. For coloration of the body of the aquatic animals – direct effect.
v. Triggers and directs movements of aquatic animals.
 Factors Influencing absorption and penetration of light in the lower zone of the aquatic
system:
i. Dissolved substances
ii. Suspended solids or particulate matters
iii. Plankton
4. Turbidity
 What is it? Degree by which transparency of water is reduced by dissolved substances,
suspended solids and plankton.
i. Determines the amount of light penetration that occurs in the water column of a pond
ii. Have an effect on temperature and amount of vegetation and algae that grow in the
pond
iii. Secchi disk visibility depth (SDVD) serves as an index of plankton productivity of the
water. High biotic productivity (phytoplankton) is an indication of very fertile water that
is highly conducive to DO depletion due to high phytoplankton respiration rates and die-
off. Productive tilapia ponds usually has a SDV depth between 10-30 cm.
iv. Secchi disc transparency and the maximum depth to which macrophytes occur is
essentially linear. Macrophytes do not commonly occur below 1.5 meters when the
Secchi disc transparency is 1 m or below 2.5 meters when the SD transparency is 2 m.
Boyd (1975) found that underwater macrophytes could not grow at depths greater than

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 twice the Secchi disc visibility in ponds. Macrophytes are usually absent in waters with
moderate to heavy plankton blooms.
 Measurement:
i. turbidimeter is expressed in ppm, e.g. muddy waters usually contain less than 2,000
ppm and clay turbidity in natural waters rarely exceeds 20,000 ppm.
ii. Secchi disk, a circular metal or wooden device painted alternately black and white
attached to graduated pole or rope, is expressed in linear measurement, e.g. cm or m.
This device measures the transparency of water. Or the distance of visibility of the
Secchi disk from the water surface measures the turbidity of such water. However, if
turbidity is referred to as the abundance of plankton production, then the distance of
the visibility of Secchi disk multiplied by 2 is equal to the depth of euphotic zone – the
production zone. In fishpond, the depth of measurement or thickness of euphotic zone
is usually less than 1 m.
iii. Weighing balance. This device is used to weigh the precipitates (in mg, g, or kg)
obtained from settling down the suspended solids or particulate matters.
 Tolerance: Turbidities less than 2,000 ppm are acceptable for fish culture. As to the use of the
Secchi disk, the ideal disk reading is > 30 or 40 cm.
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. restricting light penetration, thereby limiting photosynthesis and the production of
desirable plankton in ponds or tanks
ii. gill damage on fishes
iii. smothering of fish eggs and destroying of benthic organisms in ponds, e.g. lablab
iv. phytoplankton die-off
v. dissolved oxygen depletion
vi. render difficulty for fish to find food
vii. sedimentation
viii. clogging of hatchery pumps, filters, and pipelines
ix. high turbidity usually causes acidity, low nutrient levels and reduced primary production
 Factors that cause turbidity:
i. soil erosion – high levels of particulate (suspended) solids are associated with increased
turbidity.
ii. mining wastes
iii. sewage and sewerage effluent discharge
iv. microbial breakdown of organic matters
v. plankton (phytoplankton and zooplankton)
vi. clay turbidity – suspended clay particles. This is a common problem in newly
constructed ponds. It originates mainly from a number of sources:
 turbid source water
 rainwater runoff from pond dikes that contains, clay turbidity, especially, when
dikes are not covered with vegetation
 erosion of pond edges caused by water movement or fish grazing
 resuspension of bottom mud by water and fish movement
 Remedial measures in precipitating clay turbidity – for small areas only, e.g. ponds and tanks:
i. Application of CaSO4 • 2H2O (gypsum) or alum. As reported, an application rate of 20
mg/l (20 ppm) of gypsum can decrease 91% of the turbidity without endangering fishes
and other aquatic organisms.
 Erosion on the water itself can be a source of small (1-100 nm) colloidal particles
responsible for the unwanted turbidity. The particles repel each other due to

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 negative charges – this can be neutralized by electrolytes of opposite charge
(positive) resulting in coagulation. Alum and ferric sulfate are more effective than
hydrated lime and gypsum in removing clay turbidity.
ii. Apply barnyard manure but use extreme caution since oxygen depletion may result
(since decomposition of the manure requires oxygen also)
iii. Application of agricultural lime at the rate of 500-600 kg/ha can also reduce turbidity by
precipitating the suspended solids.
iv. Rice hay at the rate of 500 kg/ha was found to reduce turbidity. But, do not use this
method in hot weather because the hay will decay very quickly and will begin to use up
oxygen in water
v. If the pond water continues to have a lot of silt, the farmer should consider constructing
a siltation tank.
vi. Cover the watershed and pond dikes with vegetation and minimize the free board area
of pond edges to avoid erosion of mud
5. Dissolved Oxygen
• What is it? Dissolved oxygen is the gas of greatest importance in fish culture. It is a highly critical
water quality parameter in fish culture. It is important for the fish culturist to fully acquaint himself
with the dynamics of DO concentrations in pond, lakes, and other aquaculture systems including
tanks of different types.
 Natural means by which oxygen is added to the water:
i. Oxygen diffuses directly from the atmosphere to the water. The air contains approximately
21% oxygen. The partial pressure or tension of oxygen in the air drives oxygen into the
water until partial pressure of oxygen in the water is equal to the air. When this occurs,
movement of oxygen molecules from air to water ceases. This oxygen normally confined
only to that thin film of water directly exposed to the air. That is why, when oxygen is
virtually depleted in a pond, fish are often seen gulping at the surface.
ii. Water circulation from the wind, or from other means, exposes more surface water to the
atmosphere. This allows more oxygen to diffuse into the water. The mixing of water from
circulation also allows deeper penetration of dissolved oxygen below the surface film.
iii. Photosynthesis by green plants is the major source of oxygen. Plants containing chlorophyll
in the presence of light use CO2 to produce carbohydrate and oxygen. The carbohydrate is
stored by plants, and the oxygen is dissolved in water and becomes available for aquatic life.
Unlike oxygen derived from the atmosphere, photosynthesis is more widely distributed in
the water column and normally occurs wherever green plants are found. A shortage of CO 2,
lack of sufficient light, and a lack of nutrients all limit photosynthesis.
• Functions of oxygen:
i. it is used for respiration
ii. it helps in feed consumption, digestion, and assimilation
iii. it maintains osmotic balance of fish
iv. it helps in fish activity such as swimming, searching of food, and the like
v. it helps in the oxidation of metabolites in the aquatic environment such as the ammonia
(NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) into usable form nitrate (NO3) and sulfate (SO4)
respectively.
 Measurement: Dissolved oxygen in the water can be expressed in two ways: absolute
concentration (mg/L or ppm concentration) or relative concentration (percent (%) saturation) and
measured by titration using Winkler method, by electronic instrument, yellow spring instrument
(YSI), or by reagent chemical substances with the use of Hach kit. DO readings will depend on:

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 i. Time of the day, amount of plant growth within the pond – high aquatic plant life, algae,
phytoplankton = high photosynthesis = high DO during the day but at night oxygen is
consumed
ii. Location of the measurement taken within the pond
 Stratification – pond’s water column split into 2 separate, unmixed layers due to
lack of mechanical movement – occur during periods of hot, still weather and
prevalent in deeper, highly turbid ponds
 Top layer: heat up but oxygen levels are still high due to oxygen diffusing from air
into water
 Bottom layer: colder and oxygen levels are low due to decaying organic matter at
pond bottom consuming oxygen
 Tolerance: Ideal/desirable range of DO level for finfishes and crustaceans is 6-8 ppm (mg/L)
although 5 mg/L is satisfactory. Reduced food consumption by fish occurs at DO concentration
near 4 mg/l (ppm). If DO concentration remains at less than 3 or 4 mg/l for prolonged period, fish
cease to feed and growth is impaired.
 Signs shown by fish when DO is not optimal:
i. not eating and acting sluggish
ii. gasping for air at the surface or surfacing
iii. grouped near the water inflow
iv. slow growth
v. outbreaks of disease and parasites
• Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
DO conc. (ppm) Effect
< 0.3 Fish would die if exposed for long periods
0.3 - 1.0 Lethal to fish if exposure is prolonged
1.0 - 5.0 Fish survive, but growth slow for prolonged exposure.
>5 Desirable range
 When water is supersaturated with gas, gas bubble trauma (also called gas bubble
disease) occurs in fish.
 Chronic gas bubble trauma (total gas pressure of less than 76 mm Hg) - associated
with hyper-inflation of the swim bladder and extravascular emboli in the gut and
buccal cavity after prolonged exposure. This could result in mortality over extended
periods and may be related to stress-related infections.
 Acute gas bubble trauma occurs at high levels of supersaturation (total gas pressure
of more than 76 mm Hg). Supersaturation is an unstable condition, and as gases
come out of solution they form bubbles. If the gases in solution diffuse across the
gills of fish before coming out of solution, emboli will be formed in the vascular
system and other tissues. Vascular emboli restrict blood flow, resulting in tissue
anoxia.
• Factors that lower oxygen holding capacity of water:
i. Cessation of wind circulation reduces exposure of water to the atmosphere, so less oxygen
is absorbed into the water.
ii. it is warmed or its temperature is above optimum range – low oxygen dissolved in water
when temperature is high
iii. it becomes more saline – as salinity increases, water holds less oxygen at saturation
iv. it is raised to higher altitude – a decrease in barometric pressure lowers the ability of water
to hold dissolved oxygen

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 v. high organic loading due to high feeding rate and/or ad libitum feeding (feeding in
satiation) - Aerobic decomposition or organic matter uses oxygen in the process.
vi. cloudy weather - an inhibition or cessation of photosynthesis may dramatically reduce
dissolved oxygen in the water.
vii. raining, especially prolonged raining
viii. plankton die-offs – decomposition consumes oxygen
ix. heavy stocking of fish - aerobic bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and other
microorganisms consume large quantities of oxygen.
x. exhaustion of nutrients – no phytoplankton to produce oxygen
xi. addition of water low in dissolved oxygen such as ground water, lowers DO content in
water
xii. high humidity, lower DO
 Relationship of DO concentrations over time:

 Management techniques in preventing problems with DO depletion:

i. monitoring DO at critical times at dawn down to 6 A.M.
ii. avoid over stocking
iii. avoid over feeding. Sliding rule of feeding should be adopted, i.e. from higher to lower rate.
iv. avoid over fertilization (in the case of ponds)
v. installing of aeration (in the case of ponds)
vi. ensuring water circulation – use mechanical aerations
6. pH
 What is it? pH measures the degree of acidity or basicity/alkalinity of a solution. It does not
measure the total acidity or the total alkalinity but rather the degree or intensity of acidity or
alkalinity.
i. pH is a term used to express the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration of a certain fluid or
solution, like water. The p stands for power and H for hydrogen. Therefore, pH is the
power of hydrogen.
ii. The H+ can be mathematically determined from pH values. pH indicates the ability of
the solution to give up hydrogen ions (as acidic solutions) or to take up hydrogen ions
(as basic solutions).
iii. The relationship between H+ and pH is defined by the equation below:
𝑝𝐻 = − log (𝐻 + )
iv. pH scale ranges from 0-14, 7 being the neutral, i.e. there are as many donors of hydrogen
ions as acceptors in solution; < 7 down to 0 as acidic, and > 7 up to 14 is basic or alkaline.
Acidic has sour taste while alkaline has a basic or bitter taste. The greater the deviation
from 7, the more intense is the acidity or basicity of the solution.

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 Measurement: It would be ideal to check the pH at daybreak and afternoon to get a profile of the
diurnal shifts in pH.
 Tolerance: Water with pH values of about 6.5 – 9 at daybreak are best for fish production. Slow
growth is observed in waters with pH values between 6 and 4 and death may occur at the pH
values of 4 down to 0 and at pH 11 up to 14
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. Alterations in the blood pH of fishes can be corrected by the exchange of ions between
their internal (blood) and external (water) environments. The most important site of ion
transfer are the gills. This ion exchange requires external Cl- for internal HCO3-, and external
Na+ for internal H+.
ii. Blood acidosis (low pH) is corrected by reducing the uptake of Cl - by the gills and to some
extent increasing uptake of Na +. The reduction in Cl- uptake thus reduces HCO3- excretion,
and the increase in Na+ uptake increases the excretion of H+. The net effect is a
compensatory increase and return to normal blood pH.
iii. However, the ionic content of water can affect ionic transfers across the gills. Of most
importance is the availability of the appropriate counter-ions for exchange: Cl- and Na+.
iv. Also, high water H+ content (low pH) limits the ability of the organism to excrete H + and
thus maintain adequate internal pH levels.
v. Water pH also affects the toxicity of ammonia and other toxic compounds.
vi. The presence of certain metals (e.g., iron) can decrease tolerance for low pH waters.
 Signs of sub-optimal pH:
i. Mucus on gill surfaces of fish
ii. Damage to eye lens
iii. Abnormal swimming behaviour
iv. Fin fray
v. Poor phytoplankton and zooplankton growth
 Factors Influencing pH:
i. The pH of natural waters are found to be high during the day and low at night. This
variation is due to the large influence of concentration of carbon dioxide (CO 2) on the pH of
aquatic systems. Carbon dioxide dissolves in water to form carbonic acid, a weak acid, and
this lowers the pH: CO2 + H2O  H2CO3 (carbonic acid)
ii. Diurnal fluctuation of pH: During the day, phytoplankton and other aquatic plants use up
CO2 for their photosynthetic activity. The pH shifts towards the alkaline scale. This loss of
CO2 leads to the rise in pH during the day. At night, vegetal respiration replaces
photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide produced through this activity brings about the lowering of
the pH. The pH shifts towards the acidic scale.
iii. Diurnal fluctuation is not pronounced in pond water with higher alkalinity.

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 iv. Vegetation which produces tannic acid, e.g. Rhizophora spp. (bakawan).
v. Mineral acids – Oxidation of soil sulfides produces sulfuric acid. Sulfides may be washed
down from dikes during rain
vi. Organic acids – produced by anaerobic bacteria (“acid formers”) from protein,
carbohydrates and fat from feed wastes
vii. Run-off – This carries acid elements from upland and from pond dikes into the pond water.
 Remedial measures for correcting acidity:
i. washing/flushing (leaching) - Control of soil acidity by draining and drying the pond to
expose to air and sunlight and then by washing said pond several times after having filled
with water
ii. liming for low pH and gypsum or alum for high pH
7. Total Alkalinity
 What is it? Alkalinity refers to an ability to accept hydrogen ions (H+) (or to neutralize acid) and
is a direct counterpart of acidity. Total alkalinity refers to the total concentration of bases
present in the water expressed as milligrams per liter (mg/L) or parts per million (ppm) of
equivalent calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
i. In natural waters, these bases are predominantly carbonate (CO3) and bicarbonate (HCO3)
ions. The dissolved compounds producing alkalinity may be divided into two groups:
 those producing alkalinity alone (NaCO3, NaHCO3, K2CO3, KHCO3)
 those producing alkalinity and hardness (CaCO3, Ca(HCO3), MgCO3,
Mg(HCO3)2)
ii. The expression of total alkalinity in terms of CaCO3 is done to simplify calculations and to
standardize procedures. This way, it will be easy to relate total alkalinity with total
hardness since some of the compounds producing alkalinity are also responsible of the
hardness in the water. It is possible to relate total alkalinity with the availability of CO 2 for
phytoplankton logistics. Carbon dioxide is readily soluble in water and forms carbonic acid
(H2CO3). Equation below shows the formation of this weak acid as well as its step-wise
dissociation at different pH values.

iii. An increase in pH allows the reaction to move to the right. A decreasing pH favors a shift
to the left. When the pH is greater than 4.5, H2CO3 dissociates to form bicarbonate which
in turn is transformed to the CO3= radical if the pH is above approximately 8.3.
iv. Adequate alkalinity is required so as to ensure pH stability and neutralize harmful effects
of magnesium, sodium and potassium salts
• Measurement: Total alkalinity is measured by titration method or by reagent chemical
substances with the use of Hach kit.
• Tolerance: Waters with total alkalinities of 20-150 mg/L contain suitable quantities of CO2 to
permit plankton production for fish culture. Optimum levels of total alkalinity is at the range of
20-300 mg/L.
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
Alkalinity (mg/L CaCO3) Significance to fish culture
Zero Water strongly acid, unsuitable for hatchery purposes,
adding lime to the water unprofitable in most cases
5 to 25 Fish are sensitive to some to some toxic pollutants.
Danger of fish dying. pH variable, carbon dioxide supply
poor, low productivity

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 50 to 300 Provides a good buffering (stabilizing effect to pH
swings) – ideal
 Dissolved metals such as copper, zinc and aluminum are more toxic to fish in water with
low alkalinity. In water with ample alkalinity, metals form relatively non-toxic hydroxide
and carbonate precipitates, and dissolved carbonate and bicarbonate complexes.
 Effect on phytoplankton productivity in unfertilized and fertilized ponds
 Low-alkalinity waters are usually unproductive. They have low nutrient concentration,
little plant growth, large variations in pH, and low fish yields.

Fertilized fish ponds

Phytoplankton productivity

Unfertilized fish ponds

0 10 20 40 60 80 100 120
Total alkalinity (mg/l as CaCO3)

 Factors Influencing alkalinity:

i. During the day, when pH is high, carbon is available in the form of H 2CO3, CO2, CO3=, and
HCO3-. At night, there is CO2 production and the pH is low.
 Management measures for high alkalinity and hardness: No practical way of decreasing
alkalinity and hardness when above desirable levels
8. Total Hardness
 What is it? A measure of the total divalent cations or ionic species with a charge of +2
predominantly calcium and magnesium ions expressed as mg/L CaCO3. The hardness causing
compounds are not identified individually.
i. Hardness values reveal that the hardness is equivalent to that produced by CaCO 3.
Sodium and potassium compounds do not produce hardness. The carbonate and
bicarbonate salts of sodium and potassium produce alkalinity. The Ca and Mg salts
account largely to the hardness of water.
ii. Calcium and magnesium bicarbonates cause temporary hardness to water. The term
“temporary” is used because upon boiling, the bicarbonates change to carbonates and
part of the Ca and Mg are precipitated. Water with temporary hardness are called “soft
waters.”
iii. Permanent hardness is due mainly to soluble calcium and magnesium carbonates and
salts of inorganic acids, e.g. CaSO4. Water with permanent hardness are called “hard
water.”
 Measurement: Total hardness is measured by titration method or by reagent chemicals with
the use of Hach kit.
 How do you tell if water is hard or not without using chemicals to test it?
i. One method is to look closely at the pond walls where the water line is. If there is
a white line on the wall of the pond where the water was touching the pond before
the water level fell, there are salts present in the water which have dried on the
pond walls. This water probably has a lot of salts.
ii. Another way of telling if the water is hard is to wash hands at the side of the pond.
If the soap takes a long time to lather and if the lather does not stay very long, the

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 water is hard. If the water is soft and does not contain high concentration of salts,
it lathers very easily and is hard to wash off.
 Tolerance: the desired level of hardness should fall within the 20-300 mg/L range.
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
 20 mg/L total hardness is generally not good for fish or shellfish culture (Ca is needed
for skeletal and exoskeletal growth)
 Soft water with low alkalinity has poor buffering capacity and pH tends to fluctuate
quickly and widely – not good for fish culture
 Most freshwater fishes grow well over a wide range of hardness values, but they may be
more susceptible to other adverse water quality conditions when hardness values are
low.
 For examples, it has been reported that increased environmental calcium
concentrations decrease the toxicity of ammonia and low pH to freshwater fishes,
probably by decreasing plasma sodium influx at the gills. This reduces the
osmoregulatory stress imposed on fish in acid water or environments with high un-
ionized ammonia concentrations.
 Increasing the hardness of water also decreases the toxicity of dissolved metals such as
copper and zinc because calcium and magnesium compete with metals for branchial
adsorption sites, decreasing the rate of metal uptake.
 Adequate hardness is desirable because environmental calcium deficiencies in water
may cause poor survival, decreased growth, or poor disease resistance in fry.
 Hardness should be between 50 and 300 ppm in the pond for best fish growth.
 In general, the calcium content of fresh water should be greater than about 5 mg/l
(calcium hardness of 12.5 mg/l as CaCO3) for raising freshwater fishes.
 Management measures for high alkalinity and hardness: No practical way of decreasing
alkalinity and hardness when above desirable levels
9. Ammonia – Nitrogen
 What is it? Second gas of great importance next to oxygen in fish culture; its significance to
good fish production and fish hatchery is overwhelming. This is the main nitrogenous waste
generated by teleost fishes and shellfish is ammonia. This is an important source of inorganic
N in intensive aquacultural operations (the other source is mineralization of organic N (waste)
by heterotrophic bacteria – see figure below). Ammonia is excreted primarily via the gills.
i. Sources of ammonia in aquaculture include:
 Decomposition of organic wastes resulting in the breakdown of decaying
organic matter such as algal, plants, animals and uneaten food
 Fish excretion related to feeding rate and protein level in feed
 Diffusion from the sediment: large quantities of organic matter are produced by
algae or added to ponds as feed settle to the bottom
ii. Ammonia concentrations are partially curbed or buffered by conversion to the
nontoxic nitrate (NO3) ion by nitrifying bacteria (primarily Nitrosomonas species i.e.
Nitrocystis oceanus) which can be grown on almost any coarse medium, such as
rocks, oyster shells or plastic chips containing calcium carbonates (CaCO 3).
iii. Ammonia is converted to nontoxic ammonia ion (NH4+) at pH below 8. As long as pH
is 8 or lower, NH3 levels of up to 0.5 ppm will be safe. Increasing water pH or
decreasing salinity will shift the equilibrium to higher levels of the highly toxic form
of ammonia, the unionized ammonia (NH3)
NH3 + H2O = NH4+ + OH-

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 Organic N
(Urea, waste)
Mineralization3 Nitrification
By: Heterotrophic Aerobic condition
N-cycle bacteria By: Nitrosomonas1
NH3 (Ammonia) 1 NO3 (Nitrate)
TOXIC NON TOXIC

Ammonification Denitrification Oxidation

Low pH conditions Anaerobic condition 2 Aerobic condition
By: Denitrificans2 By: Nitrobacter1
NH4 (Ammonium ion)
NO2 (Nitrite)
NON TOXIC
TOXIC
1
Nitrosomas and Nitrobacter are nitrifying bacteria which are strictly aerobic and oxidize
inorganic N in a two-step process (numbered 1 and 2 in figure above). Because nitrifying
bacteria require oxygen to function, their presence is restricted to the surface layer of
sediment (or artificial biological filters). DO levels > 0.6 mg/L are typically required for
proper bacterial function.
2
Denitrification (reverse reaction) can be enhanced in low-oxygen (< 0.2 mg/L) or
anaerobic conditions.
3
Mineralization – nitrogen in waste is converted to inorganic forms (i.e ammonia)
 Measurement: The presence of both NH3 and NH4+ in the water is known as the total
ammonia. Measured through spectrophotometer/ calorimeter kits.
 Tolerance: The levels within which the following forms of ammonia are maintained for
hatchery purposes are:
 Ammonia (NH3) < 0.1 ppm as NH3 – N
 Ammonium ion (NH4+) < 1.5 ppm as NH4 – N
 Total ammonia (NH3 + NH4+) 1 – 2.5 ppm
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:

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 i. Ammonia can be toxic to fish, and the un-ionized ammonia is more toxic than the
ionized form.
ii. As environmental un-ionized ammonia increases, the concentration gradient
between the blood and the environment decreases and the rate of ammonia
excretion decreases. This results in increased blood and tissue ammonia levels that
can have serious physiological consequence:
 Unionized ammonia (NH3) is the toxic form of ammonia in fishes.
 Causes external irritations of gills, eyes, fins (“ammonia burns”).
 Unionized ammonia can also diffuse across the gill and cell membranes
causing internal damage to the fish. High levels of unionized ammonia
impairs osmoregulation, affect the oxygen carrying capacity of blood, and
have other direct toxic effects on internal organs such as the liver.
iii. Warm water fishes are more tolerant to high ammonia levels than temperate fishes.
iv. Generally, the un-ionized ammonia level that would cause significant growth
reduction in most aquatic animals range from 50 - 200 ug/l (0.05 – 0.2 mg/l) NH3-N.
 Factors Influencing Increase of Ammonia in Water:
i. Overfeeding
ii. Crash of algae bloom – ammonia increases rapidly because the main mechanism for
ammonia removal has been eliminated
iii. Protein-rich feed and/or excess feed decays to liberate toxic ammonia (NH3) gas
iv. Fishes excretes ammonia and urea
v. The concentration of un-ionized ammonia proportionately increases as
temperatures and pH values increase

NH3-N

pH, temperature
 Factors that decrease ammonia:
i. Ammonia is inversely proportional to fish size, stocking density and water flow.
ii. Uptake of ammonia by algae and other plants – plants use nitrogen for growth. Algal
photosynthesis acts like a sponge for ammonia
 Nitrogen fixation – fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in the tissues of plants.
Examples of nitrogen fixing plants:
a) Azolla in symbiosis with the blue green algae (Anabaena azzollae)
b) Blue green algae – Lyngbya, Nostoc, Anabaena
c) Angiosperms
iii. Nitrification – bacteria oxidize ammonia in a 2 step process, first to nitrite then nitrate.
 Summer – low ammonia concentration since plants use N for photosynthesis
(low nitrification rates)
 Winter – low temperature supress fish appetite, low feeding so low ammonia
available
 Spring – ammonia concentration and temperature are intermediate

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 iv. Volatilization of ammonia gas from pond surface into the air
 Management of ammonia in ponds:
i. Reduce or stop feeding (primary source of nearly all the ammonia in fish ponds is
protein in feed)
ii. Increase aeration – toxic form ammonia is dissolved gas so pond aeration can get rid
of ammonia since it accelerates diffusion of ammonia gas from pond water to the air
BUT: aeration may be ineffective in reducing ammonia concentration because the
volume of water affected by aerators is quite small in comparison with the total pond
volume. Intensive aeration may actually increase ammonia concentration because it
suspends pond sediments
iii. Fertilize with phosphorous – high P encourages algal growths serving as ammonia
sink BUT: under normal conditions, algae blooms in fish ponds are very dense and
the rate of algae growth is limited more by the availability of light, not nutrients
supplied by the fertilizer. Therefore, adding P does nothing to reduce ammonia
concentration because algae are already growing as fast as possible under the
prevailing conditions
iv. Reduce pond depth – more availability of light, high algal growth so high uptake of
ammonia BUT deeper ponds are also beneficial (in terms of ease of harvest, more
stable temperature)
v. Increase pond depth – deeper ponds have lower ammonia concentrations because
there is more water to dilute the ammonia excreted by the fish BUT deeper ponds
do not usually have enough water to significantly dilute ammonia when compared to
the large amounts of ammonia in constant flux between various biotic and abiotic
components in ponds and deeper ponds are more likely to stratify more and the
lower layer of pond water can become enriched with ammonia and depleted with
DO
vi. Flush pond with well water – ammonia can be flushed from ponds, although
pumping huge volume of water required to do so in large commercial ponds is
costly, time-consuming and unnecessarily wasteful. Flushing ponds is not only
ineffective but highly undesirable because of concerns about releasing pond
effluents into the environment
vii. Add bacterial amendments – ammonia accumulates in ponds because the wrong
kind or insufficient numbers of bacteria are present for nutrient cycling so add
bacteria that can oxidize toxic ammonia to non-toxic nitrate BUT bacterial addition
may also accelerate organic matter (increasing ammonia) and adding them will not
immediately reduce ammonia concentration because bacteria must grow for several
weeks before there is a large enough population to affect ammonia level
 Biofiltration – involves incorporation of down flow , up flow or horizontal
filters such as sand, gravel, oyster shells, plastics, anthracite, activated carbon
and diatomaceous earth  strainers and also serve as surface area for
biological growth
viii. Add a source of organic carbon – organic matter with high C:N ratio (i.e. chopped
hay) promote fixation or immobilization of ammonia dissolved in water BUT hard to
apply large amounts of organic matter to large ponds and effect on ammonia
concentration is not rapid
ix. Add ion exchange materials – certain naturally occurring materials called zeolites can
adsorb ammonia from water BUT impractical for large volume fish ponds and also
expensive

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  Zeolites (i.e Clinoptilolite) – effective natural ion exchange material for
removal of ammonia
x. Add acid – acid can lower pH causing a shift in ammonia equilibrium to favor the
non-toxic form BUT large amount of acid is necessary to reduce pH in well-buffered
ponds. Acid would have to be mixed rapidly throughout the pond to prevent “hot
spots” that could kill fish
xi. Thus the key to ammonia management is to use fish culture practices that minimize
the likelihood of such problems. These practices include following optimum stocking
density, keeping the standing crop from being too large and good feeding practices.
10. Nitrite – Nitrogen
 What is it? Nitrites (NO2) are formed from the partial oxidation of ammonia by nitrifying
bacteria called Nitrosomonas under aerobic conditions (or in the presence of oxygen).
i. In another condition, i.e. without the presence of oxygen, nitrites are produced from
the reduction of nitrates (NO3) by the action of denitrifying bacteria called
denitrificans. Nitrites may be found in waters, but usually exist in low concentrations
as these are readily oxidized to nitrates.
 Measurement: Measured through spectrophotometer/ calorimeter kits.
 Tolerance: Nitrites should be maintained within the limit of 0.1 ppm as NO 2–N or lower for
hatchery purposes. Keep levels below 0.02 mg/L for most freshwater fish (0.01 mg/L for
salmonids) although higher levels can be tolerated by marine fish (up to 1 mg/L)
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. Nitrite toxicity in fish is called “brown blood” disease. Waterborne nitrite enters the
fish circulatory system through the gills. Uptake depends on fish species and water
pH. Nitrite in the blood oxidizes the ferrous iron (Fe2+) in the hemoglobin molecule
to the ferric (Fe3+) state. The resulting product, called methemoglogin, is incapable
of reversibly combining with oxygen, thus, the transport of oxygen in the blood is
impaired.
Aquatic organism Conc. (mg/L) Effect
M. rosenbergii 1.8 35% reduction in the growth
Penaeus juvenile 6.2 50% reduction in growth
Fish 0.1 generally affects most fishes
 Factors Influencing Nitrite in Water
i. Decrease in temperature may result in accumulation of nitrite
ii. Nitrite is occasionally detected in some high density fish culture systems. This is
usually the result of a breakdown in the nitrification process in systems with high
nitrogen loading rates in the form of feed protein.
iii. As long as DO levels are high, nitrite accumulation does not occur because it is
automatically oxidixed to the non-toxic form nitrate.
 Management of ammonia in ponds:
i. Biofilters or nitrification filters, are used to convert ammonia to nitrate. The process is
used to prevent the accumulation of a potentially toxic compound (un-ionized
ammonia) by converting it to relatively non-toxic nitrate
11. Nitrate – Nitrogen
 What is it? Nitrates are the completely oxidized state of nitrogen commonly found in water.
These are formed aerobically (or with the presence of oxygen) from nitrites by nitrifying
bacteria called Nitrobacter.
i. Nitrate is the least toxic of the inorganic nitrogen compounds to aquatic animals.

Page | 115
  Measurement: Measured through spectrophotometer/ calorimeter kits.
 Tolerance: This compound substance should be within the limit of 100 ppm or lower as NO3–
N.
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. Nitrate is not considered acutely toxic to fishes; for example, catfish and largemouth
bass appear to tolerate levels as high as 400 mg/L.
ii. In any case, nitrate accumulation in fish tanks or ponds can lead to algal blooms as
well as inhibition of the second step of nitrification and consequent accumulation of
nitrite, which is toxic. Thus, management of nitrate levels is also important for
aquacultural operations.
 Factors Influencing Increase of Nitrate in Water:
i. Introduction of chemical fertilizers
ii. Residual waters of some industries and agricultural wastes
iii. Higher concentrations are found in some ground water as the result of pollution in the
aquifer recharge zone. Concentration of nitrate-nitrogen over 10 mg/l may indicate
pollution of the ground water with industrial or agricultural wastes and the water may
contain toxic substances, even though the nitrate itself is harmless.
iv. Nitrate can accumulate in aquaria and other closed water-recirculating fish culture
systems because nitrate is the final product in the nitrification of ammonia entering
the water in the excretory products.
12. Carbon Dioxide
 What is it?
i. This gas is highly soluble in water. Air is source of CO2 (180-300 ppm by volume before
industrial revolution; 380 ppm at present)
ii. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is found to be high in natural waters as a product of respiration of
aquatic plants and animals.
 The amount of CO2 in water can be an indicator of photosynthetic progress or
failure. High values during the day indicate that photosynthesis is not optimized. This
implies that the phytoplankton are not consuming CO2 efficiently. It also means that
these plants are not producing O2 and food adequately. Low values of CO2, on the
other hand, may indicate optimized photosynthesis.
iii. CO2 influences the carbonate system in water as follows:
Carbon dioxide dissolves in water and produces carbonic acid
CO2 + H2O = H2CO3
Carbonic acid dissociates producing H+
H2CO3 = HCO3- + H+
HCO3- = CO32- + H+
Thus increased CO2, increases H+ lowering the pH of water.
 Tolerance: Free CO2 < 10 mg/l are usually well tolerated by fish if DO concentrations are near
saturation.
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. An increase in free CO2 concentration in water reduces the concentration gradient
necessary for diffusion of carbon dioxide from blood through the gills. This causes an
increase in blood CO2 levels and a decrease in blood pH. This condition decreases the
affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen and reduces oxygen uptake by blood even when normally
sufficient DO is present (called Root effect).
 Factors Influencing Carbon Dioxide concentration:

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 i. In daytime, aquatic vegetation consume CO2 and produce oxygen (O2) during
photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide and dissolved oxygen (DO) are inversely related, i.e.
when the CO2 level is low, DO level is high and vice versa.

ii. CO2 problems mostly likely occur during summer when water temperatures increase
the metabolism of all pond organisms and therefore respiration rates are high. It is
also the time of the year when feeding rates are high as fish actively feed when
water temperature is warm. The decomposition of wastes generated by large
quantities of organic matter added to fish ponds in the summer requires large
quantities of DO and produces large quantities of CO2.
iii. period following an algae bloom or during phytoplankton die off, after application of
algicide application, such as copper sulfate – no plants available for CO2 uptake
iv. decomposition of organic matter from dead phytoplankton
v. ponds deeper than 1 or 2 meters as deep ponds may stratify ; overlying (lower)
layers contain high concentrations of CO2
vi. CO2 is more likely to be a problem as alkalinity increases. CO2 in ponds with low
alkalinity (20-50 mg/l as CaCO3) may cause the pH to fall to the lower limits of the
range for optimum fish growth and production.
 Remedial measures to lower carbon dioxide:
i. The aeration system has two-way function: to introduce DO at the optimum level
and remove excess level of gases, like CO2 and NH3.
13. Hydrogen Sulfide
 What is it? Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a product of decomposition of sulfur compounds in
sediments under anaerobic condition.
i. Soluble gas that smells like rotten eggs.
ii. It is produced under anoxic conditions by anaerobic bacteria, chiefly species of
Desulfovibrio.
iii. Sulfides are readily oxidized to sulfate in the presence of oxygen, and sulfide is rarely
detected in aerobic surface water. However, total dissolved sulfide-sulfur
concentrations may exceed 10 mg/l in the anaerobic bottom water of lakes and
reservoirs. If this water is discharged into rivers, sulfide may be detectable for miles
downstream.
iv. Sulfide can also be present in rivers and streams as a waste product from industries
such as paper mills, chemical plants, and oil refineries.
v. Ground waters and hot springs may have unusually high total sulfide-sulfur
concentrations (> 100 mg/l).
vi. Sulfide production is typically 10-fold lower in freshwater than in seawater. Under
aerobic conditions (negative redox potential values) H2S is readily transformed into
non-toxic SO42- ions. Negative redox potential = highly reducing conditions (opposite
of oxidation) – under these conditions, hydrogen sulfide and methane cannot be

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 oxidized and thus accumulate in the sediment and will diffuse into the overlying
water.

Anaerobic reduction
2-
SO4 (Sulfate) By: Desulfovibrio H2S (Sulfide)
Non-toxic Toxic
Oxidation

 Measurement: Measured through spectrophotometer/ calorimeter kits.

 Tolerance: not exceed the limit of 0.1 ppb (microgram/L or parts per billion).
 Effects/ Influences on Cultured Animals:
i. Hydrogen sulfide is very toxic to fish. Its effects include damage to the gills and even
mortality.
ii. Fry apparently are the most sensitive life stage of fish to hydrogen sulfide.
iii. Hydrogen sulfide-sulfur concentrations for fish hatchery water should not exceed 0.1
ug/l for optimum growth and survival of most fish species.
iv. Prolonged exposure to >2 ug/l hydrogen sulfide-sulfur constitutes a long term hazard
for fish.
 Management measures for high hydrogen sulphide conditions:
i. Avoid soils high in pyrite (FeS) and high decaying matter since these make soil acidic
14. Heavy Metals
• Tolerance:
i. Copper 0.006 ppm vii. Chromium 0.1 ppm
ii. Lead 0.03 ppm viii. Iron 0.5 ppm
iii. Cadmium 0.003 ppm ix. Manganese 0.01 ppm
iv. Mercury 0.002 ppm x. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
v. Nickel 0.1 ppm 0.002 ppm
vi. Zinc 0.05 ppm

Unit 3. Water Management

 The purpose of water management is to maintain the water quality in the culture ponds at the optimal
conditions so as to ensure maximum growth and survival of the culture species
 Water exchange and flushing can be an effective tool for pond management, to flush waste, supply
nutrients, and maintain dissolved oxygen.
 It is also intended to make sure that the supply water is disease-free to ensure healthy of the cultured
organisms.
 How much water exchange rate should be done? The amount of exchange rate depends on the needs
and level of culture management. The objective of water management is to ensure that the quality of
the water is at optimum for the cultured species to grow fast.
 Classifications of water management and treatment:
1. Use of aerators
 Besides providing dissolved oxygen to the water, aerators especially if enough number are
properly placed in a pond, would bring vertical and horizontal mixing of water
 The vertical mixing would help to bring oxygen down to the pond bottom, where it is needed
for shrimp respiration, decomposition of the organic wastes, and removal of sulfide, if any, at
the water/soil interface.
 The vertical movement also ensures that all phytoplankton is exposed to sunlight for their
well being

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2. The traditional open system
 With the traditional open system, water management starts with site selection step, where
adequate supply of clean and unpolluted water is ensured. The system applies thorough
pond preparation
 During the initial phase of the culture operation, no water change is needed. It assumed that
water change would result in a loss of fertility, leading to inadequate plankton and natural
food organisms in the water
 The adoption of appropriate stocking density, and suitable feeding regime are other steps
that could be taken to ensure adequate water quality
 After the initial nursery phase, which may last from 4 to 6 weeks, water exchange is the
principal method adopted to prevent the buildup of potentially toxic metabolic wastes in the
pond and excessive bloom of phytoplankton
 The amount of water change varies from just 10% initially up to 30% towards the later part
of the culture, with the change carried out during the spring rising tides
 Besides the length of culture period, and the shrimp biomass, the amount of water change is
also adjusted according to the water quality as indicated through a monitoring programme
 With the traditional open system, there is no treatment for the effluents discharged from
the culture ponds either. Pond effluents and flushing from pond cleaning at the end of the
culture are channeled into the rivers or coastal waters nearby though some sedimentation
may take place along the discharge canals
3. Open system with water treatment
 The traditional open system has been the system of choice until early 1990s. However, with
the increased incidence of disease lately, and the realization that contaminated water is a
possible source of pathogens and disease infestation, water treatment in the form of
sedimentation and disinfection has increasingly been adopted by most farmers.
 Most new projects now have a water reservoir which may take up to 20 – 30% of the total
pond area for water storage and treatment purposes
 For farms constructed earlier without reservoirs or sedimentation ponds, one or two culture
ponds could be set aside to serve as the reservoir where sedimentation and chlorination may
be effected
 With reduced water change, water quality in the pond may not be as good as those with the
open system with greater exchange.
 Transparency especially tends to be on the low side, due to greater amount of plankton
 The use of probiotics or selected bacteria/enzyme formulation has been attempted to assist
in the maintenance of water quality, though the effectiveness of such formulations is still a
subject of debate.
4. Closed system without water change
 For small scale farmers with limited number of ponds, water sedimentation and treatment
as described above become rather difficult due to the physical constraint. The closed
system without water exchange becomes the system of choice if the open system cannot
be successfully applied following repeated disease outbreaks
 Following appropriate pond preparation and disinfection stocking follows with low density
only.
 No water exchange is carried out throughout the culture. However small amount may be
added from time to time to make up for the loss of water through seepage and
evaporation.
 As evaporation only involves loss of water with the salt remaining in the pond, there is a
tendency for the salinity to rise with the culture period.

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  In this sense the availability of low salinity water or even freshwater is ideal for the purpose
of topping up.
 Probiotics are used heavily to maintain water quality
 The close system without water exchange generally is not really not conducive for intensive
culture system due to the deterioration of pond and water environment towards the later
part of the culture
 There is also a tendency among farmers practicing the system to go for shorter culture
period to avoid problems associated with waste accumulation and also the likely higher
salinity in the ponds
 As a result the shrimp harvested are generally smaller in size
5. Recirculating system
 The recirculating system has been practiced with some success in Thailand lately to avoid or
reduce diseases problems brought about through contaminated water, and also in areas
where saline water could only be available occasionally
 In the recirculating system, only 50 to 60% of the pond area is reserved for the actual
culture, with the rest of the pond area used either as reservoir for the incoming water and
also treated effluent
 There is a need for a separate effluent treatment pond, which may take up 15 to 20% of the
pond areas
 At the start of the culture cycle, all the ponds are filled with incoming water from outside.
The water is allowed to settled and then disinfected.
6. Effluent treatment
 Water management measures depending on culture system:
a. Pond
i. Regularly change at least 25 – 30% of pond water during spring tides (full moon and new
moon).
ii. Maintain a water depth of at least 50 – 75 cm for milkfish ponds and 80 – 120 cm for
shrimp (sugpo), rabbitfish or siganid (malaga, samaral) and saline tilapia ponds.
iii. Use pump to increase pond water depth when tidal current is low.
iv. Fertilize the pond only after the last water exchange during spring tide.
v. Maintain cleanliness of the sidings of dikes.
vi. Regularly check dikes and patch up the leakages and seepages.
vii. Regularly check the gate screens and slabs.
viii. Observe the health condition of the stocks. Take immediate action if there are signs of
abnormalities and diseases.
b. Pen/ Cage
i. Monitoring water quality
ii. To be monitored are as follows: dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, ammonia,
nitrite, and turbidity of water as measured by a Secchi disc.
iii. Data on DO and temperature are the most valuable factors that should be collected.
iv. Time of monitoring or collection of data should be daily and at times when they are likely
to be highest and lowest (i.e. dawn or early morning, mid-day, late afternoon, and at slack
tide) in the case of DO, temperature, pH.
v. Monitoring of water quality is of great importance to those cage farms which are
intensively managed, and which have a high production with respect to the size and
nature of the site.

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Section 4. Harvesting and Marketing
Unit 1. Harvesting techniques
I. Pond
A. Freshening or current method (pasulang, pasuba)
B. Draining method
C. Bamboo screening method
D. Seining method
E. Gill netting method
II. Cages
 The stocks may be totally or selectively harvested when they reach the marketable size.
Marketable size is dependent upon the kind of species. During the harvest, the bottom net
is lifted gradually from one side and the fish are scooped out from the other side. For large
cages, 4-5 persons are required to remove the fish out of the net.
III. Pre-Chilling
 Before packing for market, the newly harvested fish are immersed in any container of
water pre-chilled with ice water or crushed ice to maintain their quality.
 450 kg crushed ice is used to chill one (1) ton of fish which are to be transported for a
longer time. Proportionate amount of ice will be used for smaller weight of fish.
 1 – 3 hours is the chilling time of bangus and may be of other finfish species intended for
export or those that are to be transported for a longer distance or time.
 For products sold in the export market like shrimps, these are frozen and stored at very low
temperature. In Japan where there is preference for live shrimps, harvested shrimps are
held for 8 hours at 12°C. The shrimps become quiescent and then packed in boxes between
layers of sawdust with ice bags on top of the layers. When unpacked, the shrimps become
active again and they are then displayed for sale.

Unit 2. Production and Yield

 Production is the total
output produced or
obtained in terms of
numbers or weight from
whatever size of a culture
system used in farming,
e.g. fishpond. Production
differs from yield in that
the latter refers to the
output produced per unit
area, e.g. yield per
hectare or per square
meter per crop.
 Records of yield per
hectare per crop of large-
sized milkfish obtained
from different
management techniques
adopting the traditional and high-density culture systems are presented:

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Unit 3. Marketing
 The purpose of a business is to make money or generate profits. Profits would be determined by
finding whether or not revenues generated from the sale were greater than the sum of all costs
involved in production.
 Some criteria used for economic projections:
1. Investments – bigger projects benefit from economy of scale and give a lower investment
figure per ton produced
Example: a cage culture even if it represents a lower initial capital investment, will have to be
depreciated (replaced/ repaired) over a shorter period (5-6 years) than ponds (20 years) or
concrete structures (15-20 years)
2. Production costs:
A. Feeds: 50-70%
B. Labor: 10-12%
C. Depreciation: 12-15%
D. Overheads: consumable goods (chemicals), operating expenses: 10%
E. Repairs and maintenance<5%
 Parameters that have to be considered within the financial projection:
1. The venture will have to invest and operate without any income for a certain period. A
period of 18-24 months of self-sufficiency will be needed and must be allowed for
2. Permanent fish stock/ permanent working stock – fish stock level that is carried over each
year and forms the basis of production stock for the year to come; financed at the beginning
of the activity and will eventually be recovered when the farm closes down or if the venture
is sold
3. Market conditions
 For a farm that is already in business, the best way to measure profit is to evaluate it on an annual
basis using an income statement. If the total farm revenues from sales generated for the period are
greater than the costs, then profits were generated for that period.
 An enterprise budget provides a generalized snapshot of the costs and returns of a particular
enterprise – for a particular period of time.
 Example of cost and returns analysis. All items in the left most column are discussed below:
1. Production – amount of harvest (in kilograms)
2. Sales/ Gross returns/ Gross receipts – income generated from the sale of production
3. Costs are divided into two categories:
a. Variable/ Operating cost – those that vary with production. Includes:
i. Fingerlings
ii. Feeds
iii. Fertilizer
iv. Labor
v. Fuel
vi. Electricity and water
b. Fixed/ Ownership cost – costs that will be incurred regardless of the level of production.
Include:
i. Land rent
ii. Depreciation
iii. Interest on the investment
iv. Any other cost related to the actual production of the business
4. Total costs = Total variable cost + Total Fixed cost

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 5. Net income/ Net returns = Sales/ Gross returns – Total cost
6. Breakeven analysis – breakeven prices and yields offer additional insights into the overall
feasibility of the operation:
a. Breakeven price – production will be profitable as long as price of commodity is a
certain amount. In this example, price is profitable as long as tilapia is above KSh 77/ kg
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡
=
𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑
b. Breakeven yield – production will be profitable as long as production (in terms of kg/
hectare) is of certain yield. In this example, production is profitable as long as tilapia is
harvested is 8,054 kg/ ha.
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡
=
𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑦

 Sensitivity Analysis – a range of possible values for the particular price or quantity in question is
substituted for the mean value to check if this has a large effect on net returns. The figures below
show sensitivity analyses by varying feed prices and survival rate

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 Partial budget analysis – developed when the farm manager is considering a relatively small change
on the farm. This change may involve building additional ponds, changing type of feed, changing
stocking rates with polyculture etc. The following categories are used in the partial budget:
1. Additional Revenue – revenue to be received only if the alternative is adopted. It is not
received under the current production scenario
2. Additional Costs – costs that do not exist in the current production scenario
3. Reduced Revenue – revenue received under the current production scenario that is not
received in the treatment being analyzed
4. Reduced Costs – are those incurred under the current production scenario that would no
longer exist under the treatment being analyzed.
o The value of additional cost is added to the reduced revenue. This represents the negative or
adverse effect on profits for the alternative being proposed.
o The total value of the additional revenues is added to the reduced costs to compute the total
value of the benefits of the alternative.
o Then: (Additional cost + reduced revenue) – (Additional revenue + reduced cost) = net change
 If the net change is negative, the current production scenario is more profitable. If
positive, the proposed alternative is more profitable than current scenario.
 In the example, the net change is negative meaning that the change in feed from
pelleted diet to rice bran is not acceptable.

 Investment analysis – addition of intermediate and long-term assets to business. These assets have
long-lasting consequences. Four principle indicators of investment returns are:
1. Payback period – number of years it would take for an investment to return to its original
cost through the annual net cash revenues it generates. The payback period can be used to
rank investments according to the payback period (a shorter period is better)
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 (𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠) =
𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑒

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 Example: Option 2 is best since initial investment (2900) is recovered within 3 years.
2. Peak-profit method – involves presenting the level of profits in the best year as a percentage
return on the sum invested. This assumes that peak profit is a reliable guide to average
profitability of a project.
 Example: using figures in Table 7, for Option I, the highest profit was obtained in the
8th year (3% of original investment). For Option II and III, peak profit was at 5 th (51%
of original investment) and 10th (20.4% of original investment) year, respectively.
Therefore, Option II with the highest peak profit is preferable to other options.
3. Net present value – present value of future net cash inflows minus the initial capital cost.
Present value of the surplus profits expected after repayment of principal and interest. If net
present value is negative, the project is not worth investing in but if a choice must be made,
the one with the lowest negative value is chosen.

NCF = Net Cash Flow

PV = Present Value Positive NPV
4. Internal rate of return – most commonly used method of capital investment analysis. It
considers net earning over the entire life span of the investment. Any investment with an IRR
greater than the opportunity cost of capital is profitable.

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 Chapter 6. Concepts in Aquaculture

Section 1. Pond Productivity, Carrying Capacity, Standing Crop

 Comparative efficiency of aquaculture as a means of protein production
 Protein production through aquaculture is much more efficient than production in any other
animal production system. Why?
1. Saving in energy – ammonia need not be converted into larger compounds
 Fish and other aquatic animals have ammonia as major excretory nitrogenous product
which can be directly excreted out (mostly through gills) to water BUT for terrestrial
animals, ammonia has to be detoxified by synthesis (which is energy demanding) of larger
molecules such as urea (mammals) and uric acid (birds and reptiles)
2. Enhanced capacity to convert feed nitrogen into tissue protein
 Fish is a more efficient producer of protein than cow or chicken
3. Poikilothermic animals such as fish do not expend any energy maintaining a warm body
temperature
o Due to these reasons, the protein efficiency ratio (weight gain per unit of protein intake)
is often higher for fish than for pig or sheep  fish are able to utilize high levels of
protein in the diet
 Primary productivity
A. Definition
 A measure of the rate at which new organic matter is developed by plants, marine algae and
some bacteria (cyanobacteria) via photosynthesis and chemosynthesis based on the oxygen
released and carbon taken in.
 Driven by the availability of nutrients and light and to a lesser extent by temperature and
other factors
 Net primary productivity = Gross primary productivity – Respiration
o Gross primary productivity – total energy produced
o Net primary productivity – energy surplus not used by the plant
B. Measurement of productivity
1. Harvest method – harvest of fish at the end of the season
2. Oxygen method – measured by the amount of oxygen consumed (light and dark bottle)
3. Diel method – the increase in DO in the day time is net primary production and the decrease
in the night is half the diel respiration
4. C14 method – radioactive carbon (C14) added as carbonate. Labelled carbonate is added into a
bottle containing water with phytoplankton and other organisms and after a short period of
time, the plankton is separated and dried. The radioactive carbon fixed can be measured from
the radioactive counts made. The productivity measured is net primary productivity as the
carbon fixed in the tissues only are measured here.
C. Secondary production – defined to only include consumption of primary producers by
herbivorous consumers such as animals, protest, fungi and many bacteria
 Food chain – single path of energy through a food web. Sequence of who eat whom to obtain
nutrition. Starts with the primary energy source usually the sun.
 Trophic levels – feeding position in a food chain such as primary producers, herbivore, primary
carnivore etc.
 Energy transfer and ecological efficiency
Photosynthesis NPP
PLANTS HERBIVORES 10% energy PREDATORS
SUN
1 2 Heat & Waste 3
Respiration
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 1. The initial energy comes as light from the sun that plants use to convert into chemical energy via
photosynthesis. BUT not all energy from sunlight is used by the plants, much sunlight (red arrow)
misses the plant, is in the wrong wavelength or loss in the inefficiencies of photosynthesis.
2. Gross primary productivity (star) refer to the total energy in the molecules of the plant. But some
of this energy is used by the plant through respiration. NPP is the surplus energy not used by the
plant itself which becomes available to primary consumers.
3. The herbivores eat the plants, taking some of the energy and if they are prey, the energy (minus
energy lost through heat and waste) is transferred to the predator.
o Thus, as can be observed at each trophic level, most of the energy is lost through biological
processes such as respiration or losses as heat and waste. Therefore, after a limited number of
trophic energy transfers, the amount of energy remaining in the food chain cannot support a
higher trophic level. Although energy is lost, nutrients are recycled through waste or
decomposition.
o Ecological efficiency – the efficiency with which energy or biomass is transferred from one trophic
level to the next. Consumers at each level convert on average 10% of the chemical energy in their
food to their own organic tissue (Lindeman’s law) which is then passed to the predator. Due to
this 10% energy transfer per trophic level, food chains rarely extend for more than 5 or 6 levels.
 Carrying capacity
A. Definition
 Maximum population size that the environment can sustain indefinitely given the food, habitat,
water and other necessities available in the environment or simply “environment’s maximal
load”
 Limit on the size of a population its environment imposes.
 Once the species has reached its carrying capacity (i.e. when the resources become very
scarce), its population size will usually drop quickly and may result in extirpation of that
population
 As environment is degraded, carrying capacity actually shrinks, leaving the environment no
longer able to support even the number of people or organisms who could formerly have lived
in the area on a sustainable basis
B. Factors affecting carrying capacity
 The amount of resources available in that ecosystem
 The size of the population and the amount of resources each individual is consuming
 Technologic efficiency advances (i.e aeration)
C. Environmental Limits to Population growth

Growth rate
declines1

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 1
the decline reflects increasing environmental resistance which becomes proportionately
more important at higher population densities. This type of population growth is termed
density-dependent, since growth rate depends on the numbers present in the population.
The point of stabilization (zero growth rate) is termed saturation rate or carrying capacity for
that organism
 Logistic growth – a pattern of growth in which, in a new environment, the population
density of an organism increases slowly initially in a positive acceleration phase; then
increases rapidly, approaching an exponential growth rate (as in the J-shaped curve) but
then declines in a negative acceleration phase until at zero growth rate the population
stabilizes
 Standing crop – total dried biomass of living organisms present in a given environment. It is the total
weight of fish in the pond.
 The total biomass in production ponds is composed primarily of phytoplankton, zooplankton,
the culture species and other microorganisms (bacteria, fungi etc).
 Biomass – total weight of living organisms vs Phytomass – total weight of plant biomass
 Standing crop is measured by cell counts and chlorophyll a concentration (index of
phytoplankton abundance). Fish farmers use pond color and turbidity as measure of
phytoplankton standing crop.
 Critical standing crop is a condition of the culture environment wherein the fish will not gain
or lose weight.

Section 2. Diseases
Unit 1. Diseases
I. Causes and development of disease
 Disease is any deviation, obvious or latent, from what is believed to be the normal condition in
appearance, structure or functions of an organ, a group of organs, or of the body as a whole
 The fish is healthy as long as the condition of the environment is not stressful and the pathogen
(disease-causing agent) is tolerable by the fish. However when the environment becomes
stressful and the effect of pathogens is no longer tolerable, the fish becomes sick. Thus, the
occurrence of a disease is the result of the interaction of three factors; 1) susceptible host -
cultured animal, 2) pathogen - disease causing agent and 3) environment - increases virulence
of the pathogen or decreases the resistance of the host. It is the balance among these three
factors that determines the state of health of the cultured organism and a disturbance in the
relationship among the three could give rise to diseases

 During normal conditions a balance is maintained by the host and the pathogen so that no
disease occurs. Pressure on any corner of the triangle, e.g. changes in water property,
introduction of a large number of pathogens, weakening/stress or improperly fed host, upset
the balance which could either be beneficial or detrimental to the host or pathogen. In many
cases the host is adversely affected and becomes vulnerable to disease

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 Pathogenicity refers to the ability of an organism to cause disease  ability that represents a
genetic component of the pathogen and the damage done to the host is a property of the host-
pathogen interactions while Virulence refers to the degree of pathology caused by the organism
o Obligate pathogen - bacteria that must cause disease in order to be transmitted from one
host to another. These bacteria must also infect a host in order to survive, in contrast to
other bacteria that are capable of survival outside of a host  capable of living for a long
time in tissues of their host without causing injury
o Opportunistic pathogen - infection caused by pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, or
protozoa) that take advantage of an opportunity not normally available, such as a host with
a weakened immune system, an altered microbiota (such as a disrupted gut microbiota), or
breached integumentary barriers
 There is no environment completely free of any microorganisms both pathogenic and non-
pathogenic ones (virus, bacteria, fungi, protozoans). These microorganisms are an essential part
of the natural environment and they are doing a very crucial job in maintaining the balance of
ecosystems.
 When the environment is stable (fish are not stressed), the number and possible effect of
microorganisms is manageable
 When conditions favour the growth of microorganisms, they can increase in number
rapidly and could threaten the health of the fish
 Two ways in which microorganisms could threaten the health of the fish:
 Pathogenic ones can threaten directly by infecting the different systems of the fish
 Other microorganisms (opportunistic ones) can infect only by taking advantage when
the fish is injured or seriously stressed.
 Symptom - physical or physiological change which is caused by a particular disease
i. Ischemia - localized tissue anemia due to obstruction of the inflow of blood
ii. Anemia - condition characterized by a deficiency of hemoglobin, packed cell volume, or
erythrocytes in the blood
iii. Necrosis – localized death of a tissue
iv. Hyperplasma – abnormal or unusual increase in the number of cell in a tissue
v. Hyperemia - abnormal accumulation of blood in any part of the body
vi. Hyperplasia - abnormal or unusual increase in the number of cells of a tissue
vii. Hypertrophy - increase in size of a tissue or an organ due to an increase in size of
individual cells
viii. Dystrophy – abnormal development or degeneration
ix. Septicemia - systemic disease caused by the invasion and multiplication of pathogenic
microorganism in the bloodstream
x. Lesion is a break in, or loss of function of, an area of body tissue, caused by disease or
traum, or any morbid change in function or structure of an organ or tissue.
xi. Ulcer – type of le
result of death of inflamed tissue.
 Stress - the sum of physiological responses the fish makes to maintain or regain its normal
balance
1. Alarm stage - organisms’ response to stress by which the fish attempts to escape from
the problem
2. Adaptive stage - organisms’ response to stress by which the organism tries to adjust to
change and reach a new equilibrium, both physiologically and behaviorally, to survive
the new environmental condition

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 3. Exhaustion stage - under the situation where the organism can no longer adapt the
existing condition and the fish’ finally dies having reached the final stage of its stress
response
 Potential stressors in fish and causes:
Type of stressor Example Causes
Chemical Poor water quality Low dissolved oxygen (DO), improper pH
Pollution Intentional or accidental like chemical
treatments or pesticides
Diet composition Type or protein and amino acids in feed
Metabolic waste Nitrogenous – accumulation of ammonia or
nitrite
Biological Population density Crowding
Other species of fish Aggression, territoriality, lateral swimming space
requirements
Microorganisms Pathogenic and non-pathogenic internal and
external parasites
Physical Temperature, Light, Sounds
Procedural Handling, Shipping, Disease treatments
 Some signs of possible disease occurrence in ponds:
1. Erratic swimming of shrimps at the water surface and sides of the pond which is usually
caused by low D.O., high water temperatures or polluted waters.
2. Poor feeding response and slow growth.
3. Discoloration of shell.
4. Prolonged soft-shelling.
5. Visible damage on appendage and shell.
6. Dead shrimps at the pond bottom.
 When disease outbreak has occurred, the following are recommended:
1. Submit diseased/dead shrimps to accredited laboratories for examination to determine
possible causative factor/s.
2. If mortality is light (less than 10% of the population), apply water quality controls. In
intensive cultures feeding is minimized or stopped until water quality improves and feeding
response is normal.
3. If mortality is high (over 20% of the population), the culture is discontinued and remaining
live shrimps harvested. Dead stock should be disposed properly and pond bottom
disinfected.
II. Disease caused by parasites
 Parasitism is a one-way relationship in which one party (the parasite) depends upon and benefits
from the other party (the host). Two types:
1. Ectoparasites – live on the external surfaces like the skin, fins and gills
2. Endoparasites – are found in the internal organs of the host
 Life cycle of parasites:
1. Direct life cycle – only one host is needed to complete the parasite’s life cycle
2. Indirect life cycle – utilize more than one host to complete its life cycle. An intermediate
host is one where the larval stages of the parasite usually develop while the final host is
where the adult stage develops
 Cyst – non-motile, resistant and dormant stage of certain organisms
 Paratenic host/ carrier – parasite stays in host but no development occurs

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 Taxonomy of fish parasites
 Phylum Protozoa (unicellular)
o Subphylum Sarcomastigophora (with flagella)
 Superclass Mastigophora
 Class Phytomastigophora (with chlorophyll): Oodinium, Amyoodinium
 Class Zoomastigophora (w/o chlorophyll): Trypanosoma, Ichthyobodo, Hexamita
 Superclass Sarcodina (amoeba, possess pseudopodia): Schimazoeba
o Subphylum Ciliophora (with cilia)
 Class Ciliata: Ichthyophtirius, Chilodonella, Ambiphrya, Epistylis, Trichodina,
Vorticella, Zoothamnium
o Subphylum Sporozoa (produce simple resistant pores)
 Class Telospora: Eimeria, Haemogregarina, Hepatozoon
 Class Piroplasmea (found in erythrocytes): Dactylosoma
 Class Toxoplasmida (in cysts or pseudocysts): Toxoplasma, Sarcocystis
 Class Haplosporea: Dermocystidium
o Subphylum Cnidospora (develop spores)
 Class Myxosporidea: Myxidium, Myxobolus, Myxosoma, Henneguya
 Class Microsporidea: Nosema, Glugea
 Phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms; dorso-ventrally flattened, bilaterally symmetrical,
acoelomate; lacks anus)
o Class Monogenea- ectoparasitic
o Class Digenea- endoparasitic
o Class Cestoda
 Phylum Aschelminthes- bilaterally symmetrical, pseudo-coelomate animals, possess gut
o Class Nematoda
 Phylum Acanthocephala
o Mostly elongated cylindrical worms armed with an anterior retractile proboscis carrying
hooks
 Phyllum Mollusca
o Larvae of freshwater bivalves are often found attached to the gills and outer surfaces of
fish
 Phylum Arthropoda
o Class Crustacea
 Subclass Branchiura e.g. Argulus
 Subclass Copepoda e.g. Ergasilus, Lernaea
 Phylum Annelida- segmented coelomate worms with a muscular body wall
o Class Hirudinea- leeches (Zeylanicobdella arugamensis) – attaches to skin, fish, eyes,
nostrils, operculum and inside the mouth of the fish
 Fish diseases caused by parasites:
 Protozoan infestations – protozoans are unicellular, microscopic organisms with specialized
structures for locomotion, food gathering, attachment, and protection. Ciliated/ flagellated
protozoans have direct life cycle: Theronts (infective stage) penetrate skin and gill epithelium and

undergo mitosis forming hundreds of daughter tomites

A. Ciliates – have short, fine cytoplasmic outgrowths called cilia as the locomotory organelle.
Mainly ectoparasitic.
a. White spot disease or Ichthyophthiriasis (“Ich”). Causative agent – Ichthyophthirius

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  Whitish spots on the skin and gills of affected fish which are nests of
parasites (Called white spot disease)
 Diseased fish lose their appetite, are lethargic with dull, opaque or
hemorrhagic eyes. Heavily infested fish produce a lot of mucus and they rub
their body against the substrate or sides of tanks. Microscopic examination
of mucus from body surface and gill filaments will reveal round or oval
parasites.
b. Vorticella, Epistyllis, Zoothamnium, Acineta, Ephelota infestation
 Symptom: fuzzy mat on shell and gills; reddish brown gills
B. Flagellates – have one or more long, hair-like structures called flagella used as a locomotory
organelle
a. Velvet disease caused by Amyloodinium ocellatum
 Heavily infested skin has dusty appearance due to excessive mucus
production. Parasite attached to the gills, and fish rub its body against the
sides of tanks. Exhibit abnormal swimming movements.
C. Cnidosporans
a. Myxosporeans – the spore (7-20 μm) is the infective stage, are parasitic in organ
cavities and tissues of fish.
 White cysts are formed on skin, gills, muscle, brain, heart, ovaries, and other
internal organs of fish. The cysts produce thick bulky exudates when
ruptured.
b. Microsporeans – intracellular parasites with unicellular spores
 Infected areas like cephalothorax, abdominal muscle and ovary turn opaque
white because of the presence of spores and other stages of the parasite,
thus the term “cotton” or “milk” shrimp or “white ovary” disease. Affected
hosts are weakened and easily stressed.
D. Sporozoans - produce resistant spores with a special apical complex used in the invasion of
the host cell. Can occur in the intestinal organs, muscle tissue and skin of fish
a. Gregarine disease - found in digestive tract, utilize a mollusk species as intermediate
host
 Infestation by different kinds of worms
A. Monogeneans – ectoparasitic flatworms with organ of attachment armed with hooks and
suckers. Attach on gills, fins and body surface of fish. Affected fish have pale skin and gills
with increased mucus production, frayed fins and cornea may become opaque. Examples are
Gyrodactylus and Dactylogyrus
B. Digeneans – endoparasitic flatworms with two sucker-like attachment organs located at the
anterior and ventral portions
 Presence of small, white to yellow or brown to black cysts on the skin, fins, gills,
muscle, stomach or intestine. Affected fish have distorted abdomen.
C. Cestodes – endoparasitic tapeworms, body is ribbon-like, with an anterior attachment organ
with hooks or suckers. Commonly found in the intestine of fish. Affected fish are sluggish
with emaciated body because of non-feeding. Example: Botriocephalus – endoparasitic
tapeworm with ribbon-like body, usually infects carp, catfish and snakehead
D. Nematodes – unsegmented round worms. Parasitizes the stomach and intestine of host fish.
Affected fish have emaciated, discolored body surface and swollen intestine.
E. Acanthocephalans – thorny or spiny-headed, elongated cylindrical worms. Attached to
intestinal mucosa of the host. Affected fish have darkened, emaciated body. Examples are
Acanthocephalus and Pallisentis.

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  Crustacean Infestations – crustacean parasites have segmented bodies covered by shell with
jointed appendages
A. Argulus – fish louse
 Parasite attached to the skin, fins, buccal or operculum mucosa with two
conspicuous black spots. Attachment area hemorrhagic or ulcerated
B. Caligus – sea lice
 Transparent parasites appear like white patches in the skin, fins, and gills, not
permanently attached. Affected areas have no scales, hemorrhagic or ulcerated
C. Lerneasis
 Parasitic copepod, worm-like adults buried in the body and only female species
infect the fish – can be seen protruding from nostrils, skin, bases of fins, gill, buccal
cavity
D. Ergasilid infection
 Parasites attach to the gills and body surface of host, white to dark copepods and
the affected fish have emaciated body
E. Alitropus, Nerocila
 Isopod infestation resulting to reduced opercular movements, loss of appetite,
anemia, slow growth rate
 Mollusc Infestations
A. Glochidia – larval stage of freshwater bivalve that may attach to the fish. Margins of shells
have sharp teeth. Attached to the gills and body surfaces.
III. Fungal diseases
 Fungi – heterotrophic organisms which contain no chlorophyll. The filaments known as hyphae
constitute the body of a fungus. A network of hyphae is called mycelium.
 Fungal Diseases of Fish
1. Saprolegniosis (Saprolegniasis)
 Formation of white cottony growth on fish eggs and on affected tissues of fish. Virtually,
any area on the surface of the fish may become infected. Color of the mycelium may
vary from white to brownish.
2. Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS)
 Ulcerative lesions observed throughout the body. Fish floats just below the water,
darker discoloration and loss of appetite. Reduce stocking densities when EUS is
prevalent in adjacent wild fish populations. Use EUS-resistant species
3. Branchiomysis (Gill rot)
 Gills become pale with brownish or grayish areas. Necrotic decomposing areas might
slough-off at a later stage.
4. Ichthyophoniasis (Ichthyosporidiosis)
 Erratic swimming behavior and swelling of the abdomen. Internal organs become
swollen with numerous whitish nodules – also observed in muscle tissues
 Cultured fish become contaminated when fed with contaminated raw trash fish.
Contaminated trash fish should be avoided to prevent outbreaks.
 No treatment found effective to control disease.
 Fungal diseases of crustaceans
1. Larval Mycosis
 Sudden onset of mortalities in larval stages. Microscopic examination of affected larvae
will show extensive, highly branched fungal mycelia. Motile zoospore may be observed
being released from specialized hyphae on discharge tubes. Eggs and larvae are whitish,
weak and die

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  Causative agent: Lagenidium callinectes
2. Black gill disease (Fusarium disease)
 Appearance of “black spots” prior to mortality of juvenile shrimps. Microscopic
examination will show canoe-shaped macroconidia.
3. Aflatoxicosis (Red disease)
 Yellowish and eventually reddish discoloration of shrimp body and appendages.
Affected shrimps become lethargic with weak swimming activity, soft shelling can be
observed. Do not use moldy feeds. Feeds should be properly stored in dry and well-
ventilated areas to prevent fungal contamination
IV. Bacterial Diseases
 Bacteria are prokaryotic microorganisms (lacks nuclear membrane, usually 0.5 to 10 microns)
ubiquitous – found or present almost everywhere in the aquatic environment)
 Most common method to detect the presence of bacteria is by gram stain. The gram stain classifies
bacteria in two groups: the gram positive and the gram negative.
 Identification is done through a series of physiological and biochemical tests. Three distinct cell
forms: cocci – spherical, bacilli – cylindrical or rod-shaped, and spiral – curved walls, several
curvature
 Infectious disease – characteristic: capability for direct transmission and ability to multiply in the
host tissue. Epizootic – widespread outbreaks of fish disease
 Bacterial disease particularly in fishes is hard to diagnose since most bacterial disease show similar
signs. Bacteria are ubiquitous (they can be found or are present almost everywhere), they can be a
secondary opportunistic invader (attacking only when the host is weakened or injured)
 Bacterial disease in crustaceans – occur as: fouling of surfaces, cuticular or subcuticular localized
infections, internal or systemic infections
 Bacterial Diseases of Fish:
1. Columnaris disease. Causative agent - Flavobacterium columnare
 Appearance of white spots on the head, gills or fins, reddish tinge around these spots.
Necrotic (dying or decomposing) lesions on the gills and hemorrhagic ulcers on the
skin. Microscopic examination of lesions shows long, slender, rod-shaped, gram-
negative bacteria. Growth on media show yellow-green, flat and rough spreading
colonies.
2. Edwardsiella Septicemia. Causative agent – Edwardsiella tarda (found in organically
polluted water)
 Lesions (abnormal change) in the dermis, musculature and visceral organs of the host.
Lesions contain large amount of necrotized or dead tissue, emit a foul smelling gas
when incised. Diseased fish have enlarged liver and kidney. Bacterium is easily isolated
from muscle and internal organs of diseased fish.
 Improve water quality, oxytetracycline treatment
3. Vibriosis. Causative agents – Vibrio alginolyticus, V. anguillarum, V. vulnificus
 Lose their appetite, anorexic with darkening at the back or whole body. Hemorrhagic
spots on different parts of the body. Very pale gills and large lesions in the muscles.
4. Motile Aeromoned Septicemia. Causative agents - Aeromonas hydrophila, A. caviae, A. sobria
 External signs may vary from darkening of enlarged abdominal area to reddening of
the (enlarged abdomen) body area. Necrosis of tail or fins and ulcerations in the dorsal
area. Other signs: scale loss, mouth sores and eye opacity
5. Pseudomonad or red spot disease. Causative agents – Pseudomonas fluorescens, P.
anguilliseptica, P. chlororaphis (excess pH or toxic substances in water)
 Small hemorrhages in the skin around the mouth and operculum and along ventral

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 6. Enteric Red Mouth Disease (ERM)- usually in rainbow trout. Causative agent - Yersinia
ruckerii
 Lesions in head, erosion of lower jaw
7. Furunculosis. Causative agent - Aeromonas salmonicida (an obligate pathogen)
 Furuncles (skin lesions) like blisters in chicken pox
 Bacterial disease of crustaceans:
1. Cuticular or Subcuticular Localized Infections.
a. Chitinivorous bacteria (shell disease), Shell disease, Brown/Black spot, Black rot/
Erosion, Blisters, Necrosis, of appendages, Tail rot
 Causative agent - shell-degrading bacteria belonging to Vibrio, Aeromonas and
Pseudomonas. Brownish to black, single or multiple, eroded areas in the body
cuticle, appendages and gills. Affected appendages in larval stages show a
cigarette belt-like appearance. Blisters may develop on the carapace and
abdomen.
2. Bacterial fouling of surfaces
a. Filamentous bacterial disease (Epibionts). Causative agent: Leucothrix sp., Flexibacter
sp., Flavobacterium sp.
 Presence of fine, colorless, thread-like growth on body surface and gills as seen
under a microscope. Respiration, feeding, locomotion and molting may be
seriously impaired resulting to poor growth and eventual death
3. Internal or Systemic Infections
a. Luminous bacteria disease. Causagtive Agent - Vibrio harveyi, V. splendidus
 Affected shrimps become weak, often swim to the surface and edges of the
pond. Heavily infected shrimp show a continuous greenish glow when observed
in total darkness. Severe inflammation of the
b. Example: Non-luminous bacterial disease. Causative agent - V. parahaemolyticus, V.
alginolyticus, V . fluviolis and V. penaeicida
 Affected shrimps show erratic or disoriented swimming alternating with periods
of lethargy. Loss of appetite, anorexia and opaque abdominal muscle.
Melanization and necrosis of appendages, inflamed hepatopancreas
V. Viral diseases
 Virus – ultramicroscopic organisms with size ranges of 10-300 nanomicrons. An electron
microscope is required to visualize viruses. Initially, attach on specific cell surface components and
penetrates the cell and replicates itself using the metabolic machinery and pathways of the living
cell. The compound viral component of a virus is called nucleocapsid (genome plus protein coat
capsid) which might be enveloped or naked. This envelope is lipid in nature.
o Cytophatic effect – the resulting destruction of a virus-infected cell
o The focal site of cytophatic effect induced by each virion will cause a development of a
clear zone called plaque. The number of which indicates the estimated viral particles in
given sample
 No treatment for viral infections. Primary consideration is avoidance. – Use of virus-free fry for
stocking is recommended. Importation of fry and fingerlings is discouraged because they are
potential carriers of viral pathogens. Proper hygiene procedures and reduction of stress to stock
can minimize occurrence of the disease
 Diagnosis – gross signs of the disease, detection of occlusion bodies, electron microscopy or
infection enhancement bioassay. Recent molecular biology techniques PCR (polymerase chain
reaction), RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription), DNA Probe have been developed and applied for disease
diagnosis.

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 Viral Infections in Fish
1. Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS) – attributed to a combination of rhabdovirus,
bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila and fungus Aphanomyces invadans.
 Characterized by severe ulcerative, dermal necrosis exposing the underlying
musculature, which may be hemorrhagic. Fish with less severe lesions exhibit scale
loss with erosion of the skin surface
2. Spinning Tilapia Syndrome – caused by iridovirus
 Affected tilapia fry and fingerlings swim is a spiral pattern, sink to the bottom then rise
and hang at a 45° angle just under the water surface, gasping for air. They do not feed
and are darker in color. Mortalities occur within 24 hrs of onset of disease.
3. Viral Nervous Necrosis – caused by nodavirus
 Affected larvae and juveniles show lethargy, pale color, loss of appetite, anorexia, loss
of equilibrium and corkscrew swimming. Some fish sink to the bottom then float to
the surface again. Diseased fish had pale liver, empty digestive tract, intestines filled
greenish to brownish fluid and the spleens are red-spotted.
4. Lymphocystis Disease – best known viral disease of marine and freshwater fish, infected fish
have clusters of pear-like nodules up to 5mm in diameter that develop on the skin, gills or
fins resulting from an enlargement of tissue cells and its causative agent is iridovirus
5. Sleepy grouper disease – E. tauvina (species affected), fish exhibits extreme lethargy and low
appetite, swims alone or hung at the water surface or remains at the bottom, caused by
Iridovirus
 Viral Infections in Penaeid Shrimps
1. White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) Disease – caused by baculovirus
 Distinct white cuticular spots the exoskeleton and epidermis of diseased shrimps. Red
discoloration and loose cuticle. Manifest surface swimming and gathering near pond
dikes.
2. Yellow Head Virus (YHV) Disease – caused by rhabdovirus
 Infected shrimps show light-yellowish, swollen cephalothorax. The gills appear whitish,
yellowish or brown. Occurrence has been associated with dense unstable
phytoplankton bloom, bad pond bottom, high stocking density or exposure to
pesticides.
3. Monodon baculovirus (MBV) Disease – caused by baculovirus
 Affected shrimp exhibit pale-bluish-gray to dark blue-black coloration, sluggish and
inactive swimming movements and loss of appetite. Infected shrimps manifest yellow
to reddish brown hepatopancreas. No Treatment.
4. Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Virus (IHHNV) Disease – caused by Picornavirus
 Infected shrimps show erratic swimming behavior, rising slowly to the water surface,
hanging and rolling over until the ventral side is up, eventually the animal sinks to the
bottom. Shrimps would eventually right themselves up, become weak and lose their
appetite for food. They (usually) repeat the process of rising to the surface and sinking
until they die usually within 4-12 h. Diseased shrimps develop white opaque
abdominal muscles with bluish cuticular color. Larval shrimp are latently affected.
Control: Avoid IHHNV, destroy infected individuals. No treatment.
5. Hepatopancreatic Parvo-like Virus (HPV) Disease – caused by parvovirus
 Virus cause hypertrophy of hepatopancreatic nucleus leading to cell death. This causes
the shrinkage of hepatopancreas resulting to abnormal metabolism and eventual
death. Affected shrimps develop loss of appetite and retarded growth. Occassionally,

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 white opaque areas on the tail and abdominal muscles are observed. Control: Use
HPV-free stock, destroy infected individuals. No treatment.
VI. Environmental and nutritional diseases
 Environmental diseases are caused mainly by poor water quality or parameters beyond the
optimum for rearing. Non-infective but can affect entire cultured population. Best exemplified by
massive fish kills.
 Due to higher stocking and use of artificial feeds, the quality of water can easily deteriorate
because of high amount of waste produced and uneaten food. If the culture system is not efficient
in waste management, the following toxic substances may increase and cause problems:
1. Ammonia is a product of metabolic process. When the fish use protein as a source of energy,
the end product is ammonia which is excreted into the surrounding water via gills and urine.
Ammonia is also produced from the decomposition of protein/ nitrogen rich waste and
uneaten food accumulated within the system.
o The unionized form (NH3) is stressful and detrimental to the fish when present at a high
concentration whereas the ionized form (NH4+) is relatively safe. The two ammonia
forms are reversible and the transformation is influenced by pH  when pH is low
(acidic) the ionized form is high, when pH is high (alkaline), the unioinized form persists
2. Unioinized ammonia causes stress and gill damage when present at low concentration. Fish
exposed to low levels of ammonia over time are more susceptible to bacterial infections,
have poor growth and will not tolerate routine handling as well as they should. When in high
concentration, mortality happens.
3. Nitrite in the water enters the fish blood stream through the gills and interferes with the
ability of blood to transport oxygen to cells in the body. Nitrate combines with the blood
haemoglobin to form methemoglobin (lesser affinity for oxygen) causing brown-blood
disease. Nitrite can further be oxidized to nitrate but this form is relatively harmless unless in
very high concentrations.
4. Hydrogen sulphide is a product of microbial decomposition of sulphur-rich organic waste
under anaerobic condition. It is highly toxic and is the most common cause of mass mortality
in fish.
o Since ions combine chemically with Fe in haemoglobin, respiration is blocked causing
violet or reddish gills and suffocation.
5. Carbon dioxide – it is relatively harmless but could be stressful and toxic when present in
high concentration since it is highly soluble in water forming carbonic acid that lowers pH.
Low pH is stressful to fish.
6. Dissolved oxygen:
a. Gas bubble disease - supersaturation of O2/N2 gas. Appearance of observable gas
bubbles in body cavities, behind the eyes, common in larval stages of fish
b. Swim bladder disease - occurs during inter-monsoonal periods, fish loses ability to
regulate, become inflated with air causing a distended abdomen; loses buoyancy
and swims sideways keeping head down near the surfaces
c. Hypoxia - Caused by low dissolved oxygen (below 2 ppm), low DO brought about by
algal blooms, high temperatures, drought, overstocking, high decomposition rate
due to organic load
7. Ice-ice - This is a phenomenon caused by low salinity, temperature and light intensity. This
health condition of seaweed wherein it exudes organic substances, which is mucilaginous in
nature and with the presence opportunistic bacteria in the water column aggravates the
whitening of the branches. If this is observed, totally harvest crops and replace them with

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 new seedlings or transfer your plants to unaffected sites. Other problems include: epiphytes
infestation, pitting, tip darkening and silting.
8. Sunburn disease – due to excessive levels of UV radiation from sunlight when fish are
stocked in shallow uncovered raceways under intense sunlight
 Environmental diseases may be due to presence of pollutants, toxicants, or excess waste in the
water column. Other chemicals of concern found in polluted environment
1. Dissolved/Suspended Impurities. May cause:
a. osmoregulatory failure
b. suffocation
c. gill problems and damage
d. fin rot
2. Chlorine - due to the use of potable water without allowing time for chlorine dissipation.
Chlorine > 4 mg/l can kill fish in 7-8 hrs. Symptoms:
a. gill sheets appear pale and whitish
b. whitish skin
c. sunken eyes
d. restlessness
3. Ozone. Used as replacement for chlorine to disinfect water, for sewage effluent treatment,
as power plant coolant water. May cause:
a. massive gill lamellar destruction
b. gill hypertrophy
c. increase blood sugar
4. Heavy Metals. Source: industrial and mining effluents
a. Fe - ionized salts of coagulated hydroxides. May settle on the gills
b. Cu - toxic to fish when dissolved in water. Toxicity enhanced if Zn and Cd present.
Brass (alloy of Cu and Zn), when dissolved in water, is more toxic since it is easily
corroded by water
c. Pb - soluble Pb compounds are highly toxic. Solid metal generally safe because of the
protective coating on the surface
d. Zn - gradual increasing destruction of gill tissues. May be absorbed in the intestine
and accumulate in the liver. Aquatic plants can absorb and accumulate Zn from the
water even at very low concentration
e. Al – normally harmless except in acidic water. Al paints are used to protect
galvanized Fe frames of aquaria against corrosion
5. Pesticides. Synthetic and natural compounds used to control animals and plants considered
harmful to humans. Major sources entering ponds:
a. run off from agricultural treated land
b. industrial discharges
c. domestic waste
3 major groups of pesticides:
a. Chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC). Synthetic organic compounds that is soluble in
organic solvent. Fishes accumulate large quantities of CHC during summer with little
effect since it accumulates in the adipose tissue. When food is scarce, the fish
release stored CHC and its metabolites that are absorbed by the nervous tissues
resulting to the destruction of nerve cells
i. Examples: DDT Endrin

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  May cause: partial or complete paralysis, spinal curvature, reduced
growth and survival
b. Organophosphate insecticides. Oily, volatile, insoluble in water but soluble in organic
solvents
i. Examples: Malathione, Gusathion
 May cause: abnormal muscle contraction, spinal curvature, mortality
c. Carbamate insecticides. Highly toxic to insects and crustaceans but low toxicity to
most vertebrates. Examples: Sevin, Zectran
6. Detergents and Phenolic Compounds. May cause: delayed gamete development, anemia,
skeletal, gill and renal abnormalities
 Nutrition - Undernourished animals cannot maintain health and growth regardless of the quality of
environment. A nutritionally balanced feed must contain the required nutrients in proper
proportion.
o Nutritional diseases are caused by deficiency, excess or improper balance of food components
which can be brought about by: improper formulation, using imbalanced ingredients,
improper processing
o Most nutritional diseases are chronic in nature, usually developing slowly over an extended
period of time.
o In terms of practical diets, it is usually in the lipid and digestible carbohydrate components of
the macronutrients that the major problem arises.
o General symptoms of fishes with nutritional deficiency:
i. Slow growth
ii. Low survival
iii. Decreased appetite
iv. Mortalities
v. Poor spawning
o Starvation is the absolute nutritional deficiency. Signs of a starved fish:
i. Darker color with softer flesh
ii. Pin-head
iii. Pale gills
iv. Lack of abdominal fat
o Mineral Deficiency
i. Calcium. Function: skeletal constituent, plays a role in muscular & neural activity,
blood clotting and Vitamin D metabolism
 Deficiency Symptoms: Impaired growth, impaired adaptation to abrupt
environmental changes
ii. Phosphorus. Function: Involved in important metabolic process, present in nucleic
acids
 Deficiency Symptoms: Retarded growth, poor feed utilization, interfere with
bone development, increased visceral fat content, decreased water content
iii. Sulfur. Function: Constituent of methionine and cysteine
iv. Sodium and Chloride. Function: Important in osmoregualtion
v. Potassium. Function: Important for the stimulation of muscle & neural systems
vi. Magnesium. Function: Important in phosphorylation reaction and certain enzyme
systems
 Deficiency Symptoms: Poor growth due to loss of appetite, cramp-like symptom

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o Vitamin deficiency
 Vitamins are not actually considered as nutrients but as dietary essentials to the survival of
fishes. Some are essential co-factors for specific metabolic processes; others have
structural roles in cell membranes. Fish require 12-15 vitamins in the diet in relatively small
amounts.
 Vitamins can either be:
i. Fat-soluble - can be readily stored in the body, metabolized relatively slow, usual
diseases caused by deficiency rather than hypervitaminosis. Excreted in feces.
a. Vitamin A – Retinol - essential for normal vision, important in epithelium
formation, plays a role in bone formation
b. Vitamin D – Calciferol - essential for bone formation (absorption of Ca & P),
plays a role in bone mineralization
c. Vitamin E – Tocopherol - essential for membrane stability, important in the
control of DNA formation, natural antioxidant, synthesis and excretion of
gonadotrophic hormones
d. Vitamin K - essential for normal blood clotting
ii. Water-soluble - Vit. B complex, C, Nicotinic acid, panthothenic acid, biotin, choline.
Excreted in urine.
a. Vitamin B1 – Thiamine- co-factor in energy-yielding reactions, important in
carbohydrate and protein metabolism
b. Vitamin B2 – Riboflavin - co-factor in metabolism, promotes growth,
important in normal visual perception
c. Vitamin B6 – Pyridoxine- co-factor in amino acidmetabolism
d. Vitamin B12 – Cobalamine - essential for blood formation
e. Vitamin C – Ascorbic Acid - essential for collagen synthesis, synthesis of steroid
hormones, transformation and utilization of folic acid, plays a part in
absorption of Iron
f. Vitamin B7-Biotin - involved in fatty acid turnover and de-amination of amino
acids.
g. Vitamin B5 - Panthothenic Acid- metabolism of carbohydrate, protein & fat,
required for all combustion reactions
h. Vitamin B9 - Folic Acid - essential for blood formation, functions in the
synthesis of nucleic acid
i. Nicotinic Acid - role in the normal respiratory process, metabolism of
carbohydrate
j. Choline (Lecithin) - basic compound of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine,
component of phospholipid membranes
k. Inositol - component of phospholipid membranes, involved in CHO
metabolism, promotes biotin synthesis
 Chemical forms of most vitamins that are used to supplement feeds are quite stable under
most conditions (except Vitamin C).
 For most vitamins, the visible signs of dietary deficiency are non-specific, with anorexia
being the most obvious and common sign.
 The absence of visible signs does not necessarily mean that a fish is in optimal nutritional
health. Note that by the time signs of nutrient deficiency are visible, the fish have usually
ceased feeding

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  Nutritional myopathy syndrome - disease is characterized by necrosis and degeneration of
the natural musculature of fish and associated with vitamin deficiency and with lipid
peroxides in the diet
o Nutritional and environmental diseases in crustaceans
i. Chronic soft-shell syndrome, soft shelling
 Caused nutritional deficiency, pesticide contamination, and poor pond water
and soil conditions
ii. Black gill disease
 Chemical contamination, ascorbic acid deficiency, heavy siltation
iii. Blue disease, sky blue disease, Blue shell syndrome
 Low levels of carotenoid astaxanthin; soil-water quality problems
iv. Red disease
 Presence of aflatoxin in feeds; high input of lime in pond
v. Incomplete molting
 Closely associated with low temperature of culture water, that may cause the
presence of old exoskeleton attached to the newly molted larvae, especially in
appendages
vi. Muscle necrosis
 Stressful environmental conditions – temperature and salinity shock, low
oxygen levels, overcrowding and rough handling
vii. Cramped tails, bent tails, body cramp
 Mineral imbalance; increase water and air temp
viii. Acid sulfate disease syndrome
 Low water and soil pH
 Harmful algal bloom:
i. Types of Harmful algal bloom
1. Type A – no toxin; becomes harmful and causes fish kills in some enclosed areas
due to oxygen depletion
 Dinoflagellates – examples: Noctiluca scintilans, Gonyaulax polygramma,
Scrippsiella trochoidea
 Cyanobacterium – example: Trichodesmium
2. Type B – produce toxin, causing gastrointestinal and neurological illnesses
 Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) – caused by Alexandrium, Gymnodinium
catenatum, Pyrodinium bahamense. Toxin: Saxitoxin.
 Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) – caused by Dinophysis, Prorocentrum
lima. Toxin: Okadaic acid.
 Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) - caused by Pseudonitzchia. Toxin: Domoic
acid.
 Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) - caused by Gambierdiscus toxi, Prorocentrum.
Toxin: ciguatoxin.
 Neurotoxin Shellfish Poisoning (NSP) - caused by Gymnodinium. Toxin:
brevetoxin.
 Cyanobacterial Toxic Poisoning (CTP)- caused by cyanobacteria anabaena
circinalis, Microcystis aeruginosa, Nodularia spumigena.
3. Type C – Non toxic to humans but harmful to fishes and invertebrates by damaging
and clogging the gills, caused by diatom (Chaenoceros convolusus), dinoflagellates
(Gymnodinium mikimotoi), prymnesiophytes and raphidophytes

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 ii. Explanations for the apparent increase of algal bloom have been proposed:
1. Increased scientific awareness of toxic species
2. Increased utilization of coastal waters for aquaculture
3. Increased algal blooms by cultural eutrophication
4. Stimulation of algal blooms by unusual climatological conditions
5. Transport of dinoflagellate cysts in ship ballast water or associated with
translocation of shellfish stocks

iii. Causes of harmful algal bloom/ red tide

1. Eutrophication in marine water
a. Eutrophication due to upwelling of deep seawater
b. Terrestrial nutrition supplies
c. Phosphate release from sedimentation
d. Nutrient circulation in surf zones
e. Nitrogen fixation in brackish water
f. Vitamin B12
2. Prolongation of residence period of surface water
a. Stratification of water
b. Change of direction of periodic wind
c. Downward migration of phytoflagellates
3. Grazing pressure depletion
4. Seeding due to temperature induced germination
5. Adaptation to environmental stress
a. Lowered salinity stress
b. Lowered silicate stress
c. Trace metal stress
d. Lowered nutrient stress

Unit 2. Disease prevention in ponds

 Treatment of diseases of the cultured stock in ponds is a matter for serious consideration. For one,
the volume of pond water is too large that chemical or antibiotic applications can be economically
impractical. Improper treatment such as the administration of insufficient dosage of antibiotics has
the risk of producing drug-resistant bacteria that may further complicate the problem. Moreover,
once disease has set in, it may not only adversely affect the volume of the produce but the quality
of the stock/shrimp as well.
 Prevention of disease from occurring therefore, remains the most important strategy for a
successful operation. Integrated health management involves:
1. the implementation of appropriately planned guidelines for prevention, control and
eradication of diseases
2. correction of disease-causing and disease spreading conditions in the farm
 Guidelines for integrated health management
1. Health inspection and disease monitoring
a. Surveillance of fish
b. Monitoring of water quality
c. Use of disease-free eggs, fingerlings and larvae
d. Control of wild fish and other animals
2. Disease treatment
3. Sanitation

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 a. Farm disinfection
b. Drying out and treatment of pond bottoms
c. Separate young from brood fish
d. Destruction of diseased culture species
e. Change the environment
 Prevention - considered the cornerstone of a disease protection program which involves:
1. reliable identification of diseases and its carriers
2. adequate knowledge of the transmission mechanisms
3. development of effective methods of preventing the access of pathogens and their carriers
into culture facilities
4. provision of environmental conditions conducive to maintenance of health of cultured
species
5. immunization by vaccine  contain antigens that are generally attenuated or killed disease
agents. When administered to a host, they stimulate the production of specific antibodies
or non-specific resistance to a particular pathogen. The chances of survival of the host,
when infected by the pathogen, are greatly enhanced by the immunization achieved
through the production of antibodies.
 Essential requirements for disease prevention in ponds:
1. Proper Pond Preparation
o It is during this time of culture operation when manipulation of the environment of
the stock such as soil conditioning repairs, pest eradication and growth of natural
food, is done and is a very important phase of the culture period.
o Adequately prepared ponds have significant influence for the best survival and
growth of the stock. It is advisable, therefore, to follow recommended procedures.
o Pond dimensions should be known to determine areas and water volumes because
all inputs in the pond depend on them.
2. Proper Stocking and Monitoring
o This involves careful selection of fry for stocking in ponds. They must be disease-free
and healthy, collected from reliable sources and properly acclimated prior to or
during stocking. Avoid broodstock from areas known to have problems with
parasites or disease.
o Stocking densities should follow recommended rates as overcrowding may result to
disease outbreaks and other problems. Monitoring of the stock is important to be
able to determine the condition and rate of growth of the stock at certain stages of
culture and provide remedial measures whenever problems are observed.
3. Proper Water Quality Management
o Maintaining good water quality for the entire culture period is one of the keys to a
good production. Water supply must be adequate to provide efficient water
exchange and keep the physico-chemical parameters of the water at optimum levels
for the stock.
o The quality of the water source is equally important to attain the required water
properties. The use of water pumps and aeration systems and monitoring of water
properties are very important especially when rearing at high densities.
o Use water management practices that prevent or reduce contamination by any
pathogen.
4. Proper Nutrition
o The choice of supplemental or artificial feeds must be considered carefully to
provide the stock with the required nutrients for good growth. During culture,

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 recommended feeding rates and frequencies at different stock sizes should be
followed to avoid starvation or wastage of feeds. This would also require regular
monitoring of feed consumption as conditions in the pond influence feeding by the
stock although food is given following recommended procedures and amounts.
5. Eliminate or reduce risk from potential vectors (infection carrying agents) on the farm.
Reduce the risk of spreading infection between ponds (or other farming units) by
restricting movements of people, equipment and other possible agents
6. Implement a health management program that aims to minimize stress by optimizing the
pond (or other farming unit) environment. A health management program should
address all key operational issues such as:
a. Pond, pen, cage management
b. Health monitoring
c. Water quality management
d. Feed management
e. Husbandry practices
f. Source of stock – importing stock should only be undertaken with appropriate
safeguards, such as adequate health checking and quarantine procedures, in
place to minimize the risk of introducing disease (as per Article 9 of Aquaculture
Development Section of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries)

Unit 3. Physical, environmental and chemical control of disease

I. Physical Methods - based on the physiological tolerance of disease agents to adverse conditions such
as increased or low temperature, absence of moisture, presence of deleterious irradiation; and the
removal of pathogen sources or presence of physical barriers to prevent contact between the
disease agent and the host.
1. Potential pathogens can be removed by ultraviolet radiation and through the process of
microfiltration.
2. Chemical pollutants can be eliminated by carbon filtration, biofiltration and water dilution.
3. Exposure of tank or pond to heated water and sun-drying can also eliminate some microbial flora.
4. Infected fish must be removed quickly and destroyed. Health classification scheme:
a. Fish free of specific pathogenic organisms (SPF) – refer to fish free of all species-specific
pathogens. The water supply must be completely sterile and exchanges of fish is possible
only between SPF classified establishments
b. Fish free of coded pathogenic organisms (CPF) – include fish free of all diseases appearing
in a list drawn up by an international agreement. For Southeast Asian countries, such a
list has yet to be drafted. Water supply would have to be pretreated. CPF classified farms
can receive SPF or CPF fish but cannot dispatch fish to SPF farms.
c. Fish free of specified diseases (SDF) – relate to fish reared in water supplies in which
pathogens could exist, multiply or be disseminated by wild fish. Disease could occur but
readily controlled by therapy. Certification for freedom from certain diseases can be
issued but guarantees only for the diseases listed in the document. Such a farm can
receive fish from SPF or SDF farms as well as enterprises of similar sanitary level.
d. Uncontrolled fish consist of fish not checked for the presence of disease or pathogens.
Fish exchange is possible only with farms of similar category but can receive fish from the
three foregoing ones.
5. Sanitary classification of fish farms can be used as basis for issuance of permits for fish import,
export, exchange or restocking.

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 o The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) have recommended policy
measures dealing with the introduction of aquatic species and guidelines for
implementation, including methods to minimize the possibility of disease transfers. Such
recommendation is the Revised Code of Practice to Reduce the Risks of Adverse Effects
Arising from the Introduction and Transfers of Marine Species (Sinderman and Lightner,
1988). The ICES Code of Practice is as follows:
i. A recommended procedure for all species prior to reaching a decision regarding
new introductions;
ii. Recommended action if the decision is taken to proceed with the introduction;
iii. A suggestion that regulatory agencies use the strongest possible measures to
prevent unauthorized introductions;
iv. A recommended procedure for introduced or transferred species which are part of
current commercial practice; and
v. A note recognizing that countries will have different attitudes toward the selection
of the place of inspection and control of the consignment.
II. Environmental Methods - to protect the host by intercepting the pathogen or cutting its pathway to
the host.
1. Proper Hatchery/Pond Design
o Trained personnel and well-designed hatcheries or ponds are important requirements in
ensuring that fish health management practices can be incorporated in the routine
operations of an aquaculture system.
o The hatchery or farm should have access to a good water supply free from any type of
pollution
o Pond development, wherever possible, should be adjacent to mangrove areas for protection
from erosion, and to provide natural filter for farm effluent.
o Provision of independent water supply and drainage canals to each individual part of an
aquaculture grow-out facility will ensure that water emerging from one pond compartment
does not enter the other compartments.
o Fishponds should be kept free of wild fish and other potential carriers of infectious agents
such as invertebrates, pests and predators.
o The farm/ hatchery should be accessible by road to avoid excessively long transport time of
the larvae or fish.
2. Good Water Quality
o The lower the water quality, the fewer fish/shrimp it will support; the higher the water
quality, the higher the production potential will be. Aside from being pathogen-free, the
water must meet the specific quality requirements of the cultured species.
o Monitor regularly the rearing water quality parameters such as salinity, pH, dissolved
oxygen, ammonia and temperature. Ultraviolet radiation and filtration systems eliminate
potential pathogens. Sand filters or filter bags will remove most of the debris.
o Filter water with fine net, cloth or cartridge filter before stocking in tanks. Clean filters
regularly. Aerate and change rearing water regularly. Siphon off bottom sediments regularly
to remove feces, organic debris and unused feed.
o Provide paddle wheels as aeration in ponds and a large settling reservoir to reduce the
organic and particulate load before it is directed into ponds.
3. Sanitary Practices
o Cleanliness improves the general standard of health. It also prevents or retards the
development of disease agents.

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 o Drain and dry the tank and pond bottom in between culture periods. Backwash or clean
filters regularly.
o Day-to-day hygiene measures should include siphoning out of organic material that
accumulate in tank bottom, immediate removal of any dead fish, and careful control of
aquatic vegetation in ponds. Provide properly labeled gear like scoop nets, buckets and pails
for exclusive use in individual facilities.
o Use PVC or non-toxic plastic pipes, pails and other equipment parts. Workers should
disinfect their hands with soap and water before preparing and administering feed, and
before performing other jobs.
4. Stress Avoidance
o Stress plays a major role in the susceptibility of fish to disease. Most diseases are stress-
related. Poor water quality, inadequate food, overstocking, handling, grading, and transfer
and transport of animals are stress inducing factors.
o Regular monitoring of the health status of the stock can detect early signs or onset of
diseases before they become uncontrollable
5. Quarantine Procedures
o Quarantine measures are very important for the prevention of the international spread of
diseases of aquatic organisms. Legislations to impose quarantine procedures on fish
imported and exported requiring health certification of incoming fish into countries will
minimize worldwide spread of fish pathogens.
o Sanitary classification of farms can be instituted such that exchanges of fish occur only
among farms of similar fish health status.
o Quarantine should be practiced to minimize risk of disease among local species. Fish
imported from abroad, or fish moved from one place to another within a country, should be
placed in quarantine on arrival and should remain there until all danger has passed.
o The quarantine period should exceed the length of the longest latent period of the
pathogens. Fish markets can become centers for the dispersal of pathogens. To avoid this
danger, fish should be disinfected upon arrival at the market.
o The quarantine period for incoming stock must be observed for at least 2-3 weeks.
Legislation of quarantine requirements should be imposed on all imported and exported fish
to minimize the spread of disease, both within a country and outside.
o Quarantine ponds must be safely isolated and must be located downstream from all other
ponds on the farms to minimize the danger of pathogen penetration.
6. Termination Procedures
o Termination procedures may also be used to control fish diseases. These include destruction
of infected individuals, by burning, cooking or burying in limed pits.
o Disposal of infected individuals should be to areas that will not affect the culture system.
Avoid contact between diseased and normal individuals.
o Disinfect the water supply system that may have carried the pathogen by draining and drying
the affected tanks and ponds. Disinfect paraphernalia used on infected individuals.
III. Chemical Methods
 Prophylactic Methods - protective or defensive measures designed to prevent a disease from
occurring. They are used to combat external parasites and stress-mediated bacterial diseases:
1. Disinfecting culture facilities
a. Tanks – Rearing tanks should be disinfected in between rearing periods. Drain and scrub
tank bottom and sidewalls using powdered detergent and plastic brush to remove debris.
Rinse thoroughly to remove soap suds and loosened contaminants. Disinfect with

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 chlorine. Scrub tank bottom and sidewalls again. Rinse several times with clean
freshwater and dry under the sun.
b. Earthen ponds – Drain the pond and then dry. Apply and tea seed cake.
2. Disinfecting rearing water
a. Chlorination method — Chlorine is the cheapest disinfectant. One of the best and
commonly used is calcium hypochlorite (powder form) or ordinary household bleach
(Purex, Chlorox). Filter the water first. Chlorine loses its strength when exposed to air. It
is reduced by organic matter (mud, slime, plant matter) and must be covered. Neutralize
with sodium thiosulfate until residual chlorine becomes zero. Chlorinated, neutralized
water must be used within 6 h as bacterial load increases after 12 h.
b. Ozonation method – Ozone (O3-triatomic oxygen) is a more powerful oxidizing agent than
hypochlorite. It can de-activate or destroy viruses and bacteria that might be transmitted
through the water supply system. Like chlorine, ozone is toxic to aquatic organisms.
Oxygen (O2) is a breakdown product of ozone, and oxidizing action may result in oxygen
supersaturation or gas-bubble disease. Ozonated water must be re-aerated before it
c. is used.
3. Disinfecting materials
a. Materials like pails, brushes, scoop nets, secchi disk, glasswares, hose, etc. may be
disinfected with chlorine in between use in different culture facilities.
4. Disinfecting feeds
a. Artemia cysts – Cysts may be decapsulated in chlorine solution. Use 30 ppm chlorine or
10 ppm formalin, 1 h before hatching.
5. Disinfecting the hosts (especially Penaeus monodon)
a. Spawners – Disinfect with 5 ppm Treflan for 1 h or 50-100 ppm formalin for 30-
60 min. Rinse spawners thoroughly in clean water.
b. Eggs – Disinfect with 20 ppm detergent for 2-4 h. Disinfection should be done at least 6 h
before hatching. Rinse thoroughly and completely change water in hatching tank.
c. Larvae – Disinfect with 0.1 ppm Treflan (trifluralin) once every other day.
 Chemotherapy - involves the use of drugs or chemicals for treating infectious diseases. It is considered
as the method of “last resort” in any disease control program. Factors to consider before using
chemicals:
1. Tolerance of the host to the chemical – Tolerance of fish varies with age, size, species, and health
condition. Younger or smaller fish are more sensitive than bigger or older ones. Some species are
better able to tolerate chemicals than others are. Fish weakened by disease become less tolerant
to stress and environmental fluctuations.
2. Efficiency of the chemical – The choice of what chemical to use is based on differential toxicity,
that is, the chemical must be lethal to the target microorganism but harmless to the host. It is
essential to know the properties of the chemical such as the active ingredient, solubility and
application method. The chemical must not harm the environment.
3. Restrictions on the use of chemicals to treat food fish – Use only chemicals that break down
rapidly and are eliminated quickly from all fish tissues to avoid tissue residue problems. The
chemical must not form toxic or carcinogenic products during cooking of the contaminated flesh.
4. Consequences of drug resistance – The indiscriminate use of antibiotics may lead to the
development of drug-resistant strains.
5. Economics – Chemicals are expensive, and one should know the value of the stock and the cost of
treatment to determine the benefits that may be derived from their use.

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 Methods of chemical treatment:
1. External methods - These are used to control ectoparasites and other microorganisms outside
the fish. They are employed to reduce or eliminate potential pathogens from tanks, ponds,
and from other materials. The external method may either be:
A. Topical - This is the direct and simplest method for treating wounds, skin ulcers and
other localized infection. Immobilize the fish before taking it out of the water for
treatment. Apply the drug directly on the infected area. The method is labor-intensive
and should be used only for high-value fish.
B. Immersion:

i. Dip. Place the fish in a scoop net and immerse in a high concentration of
chemical solution for a specified time, usually from a few seconds to a few
minutes. Rinse the fish immediately in clean water after treatment and return
the fish to the clean/disinfected holding facility.
ii. Short bath. Add the chemical solution to the holding facility where the fish are
to be treated, allowing the fish to remain in the chemical and water mixture for
a designated time, usually a few hours or less. After treatment, remove treated
water immediately and replace with clean water.
iii. Flush. Add a highly concentrated chemical solution at the water inlet and allow
this to pass through the water flow system and out of the effluent pipe.
iv. Long bath. Treat the fish for a longer time, usually 12 h or more, in a chemical
solution of low concentration.
v. Flow-through. Add the chemical at a constant rate through a metering device to
give a consistent low concentration for the desired treatment time. The treated
water moves through and out of the holding facility, and is replaced by new
clean water.
2. Systemic treatment - This is employed for treatment of systemic infections. Chemicals are
added into the feed. The advantages of this method are that fewer chemicals are needed,

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 environmental pollution is lessened and labor input is low. The disadvantages are the non-
feeding of sick fish and that, since some drugs are not stable in moist diets, this would require
introduction of more palatable components.
3. Parenteral Treatment - This is the direct and most effective route of drug administration.
Advantages are that accurate dosage can be administered and pollution of the environment is
avoided. The disadvantages are that it is labor intensive, it contributes to handling stress and it
is good only for big and valuable stocks:
i. Intramuscular. Insert the needle posterior to the dorsal fin above the midline of the
body. Absorption is slow (not very effective) or, sometimes, does not take place at all.
ii. Intraperitoneal. This is the most common method of injection. Insert the needle into
the visceral cavity or belly of the fish. The drug must be highly absorbable and should
be able to pass through either the intestinal wall or some other membrane to be
absorbed into the fish system.
iii. Intravenous. Insert needle by direct cardiac puncture, or through the caudal artery.
This results in rapid dispersal and is the most effective route for administering
antibiotics. The only drawback is that this can be used only on large fish.

 Principles of biological assay - A biological assay is a procedure involving use of the responses of
aquatic organisms to detect or measure the presence or effect of one or more substances, wastes, or
environmental factors, alone or in combination.
I. Types of Bioassay
1. Short-term. This type of bioassay reveals in relatively less time (usually 8 days or less) the
relative toxicity of different toxicants to a selected test organism. It shows the relative
sensitivity of various organisms to different conditions or variables like temperature and
pH. It also determines the median lethal concentration (LC50), or the effective
concentration values.
2. Intermediate. This bioassay is used when LC50 determination requires additional time
(usually 8-90 days) for studies of the life stages of organisms with long life cycles, and to
indicate toxicant concentrations for life cycle tests.
3. Long-term. This bioassay procedure is almost always a flow-through test. It determines
the maximum allowable toxicant concentration, or safe concentration, for indicating
water quality standards;
II. Methods of adding test solutions
1. Static. The test animals remain in the same test concentration for the duration of the
test.
2. Renewal. This is a static test where the test animals are transferred to a fresh test
solution of the same composition at periodic intervals, usually every 24 h.
3. Re-circulation. This static test involves the circulation of test solution through test
chambers. The test solution may be treated by aeration, filtration, sterilization or other
means to maintain water quality.

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 4. Flow-through. Measured quantities of dilution water and the stock toxicant solution are
mixed and delivered periodically to the test containers to provide continuous flow-
through of the test toxicant.
 Chemicals must be used in aquaculture in a responsible manner, as they pose a number of potential
risks to human health, other aquatic and terrestrial production systems and the natural environment.
These include:
 Risks to environment – water and sediment quality (nutrient enrichment, loading with organic
matter), natural aquatic communities (toxicity, disturbance of community structure and resultant
impacts on biodiversity) and effects on microorganisms
 Chemicals may be detrimental to treated animals themselves. Examples: Cutrine Plus and
formalin are toxic to larval stages of shrimp, aquatin result in chronic soft-shelling
 Adverse effects on non-target organisms such as natural food in culture system. It may induce
oxygen depletion during their degradation, or may destroy algal blooms whose decay then
depletes the dissolved oxygen in the water. It may also inhibit photosynthetic production of
oxygen.
 Diseased animals do not eat medicated feeds. Baths usually do not result in therapeutic tissue
level and may be ineffective against systemic infection.
 Some drugs have immunosuppresive effects.
 If used in closed recirculating systems, chemicals may cause adverse effects or destroy the
nitrification processes in biofilters.
 Development of drug resistant bacterial strains through the overuse / misuse of antimicrobials.
Continued use of oxytetracycline enhances the production of plasmid-mediated resistance in
aquatic bacteria. Prevention of Drug resistance:
1. Ensure correct diagnosis of the case.
2. Use the prescribed dosage for a given period.
3. Restrict use of drugs.
4. Simultaneously administer two drugs that will not result in cross-resistance.
5. Strictly observe implementation of the clearance/withdrawal period before the
fish/shrimp can be harvested/consumed. In the tropics, this usually takes 2-3 weeks.
 Potential threats to human health – residues may accumulate in the fish flesh and environment
 Cost of application can be prohibitive
 Medicated feeds may be ineffective since diseased animals become anorexic
Calcium Hypochlorite Neutralized: NaThio – aerate
EDTA Chelates heavy metals
Ozone
Disinfectants – used in Formalin
tanks, sand filters, feed Iodine Biodin / Argentyne
prep equipment, Hydrochloric/ Muriatic Acid
broodstock, equipment Benzalkonium chloride
etc Dodecyl dimethyl ammonium Bromosept-50
bromide
Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium Fabcide B-50
chloride Aquasept
Anaesthethic Benzocaine, Phenoxyethanol

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 Bacteriostatic – prevents growth of Bactericidal – kills bacteria
bacteria – keeps them in stationary
phase
Sulphonamides, co-trimoxazole Polymixins
Inhibitors of folic acid synthesis Damage cell membrane allowing
Antibiotics –
(necessary to make RNA and DNA contents to leak out. High tox to
chemotherapeutic agents
for growth and multiplication – in animals and humans – for topical
associated with decreases
humans: taken from diet) use only
in animal gut mass,
Tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, Penicillins, Aminopenicillins
increased intestinal
macrolides (Erythromycin), (Amoxicillin- Bactrin Forte,
absorption of nutrients
spectinomycin, lincosamides Ampicillin), Cephalosporins
and energy sparing =
(Clindamycin), aminoglycosides Inhibitors of bacterial cell wall
reduced nutrient cost for
(Kanamycin, Strptomycin), synthesis. Animals and humans no
maintenance
nitrofuran - Furazolidone cell wall - unaffected
Inhibitors of protein synthesis. High Rifampin, metronidazole
doses can affect humans since Inhibitors of DNA function
some ribosome components are
similar
Malachite Green Potential carcinogenic and
teratogenic properties
Trifluralin Treflan R
Fungicides Methylene Blue
Cutrine Plus
Potassium permanganate
Detergent
Vitamin C Enervon C, Oderon C
Feed Additives Astaxanthin + Vitamin C Nutri Asta C
Vitamin A, D + FA + protein Nutri-Pro
Chlorofos Organochlorophosphate
cholinesterase inhibitor use to
eliminate copepods in
contaminating rotifer cultures
Derris elliptica, D. heptaphylla, D. Rotenone
philippinensis
Insecticides, pesticides,
Teaseed cake Saponin
algicides
Tobacco waste (Dust, shavings, Nicotine
stalks)
Lime
Copper compounds Copper control
Organotin or organophosphates - Brestan 60%, Gusathion, Salmosan
banned 50%, Aquatin
 Strategic egg prophylaxis (SEP) – used on eggs of black tiger prawn to produce monodon
baculovirus free postlarvae. Eggs are washed and rinsed with benzalkonium chloride, calcium
hypochlorite, iodine or ozone-treated sea water several hours before hatching. Produces MBV-
free PL15. MBV is detected at PL7 in unwashed eggs
 National regulations on the use of chemicals in aquaculture:

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 o Bureau of Animal industry (BAI) through the Animal Feeds Standard Division (AFSD) –
formulates regulations on chemicals intended for veterinary animals
o DA AO 25: generic labelling of veterinary drugs
o FAO 117-1 : BFAR has been authorized to monitor the effect of using antibiotics in shrimp
culture by determining the antibiotic (oxolinic acid and oxytetracycline) residues in
shrimp tissues
o Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority – attached agency of DA – created to issue guidelines,
rules and regulations about commercial fertilizers, soil conditioners, microbial inoculants
and fertilizer raw materials prior distribution and sale
 Recommendations in chemical usage
o The use of antibiotics for prophylaxis in hatcheries should be abandoned
 In UK, antibiotics are used only as therapeutants and not for prophylaxis or
growth enhancement.
o The use of fresh animal manure during pond preparation and rearing phases should be
prohibited.
o Banned chemicals (red in table) should not be used for any purpose
o In cases where chemotherapy is inevitable, a code of practice on the use of drugs in
aquaculture should be strictly followed.
o Strict observance of the required withdrawal period should be implemented.
o Effluents or treated water must not be discharged directly to the sea.
o Medically important drugs should be banned for use in aquaculture because of possible
development of antibiotic resistant strains
 Other approaches to disease prevention:
o To prevent vibriosis by V. harveyi, spawners and their fecal matter must be separated
from the eggs after spawning and eggs washed to prevent infection. Natural food such as
diatoms mays till be used as these show antibacterial properties.
o Assess health condition of shrimp and fish larvae prior to stocking – perform stress test:
100 ppm formalin for 2 hours: good quality fry must have 100% survival during the
exposure period, recover within 24 hours and resume feeding
o Replace non-biodegradable compounds (eg Brestan) with biodegradable or indigenous
materials (blue in table)
o Use of bioaugmentation products or probiotics in shrimp culture. Probiotics – bacteria
and enzyme preparations designed to enhance decomposition or to encourage non-toxic
bacteria to overwhelm harmful bacteria
o Use of lower stocking density: shift to semi-intensive culture avoids the use of large areas
in extensive systems and effluents that result from intensive systems
o Sound nutrition and adequate feeding.

Unit 4. Crustacean Immune System and immunostimulants in aquaculture

 Non-Specific/ Innate/ Natural Immunity - first line of defense; directed to all potential intruders.
Migrate toward the site of infection and once there, start to engulf and digest infectious agent.
Invertebrates have this type of immunity only.
o The nonspecific immune system consists of:
1. antimicrobial substances
2. phagocyticleukocytes or phagocytes
 Acquired/ Adaptive/ Memory/ Specific Immunity - The infectious agent elicits the production of
specific antibodies that are able to recognize and neutralize the same infectious agent if it enters the
body again

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 oFound only in vertebrates.
oAbsent from invertebrates such as shrimp because they lack:
1. immunoglobulin (Ig)
2. T cell receptor (TCR)
3. Major histocompatibility complex (Mhc)
 Immunostimulants are chemical compounds that activate the immune system of animals and render
them more resistant to infections by viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites
o In contrast to vaccines wherein the production of antibodies are induced relying on acquired
or specific immune responses
o Immunostimulants increase resistance to infectious diseases by enhancing the non-specific
defense mechanisms
o Immunostimulants work on the non-specific immune system and are used as an alternative
approach to antibiotic treatment and vaccination in the prevention of diseases in aquaculture
species. They are applicable to larval, juvenile and adult stages of both fish and shrimp
o Types of Immunostimulants:
1. structural elements of bacteria (lipopolysaccarides (LPS), lipopeptides, capsular
glycoproteins and muramyl peptides);
2. various β-1,3-glucan products from bacteria and mycelial fungi;
3. β-1,3/1,6-glucans from the cell wall of baker’s yeast;
4. complex carbohydrate structures (glycans) from various biological sources including
seaweed;
5. peptides present in extracts of certain animals or made by enzymatic hydrolysis of fish
protein;
6. nucleotides
7. synthetic products (Bestatin, muramyl peptides, FK-156, FK-565, Levamisole)
o When to use immunostimulants:
1. Situations known to result in stress and impaired general performance of animals (e.g.
handling, change of temperature and environment, weaning of larvae to artificial
feeds
2. Expected increased exposure to pathogenic microorganisms and parasites (e.g. spring
and autumn blooms in the marine environment, high stocking density)
3. Developmental phases when animals are particularly susceptible to infectious agents
(e.g. the larvae phase of shrimp and marine fish, smoltificationin salmon , sexual
maturation)
o Benefits of immunostimulants:
1. Reduce mortality due to opportunistic pathogens
2. Prevent viral diseases
3. Enhance disease resistance of farmed shrimp
4. Reduce mortality of juvenile fish
5. Enhance the efficacy of antimicrobial substances
6. Enhance the resistance to parasites
7. Enhance the efficacy of vaccines (used as helper substances (adjuvants) in vaccines to
activate antigen presenting cells (e.g. macrophages) and to stimulate these cells to
produce more of the signal molecules (cytokines))
8. Prophylactic agents prior situations known to represent an elevated risk of disease
outbreak:
i. Transport and handling
ii. Sudden change of temperature and environment

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 iii. Weaning of young individuals to artificial diets
iv. Increased exposure to pathogenic microbes and parasites and environmental
stress that causes impaired general performance and reduced growth

Section 3. Fish genetics and selective breeding

Unit 1. Qualitative and quantitative genetic improvement
 Qualitative (quality) genetic improvement – used if the character or trait of interest (i.e. color, body
shape) is influenced by one or few genes only. The effect of a gene or a gene number can be
identified, selected and isolated. This method applies the method of Mendelian genetics. In
aquaculture this method is normally used in the development of ornamental fishes. Selection is based
on the character or traits of individual fish. Examples:
1. Monohybrid cross – mating between individuals heterozygous for a single trait
o Complete dominant gene action – homozygous dominant has same phenotype with
heterozygous dominant
o Incomplete dominant gene action – dominant allele is stronger than recessive but not
strong enough such that homozygous dominant is not equal phenotype with hetero dom
o Additive gene action – neither allele is dominant, both contribute equally to production
of phenotype in a unidirectional additive stepwise manner. Heterozygous phenotype is
intermediate between 2 homozygous phenotypes
2. Dihybrid cross – 2 or more genes are inherited independently and controls a different phenotype
3. Polygenic traits – controlled by a combination of 2 or more genes. 2 modes of interaction
o Additive – more possible phenotypes because more possible genotypes
o Epistasis – interaction of alleles from 2 or more loci to produce a phenotype that neither
gene produces by itself
4. Sex-linked genes – Y linked, X – linked
5. Pleiotropic effects – secondary phenotypic effects: biochemical pathways are interconnected, the
substitution of one allele for another can affect more than 1 biochemical pathway altering more
than 1 phenotype consequently
 Quantitative (quantity) genetic improvement – used if the character of interest or trait (i.e. size,
growth rate) is influenced by the combined/ average effect of several or many genes and the effect of
individual gene cannot be identified. In aquaculture, this method is normally used to improve growth,
survival, carcass quality etc. selection is based on the performance of the population
- Measurable rather than described, no discrete phenotypic categories but a continuous
distribution within population
- Formulas in selection
o Phenotypic variance (Vp) – observed quantitative trait: VG(genetic)+VE(environmental)+VG-
E(interaction between genetic and enviroanmental variance)
o Genetic variance (VG) – sum of VA(additive genetic variance)+VD(dominant)+VI(epistatic)
- Examples:
1. Selection
 Mass selection
Pool of males x Pool of females  culture offspring  select best male
and female (10% of pop)  use as parents for next gen
 Family selection - Individuals are selected solely on the basis of their family
means, so that individuals from the same family have the same selective rank
Different families (~200)  culture  select best families based on
average performance  parents next gen

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  Within family selection - The best individuals from each family are chosen, so
that individuals are ranked within each family. The criterion is the deviation of
each individual from the mean value of the family to which it belongs.
Different families  culture  select biggest (if growth is being
improved) males and females from each family  parents next gen
 Combined family and within family selection – method where animals are chosen
based on their individual phenotypic vale and phenotypic value of the family to
which they belong
Different families  culture  select best family  within each family
select best males and females
2. Cross Breeding – used when selection does not work in cases where population has only a
very narrow genetic variation and there is not much additive variance to exploit 
heterosis or hybrid vigor enables an offspring to surpass its parents for one or more traits.
This is the response shown by organisms that are mated to distantly related individuals of
the same species (outbreeding).
 Crossing 2 unrelated strain or population: effective if the 2 populations are
tested to be genetically compatible in producing offspring of hybrid vigor
 Effective particularly when crossing 2 inbred lines because genetic variability of
offspring is regained making them perform better

Unit 2. Methods of genetic improvement of aquaculture species

1. Induced ovulation and spermiation
a. Fish reproductive cycles are regulated by environmental stimuli. Appropriate sensory receptors
convey the environmental stimuli to the brain, causing the release of hormones (hypothalamic
peptides), which stimulate the pituitary gland to release gonadotropic hormones which act on the
gonads. The gonads in turn produce the sex steroid hormones which are responsible for the
regulation of secondary sexual characteristics and breeding behaviour. This reproductive pattern
is the basis for induced reproduction, namely the provision of appropriate environmental stimuli
and the administration of hormones for maturation and release of gametes.
b. A variety of hormones have been used to induce spawning. Fish pituitary extract (FPE),
particularly from carp, is an easy source of
hormones to promote reproduction. Other
hormones used are the human chorionic
gonadotropin (HCG), gonadotropin-releasing
hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone-
releasing hormone (LHRH). These hormones
are mainly injected to spawners while
hormone implants have also been developed.
2. Chromosomal manipulation
a. Parthenogenesis
i. Gynogenesis: all maternal inheritance
1. Steps: irradiate sperm by UV or gamma
ray to eliminate/ denature DNA, fertilizing
sperm will make no genetic contribution
to the embryo resulting in haploid
embryo. This is then diploidized by:

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 a. Shocking at 2nd meiotic division – inhibit 2nd polar body release resulting in meiotic
gynogenetic or meiogyne. Can be hetero or homozygous
b. Shocking at first cell division – inhibit 1st mitotic cleavage, can generate pure strain
(homozygosity) in one time resulting in mitotic gynogenetic or mitogyne
ii. Androgenesis: all paternal inheritance
o Natural gynogenesis occur in nature in some fish species: Poecilidae (Poecilia Formosa),
Cyprinidae (Carassius auratus), Pleuronectidae
o Methods of inactivating gametes (sperm or egg)
 Physical methods
 Gamma, x-ray, UV
 Chemical methods
 Toluidine, EMS, trypaflavine, thiazine
 Over mature (aging) eggs – female chromosomes degraded
b. Polyploidy

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 o Advantages of polyploidy individuals: growth and survival rate increase, meat quality
improvement, sterilization
o Polyploidy identification: chromosome number (karyotyping), nucleoli silver staining. RBC
nuclear volume measure, DNA content analysis (flow cytometry), isotope labeling
o Methods for generating polyploidy:
i. Physical (in fish)
 During gamete formation (meiosis), the diploid chromosomes first duplicate, exchange
some genetic material by recombination (crossing over) between chromatids, then
separate by two equal divisions to give the final haploid gamete (egg or sperm). The
ovulated, unfertilized egg has to undergo the second meiotic division and results in the
loss of one haploid complement of egg chromosomes in the form of the 2nd polar body.
The remaining set (the female pronucleus) then fuses with the male pronucleus from
the sperm. Interference with the second meiotic division or extrusion of the 2nd polar
body can result in triploidy (2nd polar body is not loss and the two sets of maternal
chromosomes combine with the male pronucleus to give a triploid egg.
 Methods employed: temperature shock (heat shock or cold shock), hydrostatic pressure
shock
 It is also possible to interfere with the first mitosis in fish using the same physical
agents. In mitosis, the chromosomes duplicate and then split equally: as the cell also
divides this process results in two daughter cells with identical chromosome
complements to the single parent cell. A pressure or temperature shock can be used to
prevent the first cell division in a normal diploid egg, resulting in duplication of the
chromosome number (tetraploidy). A cross between a 4n fish and a 2n fish will produce
a 3n offspring without the need to use shocks to induce triploidy
ii. Chemical (used mostly in molluscs)
 Colchicine, an alkaloid inhibits microtubule formation (polymerization of tubulin
protomers), other polymerization inhibitors: vinblastine, taxol (inhibit microtubule
assemble, cause spindle disassemble)
 Cytochalasin B: fungal alkaloid interfere actin aggregation, i.e. block actin
polymerization by bind to the end of F-actin filament) inhibit actin filament assemble
(e.g. cytokenesis; daughter cell separate)

3. Controlled sex differentiation/ Sex manipulation – Purpose: increase growth rate of population,
control propagation speed, extend growth period, improve meat quality
a. Sex determination in aquatic species – fish sex chromosome is lacking or primitive, phenotypic
sex easy to change, normal function after sex reversal, YY male are fertile.
i. Gonochorist – separate males and females
1. Differentiated – the indifferent gonad partially develops into an ovary-like structure
before developing into ovary or testis
2. Undifferentiated – indifferent gonad develops directly into an ovary or testis – more
common: eels, trout guppy
ii. Hermaphrodite – ovarian and testicular tissues present in the same individual
1. Synchronous
2. Sequential
b. Sex determination gene (s) isolation
i. Y- C’s encode testis determining gene (TDF, testis-determining factor) a DNA-binding motif
ii. Two possible genes determine sex (ovary or testis formation):
1. - SRY (sex-determining region Y)

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 2. - Z gene (autosomal-x-linked gene)
iii. Salmon & Tilapia Y-chromosomal DNA
c. Mechanisms of sex-determination in fish:
i. Autosomal sex determination – sex gene (s) located in any of the autosomes
ii. Environmental – sex is differentiated by extreme temperature, pH and crowding
environment
iii. XY sex-determining system – Y determines sex ex: O niloticus, mossambicus
1. Homogametic sex (female) : XX
2. Heterogametic sex (male) : XY
iv. WZ system – W determines sex – ex: O hornurum, O aureus
1. Homogametic sex (male) : ZZ
2. Heterogametic sex (female) : ZW
v. ZO system – receiving O = female
1. Homogametic sex (male) : ZZ
2. Heterogametic sex (female) : ZO
vi. XO system – receiving O = female
1. Homogametic sex (female) : XX
2. Heterogametic sex (male) : XO
vii. Multiple sex-determining system
1. Multiple XY system – male Y determines offspring’s sex
a. Homogametic sex (female) : X1X1X2X2
b. Heterogametic sex (male) : X1X2Y
2. Multiple WZ system – female W1W2 determines offspring’s sex
a. Homogametic sex (male) : ZZ
b. Heterogametic sex (female) : W1W2Z
3. Multiple Y system – Y1Y2 determine offspring’s sex
a. Homogametic sex (female) : XX
b. Heterogametic sex (male) : XY1Y2
4. WXY system – W can block male determining ability of Y: XY, YY are
males, XX, XW, WY are females – either parent can determine offspring
sex
d. Sex control in aquatic species:
i. Surgery (remove gonad)
ii. Hand sexing – separating the males and females manually
iii. Temperature manipulation prior to gonad differentiation
iv. Sex hormones administration (via oral, dipping, immersion methods)
1. Fry are treated with hormones during sexual differentiation to change sex ratio,
application of 30-60 ppm 17-alpha-methyltestosterone, applied 10 days after post-hatch
(swim-up stage) and sexually undifferentiated. Dietary administration has been the most
widely used method. Immersion treatments have allowed treatment of alevins before
feeding commences, which is most effective in salmonids. Silastic implants containing
methyltestosterone have been used for species which will not accept a prepared diet and
can’t be treated successfully by immersion treatments at an early age, i.e grass carp,
silver carp. Sex reversal treatments are normally carried out in small fish and any residues
are eliminated long before treated fish reach market size. The use of steroid hormones
directly in the production of monosex or sterile fish for consumption is controversial; it is
permitted in some countries but not in others.
2. Factors important for successful sex reversal:

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 a. Type and dosage of hormone
b. Duration of treatment
c. Age and size of fry: hormone treatment must begin before gonadal differentiation
d. Stocking density of fry: high density help ensure active feeding response
e. Environment ie. Temperature
f. Feeding rate and frequency
3. Steps for sex-reversal
a. Seed production and collection of yolk-sac fry
b. Grading of fry
i. Fry collected from incubator soon after swim-up stage are generally <9 mm and
do not have to be graded
ii. From ponds or hapas may be of mixed sizes and should be graded to eliminate
>14 mm fish (may have started gonadal differentiation already)
c. Preparation of treatment environment
i. In tanks: outdoor/indoor
ii. In net enclosures
d. Preparation of feeds
i. Stock solution
 Dissolve 30-50 µg of crystalline 17α MT (methyltestosterone) in 0.25 -0.4 L
of 95% ethanol
ii. Dry feed mixture
 Fish meal + rice bran at 1:1 ratio by weight
 Sieve the feed mixture using 1 mm mesh screen
iii. Mix thoroughly the stock solution and feed mixture at 0.25-0.4 L stock solution
per kg of feed
iv. 10 g of Vitamin C may be added per kg of feed
v. Oven-dry the mixture at 60-80°C for 1 hour or air-dry in shaded areas for 12-24
hours
vi. Store the hormone-feed in the refrigerator
e. Stocking of fry
i. Initial BW: 10-30 mg
ii. Stock the fry early in the morning to reduce stress
iii. High density ensures an active feeding response
iv. Stocking density in tanks and net enclosures: 3000-5000 per m2
f. Hormone treatment by feeding
i. Rate: 10-20% of body weight per day. If possible, quantity of feed should be
adjusted daily
ii. Frequency: 3 or more times per day
iii. Duration: 21-28 days
iv. Final length: >18 mm
g. Evaluation of treatment efficiency
i. Fry grown to a total length of 50 mm
ii. Gonads removed and observed under 50x objective – Acetocarmine gonad
squash technique:
 Extracted gonad is placed on a glass slide
 Put a drop of acetocarmine stain on the gonad
 Lightly squash it with a cover slip or glass slide
 Male: threadlike structure

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  Female: slustered circular oocytes
v. Interspecies hybridization – tilapia female (XX) x male (ZZ)  close 100% male (XZ) hybrids
O. mossambica F X O. hornorum M ---> 98-100% M
O. nilotic F X O. aurea M ---> 100% M
O. nilotic F X O. variablilis M ---> 100% M
O. nilotic F X O. macrochir M ---> 100% M
O. nilotic F X O. leucostica M ---> 100% M
O. nilotic F X O. hornorum M ---> 100% M
O. nigra F X O. leucostica M ---> 100% M
O. nilotic F X O. aurea M ---> 100% M
vi. Sex reversed individual cross with normal individual
1. Produce YY supermale (tilapia): prevent reproduction and female growth slower than
male, higher yields were accompanied by lower food conversion ratios (FCR) and greater
size uniformity, factors which also contributed to the improved profitability of culturing
GMT compared to present available stocks

2. Produce XX female (salmon) – eliminate precocious male (die after mature) and female
growth faster than male
4. Endocrine regulation of fish growth and administration
a. Majority of the cultured species are seasonal breeders, the breeding season appears to coincide
with environmental conditions that are most conducive to the survival of the offsprings.
Photoperiod, temperature and rainfall are important factors involved in regulation of the
reproductive cycles of organisms. Gonadal maturation/development appears to be favored by
increasing temperature and photoperiod while spawning can be induced by warm temperatures
and/or rainfall (resulting to increase in volume and velocity of water, flooding of shallow areas
and dilutions or replacement of water).
5. Transgenic technologies/ Genetic engineering
a. Genetic markers (Marker assisted selection) – based on DNA markers linked to a specific trait

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 b. Transgenic fish – defined as possessing within their chromosomal DNA, either directly or through
inheritance, genetic constructs which have artificial origin. Introduced constructs must be
incorporated into the target organism in such a way as to be expressed and passed along
subsequent generations  when accidentally stocked in the wild may hybridize with natural
population and endanger genetic stability. Methods of gene construct transfer:
i. Microinjection – fine glass tube is used to introduce multiple copies of construct directly into
new fertilized eggs
ii. Electroporation – fertilized ova placed in a solution containing millions of copies of the
genetic construct of interest. High voltages of extremely short duration are used to produce
a transient, high permeablity state in the ova of the membrane
iii. Biolistics – firing microscopic particles coated with DNA construct directly into living cells by
gene gun
iv. Lipofection – encapsulation of construct in lipid vesicles

Unit 3. Research on Tilapia

Genetically Improved Stocks (as of date)
1. Genomar Supreme Tilapia – combining conventional and marker aided selection – commercialized by
Genomar ASA produced in their hatcheries from new GIFT generations (13th generation GIFT)
2. Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) - combined family and within family selection  ICLARM
coordinated and implemented project, terminated 1997
o A large and highly focused research effort toward genetic improvement of Nile Tilapia by
selective breeding following the approach pioneered in Norway for the genetic improvement of
farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar)
o Key features of GIFT – choice of performance traits for genetic improvement:
a. Survival – most tilapia species are already hardy fish and they usually have high survival in
diverse farm environments within their natural tolerance ranges for temp and salinity
b. Growth- most tilapia farmers consider fast growth from seed to harvest size to be the most
important trait, along with high survival rate

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 c. Delayed maturation – option to grow both male and female fish, not just all male SRT 
Later maturation will result in female fish that produce larger and more viable eggs and fry
that could be sold at higher prices  but also translates to longer wait for broods to spawn,
also larger = fewer eggs
d. Synthesis: developers of GIFT envisaged breeding a general purpose, faster growing strain of
Nile Tilapia suitable for a wide range of farm environments, with sufficient genetic variability
for subsequent selection for other traits. Therefore, the only trait continuously targeted for
improvement was harvest weight at 90 or 120 days. There were some limited attempts to
select for later maturation, but for the most part, maturation, spawning and survival were
simply monitored.
o Acquisition of wild Nile Tilapia germplasm from Africa (wild strains: Ghana, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal)
– performance was assessed vs existing Asian farmed Nile strains (Israel, Singapore, Taiwan and
Thailand) in terms of weigh at harvest after 90 days in different farm environments (ponds, cages,
rice-fish systems) as well as lowland and upland locations. Result  wild tilapia specifically Egypt,
Kenya and Senegal had grown larger weight at harvest
o Breeding strategies:
a. Selective Breeding – focuses on commercially desirable traits that are moderately or highly
heritable – best performers are chosen as breeders next gen
b. Crossbreeding/hybridization – takes advantage of the unpredictable but sometime
considerably improved performance exhibited by hybrid progeny, unlike selective breeding in
which incremental genetic improvements are achieved with each successive generation,
crossbreeding generates a one-time improvement which usually must be regenerated every
time seed is mass produced meaning that 2 separate sets of parental broodstock must be
kept.
To test: weight after 90 days of all 64 possible pure and cross breds were measured. Result 
Low hybrid vigor in cross breds thus selective breeding was chosen as strategy
o Selective breeding : 64 groups  25 best performing in above expt  mated to form synthetic
base pop (100 M: 200 F)  200 tilapia families  progeny tested
Result  65% improvement in weight over 5 gen + 60% advantage even before selective breed =
125% advantage of GIFT over Phil farmed strains
o Key Outcomes and related issues – unforeseen performance traits:
a. Higher average percentage fillet yield vs Chitralada Nile Tilapia (Thailand strain)
b. Larger egg size, higher hatch success
c. Relevance and applicability of GIFT-related methods have been demonstrated by its use in
other farmed fish.
o Gene bank – large collections of crop varieties and carefully maintained livestock breeding nuclei
and cryopreserved sperm and embryos
a. The Nile Tilapia brood stock assembled for the development of GIFT, together with the GIFT
synthetic base pop and subsequent gen of selectively bred GIFT, comprise one of the world’s
most valuable tilapia gene banks, housed in NFFTC
3. Freshwater Aquaculture Center Selected Tilapia (FAST) – 1986
o International Development Research Center (IDRC) Fish Genetics Project at FAC, CLSU
o Greater than 30th gen of within family selection to improve growth of O. niloticus
4. Genetically Enhanced Tilapia-Extra-Large, Excellent (EXCEL or GET-EXCEL) – BFAR Get 2002 EXCEL
Excellent strain that has Comparable advantage with other tilapia strains for Entrepreneurial
Livelihood (BFAR Improved GET EXCEL)
o Fast growing and high yielding strain developed by the National Freshwater Fisheries
Technologies Center

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 o Product of a selection program combining crosses and within-family selection with rotational
mating using four parent lines:
a. 8th generation GIFT strain
b. 13th generation FAST strain
c. Egypt strain- from 8 locations in Egypt introduced in 1992 through GIFT
d. Kenya strain – progeny of founder stocks collected in 1989 from Lake Turkana introduced
also via the GIFT project
5. SEAFDEC-Selected Tilapia (SST)
6. Genetically Male Tilapia (GMT) or YY-supermale tilapia – sex chromosome manipulation combining sex
reversal (feminization) and progeny testing  FAC CLSU in collab with University of Wales, Swansea
and funding from the Overseas Development Administration of UK (ODA/UK)
7. SaltUNO or Molobicus (hybrid from crossbreeding and backcrossing of Nile and Mozambique tilapia
cross) – adapts well in brackishwater (tolerate 35 ppt)
o Eight year collab of National Integrated Fisheries Technology Department with the Center of the
International Cooperation for Research and Development in Agricultural Science (CIRAD)
o Becomes a “biomanipulator” to discourage the growth of Vibriosis in shrimp production
8. Saline tolerant Tilapia – O. mossambicus (saline tolerant species as reference line) x O. niloticus (GIFT,
IDRC and Israel strains)  PCAMRD + CIRAD France + BFAR NIFTDC
9. Best 200 – strain of O niloticus with superior growth  San Miguel Corporation
 New Philippine national tilapia breeding program BFAR (NTBP) - objectives are to: (1) sustain a long-
term selection program in improving performance traits (growth, survival, maturation, disease
resistance and other economic traits); (2) institute broodstock management practices to avoid
inbreeding; and (3) disseminate efficiently the genetic gains to target beneficiaries of the breeding
program, especially the resource-poor farmers  operates as the National Broodstock Center (NBC)
for tilapia in the country

Unit 4. Cryopreservation of gametes

 It is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to sub-zero temperatures such as
77K or -196°C (boiling point of liquid nitrogen). The ultra cold liquid nitrogen at -196°C is required for
successful preservation of more biological complex structures to virtually stop all biological activity.
 At low temperatures biological activity (including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell
death) is effectively stopped. Cryogenic storage at very low temperatures is presumed to provide an
indefinite longevity to cells although the actual “shelf life” is rather difficult to prove.
 However, when cryoprotectant solutions are not used, the cells are often damaged due to freezing
during the approach to low temperatures or thawing to room temperature. Risks of cryopreservation:
Damage to cells during the freezing stage due to:
a. Solution effect – as ice crystals grow in freezing water, solutes are excluded causing them
to be concentrated in the remaining liquid water. High concentrations of some solutes can
be very damaging
b. Extracellular ice formation – when tissues are cooled slowly, water migrates out of cells
and ice forms in the extracellular space. Too much extracellular ice can cause mechanical
damage to the cell membrane due to crushing
c. Dehydration and intracellular ice formation – the migration of water causing extracellular
ice formation can also cause cellular dehydration. The associated stress on the cell can
cause damage directly. While some organisms and tissues can tolerate some extracellular
ice, any appreciable intracellular ice is always fatal to cells.

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 Methods to prevent risks:
1. Slow programmable freezing (SPF) or controlled rate and slow freezing – using machines that
freeze biological samples using programmable steps or controlled rates. Freezing down a sample
to better preserve it for eventual thawing, before it is deep frozen in liquid nitrogen
o Lethal intracellular freezing can be avoided if cooling is slow enough to permit sufficient
water to leave the cell during progressive freezing of the extracellular fluid
2. Vitrification – flash-freezing process – cryopreservation without damage due to ice crystal
formation. Vitrification of water is promoted by rapid cooling causing an extremely rapid drop in
temperature. Usually requires cryoprotective agent (CPA) prior to cooling. The CPAs:
o Act like anti-freeze; lower the freezing temperature
o Increase the viscosity – instead of crystallizing, the syrupy solution turns into an amorphous
ice
 Freezable tissues – easier or thin and small clumps of individual cells, because these can be cooled
more quickly and so require lower doses of toxic CPA:
1. Semen/ sperm – can easily be cryopreserved and can be used successfully almost indefinitely
after CP. The longest reported successful storage is 21 years (human). For fish, cryopreservation
had been very successful also. The difference with mammals is that sperm need activation
(remain immotile until they are expelled into the water) and have short duration of motility
o Sperm from fish species demonstrate significant differences in their reactions to
cryopreservation protocols (CP). Example: CP of FW fish gametes was more challenging and
took longer to achieve since FW spp are not naturally accustomed to an increase in
osmolarity (happens during CPAs are added)
2. Oocyte – highly difficult, non-viable in fish at present
3. Embryo – particularly difficult in fish. Slow freezing: non-viable, vitrification: under study

Section 4. Hatchery Management and Nursery Operations

Unit 1. Hatchery Management and Requirements
 Fish breeding – this is how we learn and understand how different aquatic animals breed naturally and
learn factors affecting their breeding patterns
 Fish hatchery is a “place for artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of
aquatic animals, finfish and shellfish in particular
 Hatcheries produce larval and juvenile fish (and shellfish and crustaceans) primarily to support the
aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems i.e. fish farms to reach a
harvest size
 A fish hatchery is a facility designed to raise fish. It provides an optimum environment for fish eggs to
develop and hatch by maintaining proper water temperature and oxygen levels, and providing
adequate food supplies and safety from predators. A fish hatchery works to raise young fish and
prepare them for release in another environment for various reasons, as well as for food.
 The Hatchery Manager should rather be a skilled industrial manager than a good biologist, as it used
to be in the past. He should have a good practical sense, combined with a good knowledge of
mechanics, engineering and chemistry, and should be familiar with the biology of the farmed species.
 Factors that limits the use of wild-caught seed:
 Availability of wild-caught seeds is seasonal
 Supply of seeds vary considerably from year to year
 Availability of seeds also vary depending on climate change
 Wide fluctuations in price

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  Areas to be focused in:
 Control of reproduction: sexual maturation, spawning, species of fish that do not complete
maturation in captivity i.e. carps, catfishes, milkfish, eels
 Requirements of broodstock to improve quantity of eggs: Nutritional, metabolic, environmental
 Requirements of larvae to improve survival: Nutritional, metabolic, environmental
 Cryopreservation – to overcome temporary shortage of gametes and asynchrony in artificial/
natural spawning; important in transportation of gametes, disease control and selective
breeding
 Production strategies in hatcheries:
1. the production of different species with partially overlapping spawning seasons (multispecific
hatcheries). Advantages:
 by exploiting the natural spawning periods, the hormonal treatment of broodstock, if
applied, is limited to fully ripe fish just to induce spawning at a specific time according to
the production planning. Allowing natural gonadal maturation usually results in a better
larval quality and improved survival rates;
 fry produced this way are ready for stocking both in extensive and intensive farms, during
spring and summer. This period coincides with the most suitable timing since the whole on-
growing period (16 to 22 months) would only include one winter and two warm seasons
(April to October) and water temperatures would be more favourable.
2. the extension throughout the year of the spawning period of a single species (monospecific
hatcheries)
 focus all their production efforts on a single species whose maturation period and
spawning is extended well beyond its natural period.
 Water temperature and photoperiod are the most important environmental factors
driving sexual maturation in fish, thus ensuring that offspring will find the most
favourable environmental conditions. By acting on these two parameters in such a way
as to simulate different seasonal conditions, it becomes possible to delay or anticipate
the gonadal maturation and the subsequent spawning
3. multipurpose hatchery, which is a combination of both systems, multispecific with a prolonged
spawning period.
 Hatchery Components/ Units - Hatchery is a production system consisting of sets of interrelated and
interacting components or units. These components are combined in such a way that the production
target will be met efficiently and the technology bottlenecks be easily determined. The components of
a hatchery consist of the following:
1. Target species – which has to be determined beforehand since each species has their own
environmental and nutritional requirements.
2. Site – proper site selection is important to enforce feasibility and economic viability of a
hatchery.
3. Hatchery facilities and equipment – which include the following:
A. Infrastructure
a. Hatcheries must be well designed and have adequate infrastructure, as these have
an important impact on the quantity and quality of larvae produced
b. Hatcheries should consist of several units, each having appropriate infrastructure
i. Separate facilities for quarantine, acclimatization, maturation, spawning and
hatching, larval and nursery rearing, indoor and outdoor algal culture, and
for the hatching (and enrichment, where applicable) of Artemia
ii. Supporting infrastructure for the handling of water (facilities for abstraction,
storage, filtration, aeration, heating and distribution), and feed (laboratories

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 for analysis and preparation and storage facilities), as well as maintenance
areas, packing areas, storerooms and staff living quarters
c. Good hatchery design should include the physical separation or isolation of the
different production facilities and effective perimeter security
i. Effective isolation may also be achieved through the construction of barriers
and implementation of process and product flow controls.
ii. The hatchery facility should have a wall or fence around the periphery of the
property, with enough height to stop the entrance of animals and
unauthorized persons.
d. To minimize the possibility of infecting existing broodstock via the introduction of
new animals, there should be a quarantine unit for new broodstock
B. life support units: seawater/freshwater supply system and air supply system.
a. seawater supply system - in a seawater supply system, the following life support
units are required:
i. intake structure – used to draw water from the sea using either of the
following four ways each of which uses electric motor with 746 Watts and 1
HP:
 pumping direct from the sea
 pumping from sum pit
 pumping from inshore well
 pumping from seabed using perforated PVC pipe
ii. Water treatment systems should be designed to provide high quality
oceanic seawater
1. Initial Filtration unit - is used to separate suspended solids from water,
e.g. fine silts, debris and foreign organisms. This unit is usually made of
marine plywood or concrete. The unit can be cleaned by periodic
backwashing. Two types of filter:
 sand and gravel filter – used to separate relatively coarse solids (≥
25 micron) and other suspended solids of large sizes.
 microfilter, like cartridge or cloth bag – used to filter fine particles
having sizes ≤ 5 µm. Synthetic foam wrapped to a series of
perforated PVC intake pipelines may be used to prefilter incoming
seawater.
2. Primary disinfection – chlorination then settlement the filtration using a
finer filter
3. Disinfection – using UV light and/or ozone, us of activated carbon filters,
addition of EDTA
iii. water pump - made of cast iron, stainless steel, fiberglass, or plastic is to be
used, for this is not subject to corrosion. It must also be a self-priming
pump.
iv. The design of the water distribution system should take into account the
level of biosecurity required by the individual areas to which the water is
distributed
v. All water discharged from the facility should be free of pathogens
vi. Reservoir - usually constructed out of a concrete mix shall be provided to
have always a ready source of water for use in any eventuality.
 Freshwater supply system - a hatchery for either saline or
freshwater finfishes and shellfishes shall also require a standby

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 water pump and accessories to use in drawing water from a well or
other sources in case natural water supply is a problem.
b. Air supply system - blower is always necessary to supply high volume of air at low
pressure in the hatchery. At least one blower with 1-2 HP capacity is needed
although two units are better. These will be used in 24-hour cycle, one will relieve
the other after 12 hours of operation.
C. Good biosecurity must be achieved, as it is paramount to the successful production of
healthy larvae.
 Biosecurity - sets of practices that will reduce the probability of a pathogen introduction
and its subsequent spread from one place to another
D. Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
a. Each hatchery should develop its own set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) outlining the control protocol for the
hatchery should be described in a comprehensive document that covers each
stage or process of the production cycle. The document should include details
of all of the critical control points (CCP) and describe how to perform each
task to control the associated risk.
b. All workers should sign a document indicating that they have read and understood
the SOPs, and that they will comply with all requirements
c. Training in biosecurity maintenance should be an important component of the
hatchery process
d. The biosecurity risk posed by each area of the hatchery should be determined.
Classifications:
i. Quarantine areas where a pathogen of concern is potentially present or
suspected,
ii. High sensitivity areas requiring minimum exposure to avoid potential
pathogen introduction or transfer,
iii. Medium sensitivity areas with lower risk of pathogen introduction or
transfer, and
iv. Low sensitivity areas in which risks of pathogen introduction or transfer are
unlikely.
E. Hazard analysis critical control point approach
a. Development and implementation of biosecurity protocols can be made easier
by a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach
 The HACCP approach is a preventive risk management system based
upon a hazard analysis and has been widely used to identify and control
risks to human health in food-processing systems.
 Critical limits are set at critical control points (CCPs) in the system where
controls must be applied to prevent, eliminate or reduce a hazard.
Monitoring and corrective actions are then implemented
b. HACCP analysis should also be applied to production, with particular emphasis on
reducing or preventing disease risks
 Maximum biosecurity in shrimp production facilities can be achieved
through the isolation of breeding, hatchery and production phases
c. A flow diagram should be created for the hatchery facility detailing all operations
and the movement of shrimp and larvae through the production system
d. Critical Control Points (CCPs) must be identified for each area

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  Facility entrance: Control at entrance for operational workers,
administrative employees, vehicles and other disease vectors to prevent
transfer of infections from other hatcheries and the environment at
large.
 Water treatment: All the water used in production units must be
appropriately (stage dependant) treated (chlorine, ozone, filtration etc.)
to kill pathogens and their hosts.
 Maturation: Quarantine of incoming broodstock; checking and
disinfection of fresh feed; cleaning of tanks and water and air lines; and
disinfection of broodstock, eggs, nauplii and equipment.
 Hatchery: Regular dry-out periods; cleaning and disinfection of buildings,
tanks, filters, water and air lines and equipment; quality control and
disinfection of fresh feeds; separation of working materials for each
room and each tank.
 Algae: Restricted entrance of personnel to algal laboratory and tank
facilities; equipment, water and air disinfection; sanitation and quality
control of algae and chemicals used.
 Artemia: Cyst disinfection, nauplii disinfection, tank and equipment
cleaning and sanitation.
 Restriction of entrance to the hatchery in general and each area in
particular to authorized personnel: All staff and administrative personnel
entering the production areas must comply with the procedures in the
SOPs.
e. Hatchery workers must be restricted to their specific area of work
 One practical way to manage this is to provide different colour uniforms
for each area.
f. The SOPs should address risks due to staff whose duties require them to pass
through areas of the hatchery with different biosecurity classifications –
communicate via phone instead
g. All staff must take adequate sanitary precautions when entering and leaving a
production unit
 Rubber boots must be worn by staff when in the production areas. The
production units (hatchery, maturation, algal culture, Artemia etc.) must
have one entrance/exit to avoid unnecessary through-traffic.
 The entrance must have a footbath with a solution of calcium (or
sodium) hypochlorite with a final concentration not less than 50 ppm
active ingredient. This disinfectant solution must be replaced when
necessary.
 Next to the entrance door, each room must have a bowl with a solution
of iodine-PVP (povidone iodine) at 20 ppm and/or 70% alcohol, and
personnel must wash their hands in the solution(s) when entering or
leaving the room.
h. Special care must be taken with vehicles (personal or shrimp transport vehicles),
because they may have visited other hatcheries or shrimp farms before arrival –
provision of wheel bath
i. The entry of potential disease vectors into the hatchery facility must be
controlled

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  While it is not possible to control all potential animal vectors, their entry
can be minimized by the use of physical barriers such as fencing, while
nets or mesh can be used to exclude birds and insects
 All water entering the facility should filtered and disinfected
F. Chemicals must be responsibly used during hatchery production process
G. Routine health assessments should be a component of good hatchery management
 Diagnostic level descriptions adapted for use in hatchery systems:

 Use of Level 1, 2 and 3 diagnostics in shrimp hatcheries:

Unit 2. Reproductive Biology of Fish and Crustacean

I. Gametes involved in reproduction
Gonads produce sexual/ reproductive
cells called gametes.

Spermatogenesis Gametogenesis is the Oogenesis

formation of gametes.
Testes are the male gonads that Ovaries are the female gonads that
produce sperm cells (male gametes) produce egg cells (female gametes)

 Both the gametes of the male and female are haploid or have half the normal number of
chromosomes each (1N) or having chromosomes without pair. Haploid daughter cells or gametes
are produced in the process called meiosis.
 Spermatozoa (spermatozoon, singular) plus secretion of the sperm ducts compose the
“milt” that the male fish exudes or releases at spawning (like the semen of a man). Male
reproductive cell consisting usually of head, middle piece and locomotory flagellum (tail)
after such cell has encountered the secretion of the sperm duct.
 Different stages of oocyte (egg cell) development
1. Immature virgin – pre-vitellogenesis stage/ primary oocytes (small: 7 to 10 µm)
2. Developing virgin - pre-vitellogenesis stage/ oocytes increase in size to 200 µm
3. Ripening – endogenous vitellogenesis stage – yolk of oocyte is formed

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 4. Maturing or ripe – exogenous vitellogenesis – oocyte increase to final size of 1-1.2
mm, oocytes are now called ripe eggs, remain in this stage until environmental
factors stimulate their ovulation
5. Running or spawning
6. Spent
 Fertilization: The sperm cell (motile) unites with the egg cell (immotile) to produce new offspring.
Since both gametes are 1N, fertilization results in zygote which is a diploid (2N).
 So that when these haploid sperm cell (spermatozoon) and haploid egg cell unite then a diploid
(2N) offspring is produced.
 Embryogenesis: process by which embryo is formed and develops
Fertilization of Cleavage: rapid Cellular
egg cell by sperm cell divisions differentiation
Embryo
cell results in the (Morula - Blastula (Organo and
zygote - Gastrula)1 Morphogenesis)2
1
Morula: produced by embryonic cleavage  rapid division of the zygote. After reaching the 16
cell stage, the cells of morula differentiate. If cleavage has produced over 100 cells, the embryo is
now called a blastula. At gastrula, cells migrate to the interior of the blastula forming either three
(triploblastic – ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm) or two (diploblastic – no mesoderm) germ
layers
2
Organogenesis is the process by which the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm develop into
the internal organs of the organism. Morphogenesis is concerned with the shapes of tissues,
organs and entire organisms.

II. Sexual Maturation

 Generally refers to physiological maturity or to the development of the gonads (or primary
reproductive organs) producing eggs or sperms capable of fertilization. Maturation may also refer
to functional maturity or the ability to mate with completion of the secondary sexual organs.
A. Primary sexual characteristics
1. Primary sexual organs/ Gonads (testes or ovaries)
a. Gonochoristic – no sex change in matured fish
b. Hermaphroditism – common mode of reproduction among coral reef fish
species and those living in the deep sea
i. Synchronous/ Simultaneous – both male and female sex functions at
the same time
ii. Successive – involves changing sex at some stage of its life
 Protandrous: male to female
 Protogynous: female to male
2. Hormones (or sex hormones or steroid hormones) - are produced in the gonads and
released in small amounts into the blood. They stimulate the maturation of gametes
and may cause changes in color, shape and behavior before breeding. They serve to
produce male or female sex.
a. In males are: (a) testosterone and (b) 11 – ketotestosterone (which is 10x
more physiologically androgenic than testosterone). Ethyktestosterone – is
an artificial steroid sex hormones.
 Androgens – are anabolic steroids that result in the production of
masculine traits.
b. In female are: estradiol - 17β

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  Estrogens – are anabolic steroids that result in the production of
feminine traits.
B. Secondary sexual characteristics
1. Size (At maturity)
a. Male larger than female – Tilapias, Grouper, Mudcrab
b. Female larger than male – Carps, Seabass, Rabbitfish, P. monodon,
Snapper, Milkfish, Catfish
2. color
3. shape
4. behaviour
5. Secondary sexual organs – external genitalia or genital papillae
a. In shrimps (Penaeus monodon), the external genitalia are petasma (for
males) and thelycum (for females).
b. In tilapia, male is distinguished from female through the urogenital papilla.
Except the anus, female tilapia has 2 openings while male tilapia has only
one seen at near end of its protruding papilla.
c. In crabs, males have two pairs of gonopod (vs two genital pores or
gonophores in females) and has bigger cheliped than female
 Factors influencing first attainment of sexual maturity
1. Differences in species
2. Differences in age and size - In general, species of small maximum size and short life span
mature at younger ages than those of large maximum size.
 Some fishes are sexually mature at birth, e.g. males of reef and dwarf perches.
However, females of reef and dwarf perches that receive sperm soon after their
birth bear young only after a year.
 Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) can mature sexually in 6 months or earlier
even at <40 grams in weight from hatching (Vera Cruz, 1996; Mair, 1996).
 Catfish (Clarias macrocephalus, native to the Philippines) are generally matured
at 6-8 months old.
 Penaeus monodon attains maturity in minimum age of 8 months for hatchery
produced and 10 months for wild individuals.
 Siganus gutattus matures in 10-12 months at 19 cm in total length for males and
20-22 cm for females.
 Mudcrabs (alimango) – take 1.5 years (in hot tropics) and 2.5 years (in colder
regions) to reach sexual maturity.
 Seabass which are protandrous hermaphrodites, i.e. postspawning males change
to females, mature initially as males at the age of 3 – 4 years with size limit of 51
– 70 cm in total length and then change to females at the age of 6 – 8 years with
size limit of 85 – 95 cm.
 Groupers which are protogynous hermaphrodites, i.e. post spawning females
change to males, attain maturity as females in about 3 – 4 years at 41 – 50 cm in
total length (in Ephinephelus tauvina) and then change to males at around 65 –
75 cm in total length (about 10 kg body weight) at later years of their lives.
 Guppy (Lebistis) and mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) mature at ages less than a
year and total length of an inch or less.
 Milkfish become sexually mature at about 75 cm in total length when they are 4 –
5 years old from larvae. Male matures in the 4th year while female in the 5th
year.

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  Eels sexually mature at 10 – 14 years of age at 60 cm in length.
3. Differences in individual physiology of fish
 Factors affecting reproductive capability of sexually mature fish
1. Intrinsic factors (within a fish)
a. kind of fish and its heredity
b. food chosen – nutrition. Important nutritional requirements for broodstock:
i. Vitamin E - This plays important role in reproductive physiology in fish,
particularly in spawning, fertilization and hatching.
ii. Protein - High protein is required during the onset or start of every
spawning period, and also during the recovery period after spawning
iii. Phosphorus
iv. Lipid - High lipid level is required upon reaching full maturity.
c. physiological makeup
d. sex
2. Extrinsic factors (external)
a. temperature
b. photoperiod (duration of daylight)
c. season
d. stocking density
e. rainfall
f. presence of opposite sex
g. water current (it particularly stimulates spawning)
h. phase of moon
i. tide
j. presence of spawning facilities, e.g. presence of boxes and other materials

Unit 3. Hatchery and Nursery Operation

I. Broodstock Management
 Broodfish or breeder – is a fish that has reached its sexual maturity and is able to reproduce
 Broodstock – adult fish retained for spawning
 Quality of Broodfish
o The efficient operation of a fish rearing facility requires a sufficient quantity of parent or
broodfish of good quality. The quantity of broodfish needed is determined by the
available area to be used in breeding and clientele’s demand.
o The breeders should be well-formed and unbruised. They should be lively and active (not
sluggish).
o Should be genetically pure with known origins. Should not be too small as small stocks are
less fecund and less efficient at egg incubation and fry production
o Should be in good shape and free of deformities and injuries since some deformities are
genetic
o Should not be too old and must not have spawned several times, because fecundity
decreases with maternal age and successive spawning
o Inferior and unwanted stock must be prevented from entering broodstock ponds
o Maintain a breeding population that contains several hundred breeding pairs to reduce
inbreeding depression. Sub-optimal broodstock density will result in low seed production
while high broodstock density often reduces seed production due to aggression and
fighting between males leading to reduction in courtship, egg fertilization and incubation

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 o Broodfish should have high reproduction capacity or high fecundity, i.e. high number of
egg and fry production.
 Nile Tilapia produces 200 – 400 eggs per spawning event per female weighing 100
grams and 2000 eggs per spawning batch per female with larger size compared
with other tilapia species.
 Siganus guttatus weighing 400 g – 500 g produces 0.8 – 1.2 million eggs
respectively per female per spawn.
 Penaeus monodon produces about 250 – 800 thousand eggs/female/spawn.
 Grouper (Epinephelus tauvina) 0.2 – 2.7 million eggs per spawning event per
female weighing about 4.1 kg to 10.1 kg respectively.
 Seabass produces about 1 – 2 million eggs per spawning event per female weighing
one kg.
o Broodfish should have progenies that: (1) are fast growers and (2) have high survival
rates.
 Acquisition of Broodstock
o Broodstocks can be immature or mature ones. These may come from wild or hatchery.
o These can be a hybrid of two wild stocks, a hybrid of two hatchery stocks, or a hybrid of
wild and hatchery. These may be purchased from national centers, e.g. NFFTC–BFAR,
NIFTDC, GIFT, Foundation, or other accredited/certified or credible sources.
 Quarantine
o All aquaculture facilities, regardless of size, must have a quarantine facility that is
physically isolated from the other facilities (separate room or building, or separate
location on the farm).
o Effluent water discharged from the quarantine facility may carry pathogens and so must
not be allowed to mix with the water entering other culture systems within the facility.
o Equipment used in the quarantine facility must not be used in other areas of the
aquaculture facility.
o Minimise traffic through the quarantine facility and disinfectant footbaths should also
be used at entries/exists.
o New stock should be quarantined for at least 2 weeks before introduction to other
facilities on the farm.
o During that time, fish should be checked regularly for signs of disease, and should be
given prophylactic treatments, such as salt (10 g per liter for up to one hour) and
formalin baths (50-100 ppm for up to one hour).
o New stock should appear healthy and ideally be inspected by a qualified fish health
specialist before leaving the quarantine facility.
II. Breeding programs
A. Pure line breeding - defined as the breeding of individuals from a single species or a strain.
 The main objective of doing a pure breeding is to maintain the genetic integrity of a
species or a strain which is known to carry or exhibit a commercially important trait(s).
However, the consequence of doing pure line breeding is the tendency to breed
closely related individuals or do inbreeding. Inbreeding is known to reduce growth
rate, survival, and egg production.
 To avoid poor quality of breed as a result of inbreeding under the pure line breeding
program, the population of broodfish (males and females) in a group must be
maintained high, that is infinitely large. Unfortunately, a hatchery manager cannot
work with infinitely large populations. Small finite population is what he can work. This
finite population is best described as the effective breeding number (Ne).

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  Effective breeding number is a function of the number of males and females that
produce viable offsprings. As the number of breeding individuals decreases, the Ne
decreases and consequently inbreeding is intensified and the genetic drift is
increased.
 Approaches under pure line breeding to prevent inbreeding:
1. Random mating - EQUAL ratio of both sexes are used under this breeding
program and does not involve selection process Effective breeding number in
a population where random mating is used is calculated by using the following
formula:
4 (𝐹 𝑥 𝑀)
𝑁𝑒 = ; 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐹 − 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠, 𝑀 − 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝐹+𝑀
Example: A breeding pair of 195 males and females:
4 (195 𝑥 195) 152,100
𝑁𝑒 = = = 390
195+195 390
A breeding pair of 50:50 male to female ratio
4 (50 𝑥 50) 100,000
𝑁𝑒 = = = 100
50+50 100
Note: The Ne increases as the number of breeding individuals is increased –
lesser chance of inbreeding also since more random mating pairs.
2. Pedigreed mating - unequal ratio of sexes is used. Pedigreed mating differs
from random mating in that each female leaves one daughter and male leaves
one son to be used as broodstock in the following generation.
 A male that spawns with three females leaves as many sons as a male
that spawns with one female – one. The sons and daughters are chosen
in the pedigreed mating results in higher Ne compared with the random
mating which used the same number of breeders but of equal ratio of
sexes
3. Rotational line-crossing - Females of line A are mated to males of line C to
advance line A. Females of line B are mated to males of line A to advance line
B. And females of line C are mated to males of line B to advance line C.
 Rotational crossing does nothing to reduce the level of inbreeding in
the broodstock, but serves only to reduce the rate at which further
inbreeding occurs.

B. Cross breeding/ Hybridization – mating of individuals from two distinct species or strains.
 The main objective is to exploit hybrid vigor or heterosis. Mainly used to produce superior
animals and plants for grow-out culture. It is the selection method that is used to produce
superior broodstock for reproduction purposes. Other aims of hybridization:
1. To produce monosex populations, i.e. all-males. Examples:
o Male O. mossambicus x Female O. niloticus

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 o Male O. aurea x Female O. niloticus
o Male O. hornorum x Female O. niloticus
2. To produce new and improved breeds or strains, e.g. tilapias, in terms of growth
rate, survival, disease resistance, temperature tolerance, and/or high salinity
tolerance
3. To improved productivity
4. To produce uniform products in terms of size
5. To produce hybrids to be stocked in natural bodies of water that are unable to
maintain self-reproducing populations.
6. To improve fishing success in put-and-take situations. This refers to the higher
percentage of catchability of the hybrids than the parental strains.
C. Selective breeding - individuals or families are chosen in an effort to change the population
mean in the next generation. Selection is based on minimal performance levels. Fish that
exceed in minimal performance levels will be selected (saved) and used as broodstock; those
that fall below minimal performance levels will be culled (removed).
1. Individual selection
a. Mass selection – is the selection of the best individuals within a population
whose values for a particular trait are higher than the average of the
population. Among the different selection approaches, this is the simplest. It
only requires the production of progenies of the same age from the large
number of broodstock, grow together and select the best males and females.
However, since the different families are not identified, it is possible that the
fish selected may have come only from a few families resulting in inbreeding.
b. b. Within family selection – is the selection of the best individuals within a
family whose values for particular trait are higher than the average of the
family. Compared to the mass selection, within family selection is better in
that the identity of the family is known. However, this approach requires the
maintenance of several families to ensure genetic variance. Within family
selection is normally combined with rotational mating scheme to ensure
maximum mixing of genes and minimizing inbreeding.
2. Family selection - Family selection is the selection of siblings based on the average
value of their family. Unlike in individual selection where the value is measured based
on the performance of each individual, in family selection siblings maybe selected if
their family value is better than that of the other families. As in the within family
selection, this approach requires the evaluation of several number of families to
ensure that sufficient families will be selected after eliminating the other families with
a lower trait values.
3. Combined Individual and Family Selection - To maximize response to selection,
combining individual and family selection may be done. This is carried out by first
selecting the families and within each family the best individuals are selected.
III. Spawning – act of obtaining eggs from the female and sperm or milt from the male. Two basic
procedures utilized for spawning
A. Natural spawning - manually extracting sexual products from the fish or is a method which
does not apply artificial technique to enable the subject animal to spawn, letting fish or any
other aquatic animals to spawn by themselves in the body of water or in the breeding facility
 In nature, most finfishes are seasonal breeders.
 Reproductive cycles are controlled by hormones produced by endocrine glands such as
the pituitary gland, testis and ovary gland (see Brain-hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad axis

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 below). The production and release of the hormones is controlled by environmental
stimuli – internal (light, salinity and temperature) or external environment (rainfall, food
and photoperiod). Under natural conditions, climatic changes such as day length and
temperature act as stimuli.

Environmental stimuli

Interpreted by

Brain - Hypothalamus
Releasing Hormone (RH)
Release Hormones to activate

Pituitary Gland
Gonadotrophic Hormone (GtH) etc Secrete Hormones to

Gonads
Testosterone, Estrogen etc Release sex hormones for gamete maturation

Gametes

Spawning: release of gametes

Oocytes (egg cells), Sperm (milt)

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o Types of ecological spawning:
1. Non-guarders
 Open substrate spawners  scatter their eggs
 Pelagophils – scatter eggs in the water column and the eggs are usually
free floating
 Lithophils – deposit eggs on a rock or a gravel bottom, and on this
substrate the embryos and larvae develop
 Phytophils- develop within or on live or dead vegetation, above a muddy or
silted bottom and under conditions of very low oxygen
 Psammophils – spawn on roots or grass above the sandy bottom or on the
sand itself
 Brood hiders  hide their eggs then abandon them immediately
 Lithophils – hide their eggs in natural or specially constructed places
excavated by the female
 Speleophils – hide eggs in substrates that have crevices and pores
 Ostracophils – deposit their eggs into the gill cavity of mussels
 Xerophils – fishes with a short life span adapted to the seasonal
dessication of their habitat, inhabit small intermittent water bodies
2. Guarders  guard their eggs; better protected from enemies, guarded eggs need not
be numerous to assure survival of the species
 Substratum choosers
 Lithophils
 Phytophils
 Aerophils – eggs are not deposited on the water but on the undersides of
broad leaves or rocks that overhang the water
 Pelagophils
 Nest spawners
 Lithophils
 Phytophils
 Psammophils
 Aphrophils – build and guard bubble nests/ foam nests (floating masses of
bubbles with an oral secretion, saliva bubbles and occasionally aquatic
plants
 Speleophils
 Polyphils – fish that are not particular in the selection of nest building
material and substrate
 Ariadnophils - . The nest building male has the ability to spin a viscid thread
from a kidney secretion, which binds the nest of different material
together. More than one female may lay eggs in the nest of one male, but
only the male remains to guard
 Actinariophils - nest under the active orotection of the tentacles of sea
anemones (eg Radianthus), both parents guard

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 3. Bearers
 External bearers - carry their developing eggs on the surface of their bodies or in
externally filled body cavities or special organs
 Transfer booders - encompass fishes that carry their eggs for a certain time
before depositing them. In some members of this guild only two to four
large, adhesive eggs are released at a time into a "basket" formed-by the
cupped ventral fins
 Forehead brooders - maturing males gradually develop a hook on the
superoccipital region. This hook juts forward and out from the forehead
and the tip is bent downward. In the spawning season, this appendage is
covered with a thick layer of skin. A cluster of eggs, attached by a thread
looped through the hook, is carried on the forehead
 Mouth brooders - incubate their eggs in the buccal cavity
 Gill-chamber brooders - incubate their eggs in their gill chamber
 Skin brooders - Females in some species or males in others carry the eggs
attached to the ventral surface of their body.
 Pouch brooders - The eggs, similarly incubated on modified skin are
enveloped by specially transformed structures or covered with a
membrane or plates, thus forming a marsupium
 Internal bearers - eggs are fertilized internally before they are expelled from the
body cavity
 Oviparous – lay eggs fertilized internally
 Ovoviviparous - fishes incubate their eggs in the body cavity where they
grow by utilizing the yolk
 Viviparous - fishes produce embryos whose partial or entire nutrition is
supplied by the female via special absorptive organ

B. Artificial/ Induced spawning – triggers remaining links in the hormonal sequence leading to
gamete maturation. Used to bring about the final maturation or release of eggs and sperm
 Continuous production of fish or other cultivable animals can be carried out through artificial
spawning using the six approaches:
1. Genetic - Through genetic selection, early maturing or late maturing broodstocks can be
developed. Management of the broodstock stretches the breeding season. This is
relatively difficult task.
2. Environmental – the use of environmental manipulation to change spawning time is a
particularly attractive scheme to flatfish, bass, bream and mullet because the very high
fecundity of these fish mean that only small number broodstock need to be maintained
under artificial conditions
a. Light
 In tiger shrimp, maturation tanks may depend on natural light under a roofed
structure or an artificial light inside a completely enclosed building with walls
and ceiling.
b. Light intensity

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  Reduced light levels down to 70 µW cm-2 led to faster maturation and
spawning in unablated and ablated tiger shrimp. Dark covers may also reduce
intensities in maturation tanks to around 200 lux or less.
c. Light quality
 Tiger shrimp attained higher maturation rate under red light than under blue
and natural light.
 Green light gave best results in maturation, followed by natural light. Least
light color is white light and black blue light.
d. Photoperiod (controlled light period) – plays a significant role in fish growth,
metabolism and reproduction. Using photoperiod control, it is also possible to spawn
fish more than once a year
 For tiger shrimp (sugpo) – natural photoperiod or 14-h photoperiod daily
 Most salmonids in the northern hemisphere spawn in the autumn and winter
months under decreasing or short day length
 Nychthermal cyclicity –behavior of daytime spawning and nighttime rest i.e
various tilapia species spawn at certain times of the day and at favourable
temperature and photoperiod.
e. Salinity
 Ablated tiger shrimp can mature and spawn at 15, 25, and 32 ppt but require
full seawater salinity for incubation and hatching of eggs. However, females
cannot tolerate a net shift of 17 ppt from maturation salinity of 15 ppt to
spawning salinity of 32 ppt and therefore eggs on this condition do not hatch
or may die in a natural death.
f. Substrate and tank color
 Tiger shrimp have greater nauplii production and higher hatching rates in
tanks with white sand than in those tanks with black sands (SEAFDEC).
 According to Rosario (personal comm.), yellow orange color showed better
results in production of catfish fry.
g. Temperature
 In the common carp, maturation is stimulated by temperature in excess of
17°C, preferably in the range of 21-25°C. they subsequently require final
maturation and spawning to be hormonally induced using pituitary or
hypothalamic hormones
 Biological zero point – theoretical minimum temperature at which gonad
growth and development begins
3. Hormonal - Spawning of fish can be induced by hormone injection, especially when the
breeders are not immediately ready to spawn due to unripe ova. The following materials
can be used in accelerating the maturation of gonads, thus including spawning:
a. Synthetic releasing hormone, e.g. Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone (LHRH),
Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) analogs (LHRHa or GnRHa) alone or in
combination with dopamine blockers (i.e. Pimozide, Domperidone that enhance
the potency of LHRHa to stimulate the pituitary) or steroids (stimulate gametes
directly)
 Dopamine blockers are needed since Dopamine is a Release-inhibitory
hormone
 Linpe method: injection of LHRHa combined with pimozide or domperidone

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 b. Pituitary gland of fish (hypophysation method) – injection of crude fish pituitary
extracts – GtH from another fish is used when the breeding fish is not producing
enough of its own.
o Available pituitaries: whole or powdered carp and salmon pituitaries in dried
form – small scale farmers typically collect the pituitaries themselves from
mature fish and preserve these either in alcohol or dried, after acetone
extraction of fats
 Pituitaries from common carp are widely used to spawn a variety of species
and have been described as “universal donors”
o Disadvantages:
 Extracts are highly impure
 They may contain accessory hormones and other components that may
stimulate some fish but inhibit others
 Action is unpredictable – number and amount of components in a given
pituitary are unknown
 If pituitaries come from a species different from the one being spawned, the
dosage may be different
c. Gonadotropins – Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and prolactin – act on gonads,
mimic hormones released by pituitary gland that act on gonads.
o Compared to whole pituitaries used above, these gonadotropins are proteins so
they are more or less species specific
d. HCG (Human chorionic gonadotrophin) and/or salmon pituitary hormogenate (SPH)
o Steps involved in Induced Spawning:
i. Selection of broodstock – determine sexual maturity using external appearance
 Female – mature, with plump, soft and elastic abdomen, swollen genital
papillae, with ripe eggs. Male – mature, slender body
 Selected broodstock are weighed to enable the correct dose of hormone
ii. Fish handling/ sedation – handling stress is a source of variability in hormone-
induced reproduction
 Importance of stress from handling
 Fish try to avoid capture and struggle violently when restrained. The
stress of capture and handling has profound effects on blood
chemistry and stimulates the hypothalamus and pituitary, affecting
blood levels of gonadotropin, androgens and stress hormone cortisol
 Contact with nets and workers’ hand strips away the protective mucus
layer and promotes infection.
 The amount of stress varies tremendously with species: some species
are easily handled whereas others leap violently from the water to
avoid capture
 Rough handling may result in reduced feeding, infection and even
mortality
 Stress in the females affects the quality of eggs
 Non-chemical methods of reducing stress
 Avoid overcrowding the fish during capture
 Never throw the fish back into tanks or ponds – they should be
carefully placed in the water and then released
 Moisten hands and all cloth nets or holding facilities (hapas) before
handling fish to minimize scale and mucus loss

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  Cover the fish eyes with a wet cloth whenever possible
 Develop secure holding techniques that minimize the effects of
struggling
 Minimize noise during all handling – many fish have an acute sense of
hearing
 Add oxygen if fish density is high or the transport is long
 Using anesthetics to reduce stress
 Light sedation - fish are easily recaptured but still responsive to
touch. Fish that are going to be injected for induced reproduction do
not need to be anesthesized, only sedated enough for weighing,
biopsy and injection
 Surgical anesthesia – there is no response to stimuli
 Fish handling guidelines
 Fish handling is taking your fish out of water and carrying them
about.
 It is important to be gentle with your fish and keep the amount of
handling to a minimum to avoid injury and stress that can lead to
disease or death
 Handle the fish in the cool morning or afternoon under the shade
 If holding them crowded in containers for a time, make sure water is
clean and has air bubbling through or running water flowing through
container
 Avoid dropping fish on the ground, or making them panic so they
start flapping around
 When holding or carrying broodstock fish in your hands, wear gloves
and cover the eyes with one hand so that the fish will remain calm
iii. Injecting hormones
 Preparation of hormone solution – factors: recommended dose, desired
volume injection, optimum injection schedule
 Females are injected twice: the first (smaller) dose stimulates germinal
vesicle migration and about 12 hours later the second (larger) dose induces
germinal vesicle breakdown, ovulation and spawning
 Males are generally injected once, at the time of the female’s 2nd injection to
induce sperm hydration coinciding with the ovulation in the female
iv. Taking spawned gametes
 Allowing the fish to release egg and milt in the tank
 Hand stripping
 Wet method – for sticky eggs: eggs are kept in water then add milt
 Dry method – mix egg and milt first before adding water
 Surgically removing the eggs and/or milt
4. Nutritional
a. High protein food
 For carnivorous fish, their compound feed should contain higher percentage
of animal and/or fish meal ingredient to obtain higher percentage of protein
 Omnivorous and herbivorous fish may be given feed containing lesser
protein content.
b. Feeding rate daily
c. Lipid requirement

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  Feed should have higher lipid percentage than the lipid content of food
given during the developmental or growing stage of the fish.
5. Ablation (in the case of shrimp, particularly tiger shrimp) - This is a practical way of
inducing maturation in female tiger shrimp breeder. (P. monodon) by cutting or incising
the animal’s one eye with a sharp razor or a blade and squeezing out the eyestalk from
the base to the tip by the thumb to destroy the x-organ and the sinus gland that produces
and stores respectively the gonad-inhibiting hormone.
6. Stripping & expressing of eggs and milt respectively (in the case of finfishes) - Stripping of
eggs and expressing of milt are carried out when the breeders cannot be waited to spawn
despite their gravidness. The egg and milt respectively are stripped and express into a
clean porcelain basin with saline solution after which they are stirred with the use of the
fowl’s feather for effective fertilization.
IV. Spawning intervals – removal of eggs and sac-fry from mouth – brooding females shortens the
interspawning interval and increases the spawning frequency.
 Broodstock and conditioning increases spawning synchronicity.
a. Broodstock exchange – shortens interspawning interval.
 Broodstock exchange after a period of conditioning could be an effective tool for
improving seed production, spawning synchrony and frequency.
 For example, each time eggs and sac-fry are collected from mouthbrooding
females, either spent or all females are exchanged for broodstock that have been
conditioned for 10 days
b. Conditioning – separation of males and females in different conditioning units at high
densities for a period of rest between spawnings. During conditioning the following are
critical:
1. Good quality feed – eggs can absorb some nutrients directly from water by egg
yolk (provided by broodstock) remains the major source of nutrition for embryonic
development in fish. The exogenous (coming from outside) nutrition of broodfish
provides the essential nutrients required for the gonadal development of females
and the performance of the seed produced.
i. Protein requirement –size at first spawning, fecundity, spawning frequency
and egg hatchability increased with increasing dietary protein level
ii. Lipid requirement
2. Appropriate feeding regimes – inadequate food supply will lead to poor
reproductive performance and seed production
V. Egg incubation
o Fish species require their eggs (embryos) to incubate and hatch in open water. Eggs are either:
1. Broadcasted in water column and float/ sink
2. Adhesive such that they attach to plants or hard substrate (rock/ gravel)
3. Laid in a nest and parent/s provide constant water flow by fanning their fins
4. Incubated in the mouth where movement of the gill plates provides both tumbling and
water circulation
o These natural processes are simulated by ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION that allows:
1. Environment to be controlled and manipulated
2. Increase hatching rates and survival
3. Removal of the eggs from the parents to increase egg production through shortening the
time for another spawning to occur
o Developing embryos and newly hatched larvae (fry) are the most sensitive and delicate of the
stages in the life history of a fish. Proper incubation requires monitoring of:

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1. Hatching temperature
 Spawning of broodstock, embryo development, survival and growth of fish larvae
occur within a narrow range of water temperature.
 Temperature has a direct effect on timing of embryonic development thereby
determining hatching rate: development and hatching is delayed at low
temperatures and accelerated at high temperatures.
 Minimal fluctuations preferably no more than ±1°C from optimal (24-28°C)
2. Water quality
 Dissolved oxygen must be ideal (4 to 5 mg/L), embryos cannot develop normally
below 2 mg/L
 For broodstock and larvae:
Addition carbon
of foam ozonation filtration
Primary
fractionat (minimize (remove
Filtration: Storage in UV
or (reduce bacteria in any
using sand tanks1 filtration
organics in rearing residuals
filters
incoming water) 2 left after
water) treatment)
1
Microbial conditioning - water is settled or aged for several days to reduce
resident population of bacteria)
2
If treatment is by chlorination, chemical dechlorination or aeration for 2-3 days
is needed after to remove residual chlorine
 To minimize the build-up of organic waste material on the upper water
surface of tanks, devices used to collect and remove floating wastes should
be placed in each tank
 Equipment such as long-handled cleaning pads or wipes and siphons are
required in order to remove build-up of debris on sides and bottom of the
tank
 Effective aeration devices: (in case of mudcrab larvae)  so that theyare
dispersed in water column and stay off the walls and floors of tanks to avoid
biofilms that contain debris and potential bacterial build-up.
 In circular tanks – aeration devices around central standpipe
 In parabolic tanks – fine air bubbles form central aeration line
 Water exchange varies from 30-70% of tank’s total water volume
 Flow-through larval rearing tanks : constantly refresh water quality in
tanks, limiting build-up of metabolites and concentration of potential
pathogens
 If waking water from city supply, water is aerated vigorously for a day or so
to drive off dissolved chlorine. Use of treated drinking water is not
recommended.
 If using seawater, it should be collected from open sea or from a well in
the sea shore and presumably pumped through a bed filter. The seawater
is disinfected with 10 ppm calcium hypochlorite and stored with vigorous
rubbing for at least a week before use.
3. Amount and incidence of light
 Incubation of fish embryos should occur in either dim light or darkness
 May species of fish will not hatch in daylight, therefore, if the lights are switched
off, hatching will occur a few hours later

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 4. Constant water flow
 Essential for preventing accumulation of waste products and allowing gas exchange
between the egg and the surrounding water
 Reduces mechanical abrasion
5. Movement
 Eggs of many fish are sensitive to mechanical shock and should not be moved
during the first 36 hours after fertilization. Eggs are kept still until the embryo eye
becomes visible
6. Egg diameter
 Screen mesh size should prevent the passage of eggs while allowing sufficient
water circulation and deterring debris collection
o Types of fish egg incubators: use is based primarily on the density of the eggs to be hatched, their
stickiness ad sensitivity to mechanical shock:
1. Egg mats for adhesive eggs
 Simulate a spawning substrate (plants, rocks etc) so that they serve as egg
collectors and provide a place for egg attachment
 Since they are a stimulus for spawning, they are also known as spawning mats
 Consist of bundles of fibrous materials arranged in a variety of forms and made
from a variety of different materials (plastic shreds, air filters, Spanish moss,
coconut fibers, horse hairs)
 Suspended in the water column or laid along the bottom or sides of the spawning
container or suspended in the air where they can be kept moist at all times with a
fine spray of water. (Suspension in air rationale: the oxygen content of air is about
20x than water, thus increasing gas exchange between egg and the thin film of
water that surrounds them)
 Mats can also be replaced with bottle brushes, pots, slates that are usually made of
plastic, glass, clay or rock  used for ornamental fish: angelfish
2. Tray type incubator
 Consists of a container that is screened or perforated, through which a flow of
water permeates to supply the eggs with oxygen and flush away waste products
 Designed so that water penetrates the tray from below and flows out over the
upper edge
 Since eggs are laid over a screen, they are ideal for fish eggs that can be injured by
movement during incubation
 Can be stacked and provide easy access for removal of dead embryos. The newly
hatched larvae can drop through screen holes minimizing handling and removal of
the egg shells
 Originally designed to hatch trout and salmon eggs and channel catfish eggs
 Hapa or net enclosures traditionally used for spawning egg incubation and larval
rearing of common carp function similarly
3. Conical shaped tanks or jars
 For fish eggs that are non-adhesive and require constant movement
 Water flows into the bottom or top of the container
 Eggs are gently suspended and constantly tumble in the lower portion of the jar.
The tumbling keeps them from collecting debris which can lead to fungal
infections.
 Can be set above a rearing tank. The larvae pour out of the incubators into the
rearing tank as they hatch,

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  Soft-meshed material is used.
 Provides greater surface area for water to flow-out, preventing the eggs, yolk-sac
larvae or the larvae from becoming crushed.
o When fish have developed to the middle gastrula stage (6-8 hours after fertilization), collect ~100
eggs put them in a white dish to calculate:
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑔𝑔𝑠
𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑥 100
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑔𝑔𝑠
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑦
𝐻𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑥 100
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑔𝑔𝑠
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
𝐹𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑥 100
𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑔𝑔𝑠
o As soon as air bladders of fry have been filled with air, the yolk sacs have basically disappeared
and the fry can take food actively 9about 4-5 days after hatching), they may be transferred for
pond stocking.
VI. Nursery Operation
A. Guidelines to keep fry in good condition during handling
 Fry are delicate and squash easily. Keep them in the water so they can swim. Avoid leaving
them piled up together in a net or at the bottom of a container with no water to swim
 Fish in small containers should not be too overcrowded (no more than 200 fry per liter of
water)
 If you see fish in a small container all crowding at the surface to gulp air, then either provide
rigorous air bubbles thru the water or transfer some of the fish to another container
 Scoop nets should be of soft material that will not bruise or hurt the fry. Nets should be fine-
mesh, as coarse- mesh nets will catch the fish by the gills and cause injury.
B. Activities prior to transport
1. Conditioning prior to transport
 Fish should be conditioned at least 12 hours or one day before loading
 Installation of aeration such as agitators or blower
 Do not overload the fish in the conditioning tanks
 Don’t feed the fish 24 hours prior to transport.
 Over conditioning of the fish in tanks makes them weak during transport.
2. Grading fry/ Fingerlings prior to transport
 Harvested fish should be graded and conditioned
 Should be graded to different sizes using set of graders with different mesh sizes
 Should be graded to have a uniform size during loading and stocking
 Size 14, 17, 22 and 24 (made of polyethylene nets or plastic wires are used for grading

3. Loading Techniques
i. By weight method - Easy and less stressful to the fish. Prior to loading, the fish were
sampled to get their average weight. After the average weight has been known,

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 weighing of tilapia will be done. To get the average weight method - we should have
at least two to five samples of fish:
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 =
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑑
Example:
Sample 1 = 200 pieces = 100 grams
Sample 2 = 200 pieces = 110 grams
Sample 3 = 200 pieces = 90 grams
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 300 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 = = = 0.5 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑠
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑑 600 𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠
Desired amount per bag = 500pcs.
Total weight of fish to be loaded per bag = = 0.5g x 500 pcs = 250g of fingerlings/bag
ii. By number method - sampling or getting of actual weights per size are repeated
every loading of different batches of harvested/conditioned/acclimatized
fry/fingerlings at least 3 sampling in every tanks prior for stocking. This method is
regardless of ABW of the fry/fingerlings. A 10% - 20% mortality allowances are
provided for all sizes
iii. Takal method - The number of takal multiplied by the average number per takal will
determine the loading capacity. There should be small holes on the tabo in order not
to hold water when loading fish in the bag.
 Disadvantage: average weight of the fish is not actually determined, stressful
than the average weight method
C. Guidelines to keep fry in good condition during transport
 Transporting of fish is a very important part of fish culture and considered as the final step
in hatchery operation
 Transport of live fish from the hatchery to any unit of water plays an important role in the
aquaculture management
 Handling and transport of live fish in proper way minimizes stress on the fish and to ensure
high rate of survival
 Involves the hauling of large a number of fish in a small quantity of water
 There are traditional and modern methods in transporting of fingerlings:
i. Traditional methods of transport
1. Live-fish boats method- commonly called “pamandawan or pituya” in Tagalog
o can hold big amount of water, larger than ordinary banca and it has rudder
at one end and operated by a pilot during transport, motorized or towed
by a motorized banca
o maybe aerated by a self-circulating water pump or provided with holes to
allow water to enter to the boat so that constant change of water is
effected
o Disadvantages: fish may die if aeration is insufficient, not possible in places
far from rivers land lock town and mountainous areas, in case where water
circulates in and out of the boat, the fish maybe contaminated with toxic
substances and results to death
2. Suspension net methods
o Net mounted on a bamboo tree, assuming a box mounted between two
small bancas (lunday) or motorized bancas which move simultaneously
toward the destination
o Commonly used by fish farmers especially in areas along rivers

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 o Flows freely into the net to allow water circulation
3. Oil barrel, tub or banera
o Used by small scale fish farmers to transport fingerlings within
short distances
o Could only haul small quantity of fish
o Transporting can be quick as no aeration system involve
o No established loading capacity
4. Plastic bag inside buri bag
o Buri or pandan bags
o Used to transport of fingerlings for more safety and facilitates ease
transport
ii. Modern methods
1. Hauling box with aerator
o Made up of fiber glass, aluminum sheet, marine plywood, metal sheet or
stainless steel
o Hauling box is made in such a way that it can hold water
o It has cover to prevent water from splashing and provided with hose
exactly to the side of the agitators
2. Plastic bag
o Most common used in transporting of live tilapia fingerlings
o Consist of two plastics for safety
o Filled with 2 – 4 liters of water
o With oxygen and rubber band to avoid oxygen leakage
o Steps in loading fingerlings:
i. Sampling
ii. Setting of plastic bags
iii. Weighing
iv. Filling of oxygen
v. Tying of bags
vi. Counting of bags
D. Cause of stress during transport
 Improper conditioning/acclimation of fish
 Scooping from seine net transfer in tubs or basins going to the holding areas
 Harvesting by seining
 Grading of fish according to the sizes
 Hauling or transporting
 Distance or time of travel
E. Factors influencing fish transport
1. Tolerance to transport
 Related to their ability to resist or adapt to stressful conditions
 Their resistance also changes as they pass through various stage of life
2. Presence of food in the intestines
 Fish survive transport better if they have no food in their intestines
 No feeding at least 1 day prior to the time they will transported
3. Size of fish - Smaller fish are better to transport than larger fish.
4. Oxygen - adequate level of dissolved oxygen one of the most important factor in
transporting of fingerlings

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 5. Temperature - as temperature of the water increases capacity of the fish to hold dissolved
oxygen decreases
6. Ammonia - major waste product of fish, accumulates in the water during high temperature
7. Carbon dioxide - respiratory waste

Section 5. Aquaculture Impacts, Policies and Innovations

Unit 1. Positive Impacts
 Importance of aquaculture in Philippines setting
1. Continued growth in total fish production – increasing contribution of aquaculture
2. Contribution to food security
 Capture fisheries, both commercial and municipal, are on a continuous decline due to
overfishing, use of deleterious gears, and degradation of habitats that support fisheries.
Aquaculture, on the other hand, has steadily contributed to food supply.
3. Contribution to economic growth
 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a broad measurement of a nation’s overall economic
activity. GDP is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a
country's borders in a specific time period
 Gross National Product (GNP), which measures the overall production of an economy's
citizens, including those living abroad, while domestic production by foreigners is excluded.
 Gross value added (GVA) is an economic productivity metric that measures the
contribution of a corporate subsidiary, company or municipality to an economy, producer,
sector or region. Gross value added provides a dollar value for the amount of goods and
services that have been produced in a country, minus the cost of all inputs and raw
materials that are directly attributable to that production. GVA thus adjusts gross domestic
product (GDP) by the impact of subsidies and taxes (tariffs) on products
4. Contribution of the fisheries sector to foreign exchange earnings
 Foreign trade of fishery products has generated a surplus balance of trade, which means
earnings from exports have exceeded payments for imports
e. Contribution of the fishing industry to income and employment

Unit 2. Concerns and Negative Impacts of Aquaculture

 Current concerns in aquaculture production
I. Decreasing Productivity in Aquaculture
 Decreasing yield
 Slow growth
 Low survival
 High FCR
 High production cost
 Longer growing period
 Low price of fish
 Sustainability of production
II. Effect of climate change in environmental conditions
 Rise in temperature
 Low temperature
 Heavy rainfall/ river flow/ floods/ water stress
 Long dry season
 Water shortage
 Acidifications

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III. Effect of climate change in fisheries industry
 Loss of fishing ground due to change in ocean current
 Sea level rise which may inundate brackishwater ponds
 Increased upwelling which affects marine cages
 Enhanced stratification in lakes
 Algal bloom
 Limited water availability during summer
 Reduction of agricultural productivity – raw materials for making feed
 Affect fish behaviour – spawning, feeding, stress diseases
 Negative Impacts of Aquaculture
I. Biological
A. increasing demands on fisheries for fish meal/oil, major constituents of
carnivorous/omnivorous species feeds
1. Dependence on raw (trash) fish and fish meal
a. Fish oil and fish meal, which are essential ingredients of feeds, ultimately come from
wild stocks.
b. While some argue that trash fish is not suitable for human consumption, in less
developed countries such as the Philippines, even trash fish is eaten. Furthermore,
these small fish species have vital roles in the ecosystem mainly as food for larger
species of fish
c. Fish meal is a limited resource, however, and most fish stocks are already
overexploited. Because fish meal is composed of many captured species,
overexploitation results in declining biodiversity. Fish meal commonly comes from
small pelagic species of fish, whose harvest can also reduce food for production for
larger predatory fishes at sea
d. Overall, the use of fish meal in aquaculture is becoming a major impediment to
future production in intensive systems because of the expense of the feed and its
limited availability for future expansion. Feeds are currently produced using the
components of the fish carcass that are not used for human consumption (by-
products) to substitute for fish meal, with good success
e. Other sources of protein will become important components of fish feed, including
plant protein and waste products from other operations, as will the culture of more
species at lower trophic levels for human consumption, since these species do not
require fish protein in feed
B. nutrient and organic enrichment of recipient waters resulting in build-up of anoxic
sediments and modifying benthic communities
1. feed wastage
a. There is still significant feed wastage in aquaculture and this excess feed does not
get consumed and goes into the environment, which can have significant impacts.
Some of the feed is in the form of dust that is too small to be eaten by the fish, some
feed gets lost through over feeding of the fish, or if the feed pellets are the wrong
size for the fish. Excess pellets settle to the sediments where they may be consumed
by wild fish, consumed by benthic organisms or breakdown into nutrients by benthic
assimilation
2. release of wastes
a. Aquaculture, like any other animal production activity, produces wastes in the form
of particulate (mainly the uneaten food and faeces) and soluble substances (excreta)
which increase biochemical oxygen demand, nitrates and phosphates in receiving

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 waters. The risk of negative impacts of aquaculture wastes is greatest in enclosed
waters or sites with poor water exchange rates such as in slow moving rivers, lakes
and shallow bays. In these conditions, aquaculture production can lead to a build-up
of organic sediments and addition of nutrients to the water column. This, in turn, can
lead to secondary effects such as eutrophication, algal blooms and low dissolved
oxygen levels
b. Observed increase in both pelagic and benthic fish diversity and production in areas
around fish farms (marine cages in particular). However, greater species richness
does not always mean improved biodiversity, as globally or locally invasive species
could be responsible for the increased richness. Also, these studies concerned
waters of relatively low nutrient content and farms are located in waters below
assimilative capacity. Clearly, high densities of cages and high numbers of fish in
cages could produce situations in which the assimilative capacity of water is
exceeded by the demands of aquaculture.
c. In contrast with marine cage culture, freshwater systems have had much more
difficulty with nutrient loading since:
i. More people have access to these freshwaters, and governments often fail
to limit growth in the inexpensive cage systems that can be used there
ii. Smaller size of most freshwater systems limits their ability to assimilate
waste
d. Pollution of local waters that supply aquaculture systems threatens aquaculture
itself as well as biodiversity
e. Ponds assimilate much of the waste load through microbial respiration, ammonia
volatilization, nitrification and denitrification, and accumulation of nitrogen,
phosphorus, and organic matter in bottom soil. Nevertheless, overflow and
intentional discharge from ponds contains higher concentrations of nitrogen,
phosphorus, suspended organic matter, and biochemical oxygen demand than
receiving water bodies. Effluents from flow-through aquaculture systems and cage
and net pen culture usually are a greater pollution threat than ponds. The settled
solids may be removed and collected in a settling basin. All components of feed that
are not converted to fish biomass enter the water body in which cages and net pens
are sited. Aquaculture effluents contain mainly nutrients, suspended soil particles,
and particulate and dissolved organic matter. Thus, the main concern in receiving
waters is sedimentation and eutrophication.
C. restructuring of biological and/or social environments
1. Habitat loss and modification
a. Aquaculture affects sensitive coastal environments either by conversion, as in the
case of mangroves, or habitat alteration as can be observed in coral reef, seagrass
and benthic substrate where fish pens and cages are located.
b. Mangrove conversion completely obliterates the ecosystem; thus, the important
ecological services such as nursery grounds for fish and crustaceans, sediment
trapping, and flood control. Mangroves are cleared to make way for pond facilities.
Also, land is cleared and saltwater brought inland, resulting in the salinization of
soils. In coastal aquaculture, brackishwater ponds may sometimes discharge into
freshwater bodies to cause salinization. Another common problem is seepage of
saline water from ponds into underlying freshwater aquifers. Sediment also may be
removed from coastal aquaculture ponds and disposed in freshwater areas. Salt
contained in the sediment leaches out following rainfall and can cause salinization

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 c. After ponds fail, they may be abandoned, and the altered land cannot be returned to
normal productive processes because of soil salinization. This abandonment of
shrimp ponds and conversion of mangrove forests into abandoned land is another of
the major concerns about shrimp aquaculture.
i. Mangrove losses have been substantial—the best estimates are that 33% of
all mangroves that once existed are gone today. Coastal development, which
includes urbanization, agriculture, and pond shrimp aquaculture as well as
the pond culture of other species, has caused these large losses. Aquaculture
has been responsible for a share of mangrove loss, but aquaculture
operations have also been set up in areas where forests have already been
cleared
d. Damage to sensitive habitats occur when fishpens or cages are situated near or too
close to coral reef/ seagrass areas. Waste materials such as uneaten feeds and fecal
matter settle on the bottom of the structure causing sedimentation and nutrient
enrichment. This occurrence favors some species more than the rest; thus, changing
the ecosystem interactions in that area. Uneaten feeds are observed to smother
seagrass beds, especially those directly under cages and results in sediment anoxia
and sulphide toxicity. Seagrass diversity is reduced as a result. Coral reefs are also
affected by sedimentation and eutrophication. Fish excretion and pellet leaching add
to nutrients to the water column which can lead to eutrophication.
e. Location of too many ponds on flood plains can restrict water flow when streams
overflow their banks leading to increased flooding
D. competition for, and in some cases depletion of resources (e.g. water)
E. negative effects from escaped farmed organisms, often more relevant when exotics
1. Introduction of exotic species
a. Translocations have adverse effects on aquaculture and wild species, either through
introduction of new diseases or competition with native species.
b. Introductions and local extinctions have caused the fish fauna of neighboring states
to become similar; introductions seem to be more important than extinctions as a
cause of homogenization
2. Biodiversity – negative impact of introducing new species or modified genotypes.
General attributes of successful invasive species include characteristics such as a widely
distributed original range, a broad environmental tolerance, high genetic variability,
short generation time, rapid growth and early sexual maturation.
a. Repeated fishing for the juveniles of certain species can drastically alter species
composition by preventing some of them from being recruited into the reproductive
population. Pumps are often used to supply water to culture system. Larger aquatic
organisms may be drawn into pumps and killed – a process known as impingement.
b. Since natural fisheries rely on wild stocks, which are often overexploited,
aquaculture can either exacerbate this overexploitation through damages to natural
ecosystems or reduce it by alleviating pressure on wild fish stocks
c. Tilapia is the most-cited example of the negative impacts of aquaculture, because
tilapia has invaded all continents, displacing many native species. However more
than half of the documented introductions of tilapia were not the result of
commercial aquaculture but of intentional stocking of tilapia in natural waters by
governmental entities. The highly controversial expansion of grass carp
(Ctenopharyngodon idella) and other Asian carps to North America started when

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 government laboratories began culturing and using them for biocontrol purposes,
not for commercial aquaculture
d. While permanent infertility would eliminate genetic issues for escapees, there would
still be concerns about competition between native and cultured species. The best
way to avoid the negative impacts of invasive species is to not culture species
outside their native or common range. Non-native species may be cultured at
aquaculture facilities, and escapees can become established in local waters.
Environmentalists feel that aquaculture animals may have different genetic
characteristics than their local counterparts. If this is true, even native escapees from
aquaculture projects could have adverse effects on gene pools.
e. Birds and other predators are attracted to aquaculture facilities because of the
abundance of food. Some producers routinely kill predators by shooting them either
legally or illegally. Lead shot that falls into ponds may be eaten by ducks and other
species of birds that obtain food items from sediment. Ingestion of lead shot can be
toxic to birds.
f. Positive effects of aquaculture on biodiversity:
i. Production of fish can reduce pressure on wild stocks, which may already be
overexploited.
 The substitution of aquaculture fish for harvested fish in the market
can reduce pressure on some natural stocks, yielding a benefit to
biodiversity
 Cultured salmon have largely replaced captured salmon in the market,
which has brought down the market price of Atlantic salmon, allowed
cultured products to be substituted for captured ones, and apparently
contributed to the rebound of some local fish stocks. This rebound has
occurred after many interventions, including intentional restocking of
natural populations with hatchery-reared fish, breeding by escaped
fish from aquaculture systems, reduced demand for wild stocks
because of their declining market value, and reductions in harvests
due to many management interventions.
ii. Stocking organisms from aquaculture systems may help to enhance depleted
stocks with limited reproductive success.
iii. Effluents and waste from aquaculture can increase local production,
abundance, and diversity of species.
iv. Destructive land-use patterns, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, may be
replaced by more sustainable patterns, such as aquaculture in ponds, which
also may generate income, reduce poverty, and improve human health.
3. Spread of pests and diseases
a. Intensive aquaculture has a risk of transmitting pathogenic organisms to wild
fish stocks combined with concerns about antibiotic resistance
II. Chemical
1. eutrophication of lakes or coastal zones
2. release of chemicals used to control water conditions and diseases
a. Misuse of chemicals and antibiotics
i. The use of antibiotics (e.g. chloramphenicol and nitrofurans) was the first
line of defense against the bacterial pathogens
ii. In brackishwater fishponds, a former practice of controlling snail pests (e.g.
Cerithidea cingulata) and fish predators in the past was with non-

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 environmentally friendly organo-phosphate and tin-based chemicals which
are now banned
iii. Pesticides used in agricultural farms, i.e., mainly organochlorines, pollute the
aquatic environment as run-off which is both harmful to fish and humans
b. Hazardous chemicals
i. Fuels and other petroleum products can cause water pollution if spilled into
water, and they constitute an explosion and fire hazard. Improper disposal
of used petroleum products also can be a source of water or soil pollution.
ii. Burned lime and hydrated lime can result in dangerously high pH if used in
excessive amounts or accidentally spilled into water. Also, because of their
caustic nature, burned lime and hydrated lime can burn the skin of workers
and cause serious and permanent damage to their eyes.
iii. Copper sulfate is used to “thin” phytoplankton blooms. This product is safe
at a concentration of one-one hundredth of the total alkalinity, for it quickly
precipitates to the pond bottom and does not remain in the water.
Accidental overdoses or spills can cause fish mortality in ponds or natural
waters. Salt often is used in channel catfish culture to counteract nitrite
toxicity. Concentrations up to 100 mg/L chloride are safe, but accidental
spills could cause mortality of freshwater organisms.
iv. Formalin, potassium permanganate, benzyl chromium chloride, provodone
iodine, and possibly other compounds are used to kill bacteria and external
parasites on fish. These compounds are degraded within culture systems
and usually do not constitute a water pollution problem. Antibiotics and
other drugs used to control fish diseases are of concern environmentally, for
they might induce resistance in native bacterial species. Antibiotic residues
in aquaculture products are also potentially harmful to humans.
v. Sodium metabisulfate is used as a post harvest treatment of shrimp. This
substance is acidic and it reacts to remove dissolved oxygen from water.
Disposal of used sodium metabisulfate solutions in natural waters can cause
localized fish kills.
III. Physical
1. Aesthetics (poor zoning and proliferation of cages and pens can be eyesores)
2. Net friction causing poor water exchange
a. The nets of cages, pens, and associated moorings change the environment by
preventing efficient water exchange and changing the current patterns caused by
friction to the water currents. Friction from the nets can alter the residence time of
water in a bay. Sometimes these structures can also cause obstruction to navigation
routes and migration paths of different species of fish
3. Extremes of altering critical habitats such as wetlands and mangroves
4. Presence of lost or discarded nets on the bottom
5. Conflict over the use and conversion of natural resources as well as access to remaining
resources and the privatization of public commons
6. Massive water use result in water shortages as well as salt water intrusion
IV. Major environmental impacts
1. Red Tide and Harmful Algal Blooms
a. Red tide is a term used to describe all phenomena where the water is discoloured by
high algal biomass or concentration of algae.

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 b. Harmful algal bloom (HAB) is a term used to describe events associated with the
blooms of algae, which cause harmful effects to the environment, living organisms
and humans.
c. The first recorded occurrence of blooms of Pyrodinium bahamense var.
compressum, a toxin-producing dinoflagellate was in 1983 in central Philippines
d. First-time occurrence of a Prorocentrum minimum bloom in 2002 in Bolinao, where
intensive and extensive aquaculture of Chanos chanos (milkfish) in fish pens and
cages has been practiced for years now. The fish kill, which lasted almost
simultaneously with the bloom of the organism, had its peak when the organisms
bloom was declining. Lack of oxygen in the cages and pens was the fundamental
cause of the fish kill.
2. Fish kill
a. A fish kill is any unusual and noticeable increase of mortality due to infectious or
non-infectious causes in wild or captive fish or shellfish population. Oxygen
depletion, pollutant toxins, natural toxins, and disease are four common causes of
fish kill which can be traced directly or indirectly to aquaculture activities
V. Social Issues in Aquaculture
1. The main social issues related to aquaculture are conflicts over use of land, water and other
natural resources. Disputes over land rights are most common in coastal areas of countries
where the right to use coastal land resides in concessions or leases from local or national
governments rather than from land ownership.
2. Local people sometimes have been unable to develop small aquaculture projects in prime
areas because the land was ceded to large national or foreign companies.
3. Local people with inadequate technical knowledge and capital often have developed small
aquaculture projects in coastal areas without formal permission from the government. Such
projects may do tremendous environmental damage, and they often are abandoned within a
few years. These operations are similar to “slash and burn” agriculture seen in many tropical
nations.
4. The siting of aquaculture projects has caused much conflict between environmental groups
and the aquaculture industry. The main social problem has been installation of aquaculture
projects in places that interfere with use of traditional resources.
5. Water use also can lead to controversy. The removal of water from surface or underground
sources for aquaculture may compete with other water users. Installation of cages in
streams, lakes, or the sea and bivalve culture in coastal waters may interfere with navigation,
fishing, and recreational uses. Putting water on an economic basis would be beneficial in
reducing some conflicts over water, for one of the complaints is that aquaculture producers
often have free use of water.

Summary of negative impacts:

Impact Consequence Key Features
Physical Modified hydrology reduced flow rates, modified channel morphology and flow
regimes and salinisation of surface waters in coastal areas
Sedimentation reduced interstitial water flow, increased embeddedness and
sediment anoxia
Chemical Pollutants excreted ammonia toxic to invertebrates; waste nutrients lead to
hypernutrification; therapeutants and their residues affect non-
target organisms leading to antibiotic resistant strains

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 Reduced oxygen on-farm respiration reduces oxygen levels leading to exclusion of
concentrations sensitive species; biological and chemical oxygen demand further
depletes oxygen levels
Nutrient Eutrophication increased phytoplankton and periphyton production near cages,
enrichment including possible stimulation of toxic algae blooms; increased
epiphyte growth downstream of land-based farms; elevated
respiration during decomposition
Shifting Modified species elimination of pollution sensitive invertebrates and fish; increased
trophic assemblages abundance and biomass of tolerant species and eutrophication
status leading to trophic cascades
Escapees Predation, ecosystem disruption through foraging and consumption of
completion and native flora and fauna; escapees breed with resident populations
ecological impacts leading to genetic degradation
Diseases loss of native viruses, bacteria and parasites infest native populations, exotic
and species parasites may also devastate non-resistant indigenous
parasites populations
Self- reduced upwelling of anoxic water causing fish-kills in cages; reduced
pollution production and water quality leading to disease outbreaks and stimulation of
product quality toxic algae blooms
Restricted decline in capture competition and disease can damage capture fisheries;
amenity fisheries and water sedimentation and plant growth restricts water flow in navigation
quality and irrigation canals; reduced water quality affects access of
livestock and humans to water causing social unrest
Reduced loss of ecological discharged wastewater can degrade ecosystems leading to
functionality functions habitat loss, decreased diversity, restricted storage capacity for
nutrients and water and disruption to flows of environmental
goods and services
Impacts on reduced perception degraded aquatic environments and stakeholder conflicts lead to
option and of aquatic a negative perception of aquaculture, with reduced values
non-use resources attributed to the ecosystem
values

Principal waste materials from semi-intensive and intensive culture

Waste material Primary effect Secondary effect
Uneaten food, Increased nutrient loadings and Environmental changes, reduced carrying
feces and dissolved reduced oxygen in ponds and water capacity of ponds and pollution of farm
excreta supplies, increased sedimentation water supplies
Therapeutants Ecotoxicological impacts Mortality and sublethal effect in target
drugs and and non-target organisms, water quality
chemicals changes, pollution of water supplies
Antibiotic Increased antibiotic resistance Increased problem in treating bacterial
among micro-organisms disease, residues in marketed fish

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Unit 3. Sustainable Development
 Sustainable development – development which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
 Sustainable aquaculture – the management and conservation of natural resource base and the
orientation of technological and institutional change in such a way as to ensure the attainment and
confirmed satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations (FAO)
 For sustainability, aquaculture of fish farming should be “technically appropriate, economically
viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound (FAO)”
 The goal of environmental management is to minimize, prevent or mitigate adverse environmental
effects of human activities to permit sustainable use of world resources. Standards must be
formulated to specify amounts of change in environmental variables that are permissible without
causing unacceptable environmental effects. Environmental management consists of impact
identification, formulation of standards, adoption of management practices to comply with
standards, monitoring to prove compliance, and correction for non-compliance.
 Certification of environmentally friendly aquaculture systems has been proposed as a means to
enforce safe practices in aquaculture. Several systems have been developed to rate the sustainability
of wild-caught seafood and aquaculture products; among them are Seafood Watch (Monterey Bay
Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, 2006), Environmental Defense Eco-Fish, Blue Ocean Institute,
SeaChoice (2008), and Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood (Blue Ocean Institute 2007). These ratings
use red, yellow, or green colors to indicate seafood that should be avoided, bought with caution, or
freely purchased to promote sustainability
 Higher market values for fish grown in an environmentally sensitive manner, or inability to
export fish grown with damaging practices, will provide strong incentives for greener
aquaculture practices. The US has required Country of Origin labeling (COOL) and Method of
Production (MOP) labeling since 30 September 2004, and consequently, consumers are
made aware of where a seafood product originated and if it was the result of aquaculture or
fishing.
 An aquaculture operation can only be regarded as sustainable if:
1. Moving towards plant-based feeds
2. Does not use fishmeal or fish-oil based feeds from unsustainable fisheries
3. Does not use wild-caught juveniles
4. Only cultivates species that are native in open-water systems
5. Does not result in negative environmental effect
6. Does not result in negative effects to local wildlife (plants as well as animals) or represents a risk
to local wild populations
7. Does not use genetically engineered fish or feed
8. Uses stocking densities that minimize the risk of disease outbreaks
9. Does not deplete local resources, for example, drinking water supplies and mangrove forests
10.Does not threaten human health
11.Supports the long-term economic and social well-being of local communities
 For an aquaculture system to be truly sustainable, it must have:
1. Environmental sustainability – aquaculture should not create significant disruption to the
ecosystem, or cause the loss of biodiversity or sustainable pollution impact
2. Economic sustainability – aquaculture must be a viable business with good long term prospects
3. Social and community sustainability – aquaculture must be socially responsible and contribute
to community well being
 Key characteristics of sustainable aquaculture essential practices include:

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 1. Environment practices – mangrove and wetland conservation; effective effluent
management and water quality control; sediment control and sludge management; soil and
water conservation; efficient fishmeal and fish oil use; responsible sourcing of broodstock
and juvenile fish; control of escapes and minimizing biodiversity and wildlife impact
2. Community practices – establish well-defined rights, aquaculture zones and responsibilities
for aquaculturists; regulatory compliance and effective enforcement; community
involvement; worker safety, fair labor practices and equitable compensation
3. Sustainable business and farm management practices – effective biosecurity and diseas
control systems; minimal antibiotic and pharmaceutical use; microbial sanitation; maintain
global standards for hygiene; efficient and humane harvest and transport; accountable
record-keeping and traceability; profitability
 Eco-friendly innovative management practices in the Philippines for production of safe aquaculture
food:
A. Brackishwater ponds
1. Modular system for enhanced productivity
2. Improvement of pond bottom management - may increase plowing/tilling cost, add netcage
construction, improved of bacterial profile of the sediment and water effluent quality,
pathogenic bacteria will be reduced
3. Crop rotation- one cultured organism must be raised at a time, improves sediment bacterial
profile, reduces occurrence of pathogenic bacteria, allow time for organic waste to
breakdown
4. Improvement in feed quality - feeds that have improved nutritional quality and made from
locally-available source and would lower nitrogen and phosphorous discharge, may also add
probiotics
5. Increased aeration - fish grow faster and improve its feed conversion with increased DO
levels and reduce noxious metabolites
6. Use of settling ponds - additional cost of P2,500-P5,000 per ha per year but lower loads of
suspended solids in effluent water, reduce sediment accumulation in receiving waters
7. Shift from non-environment friendly organo-phosphate and tin-based chemicals (now
banned) to eco-friendly pesticides: metaldehyde (snails and molluscicide), tea seed cake (for
fish)
8. Ban antibiotics and use of;
a. Green water – a 1:1 culture pond to reservoir, water in the reservoir is allowed to settle
for 7 days. Maintenance of “green water” with blooms of beneficial microalgae like
Chlorella has suppressive effect on V. harveyi
b. Probiotics – beneficial bacteria capable of repressing the growth of pathogenic organisms
through the production of inhibitory substances or by competition.
c. Sedimentation ponds and biofilters, recirculating water systems - Sedimentation of water
treatment ponds and canals which are 10-20% of the shrimp culture pond area allow the
settlement of bacteria-laden organic matter in the effluent before it is released to the
outside or recirculated back to the reservoir. The use of biofilters like seaweeds and
oysters as “clean-up agents” in the discharge water is also applied.
d. SPF/SPR free stocks
B. Freshwater ponds
1. Gains in the productivity of tilapia ponds have been achieved with the culture of monosex
fish produced through sex reversal and genetic improvement programs that have resulted in
fast-growing strains such as the GIFT, GET EXCEL, FAST and GENOMAR Supreme
C. Freshwater pens/cages

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 1. Lower stocking density -may reduce harvest volume by 20-30% but would increase harvest
value by 8-10% due to bigger size, 20 % reduction on feeding and nutrient loading, reduction
of occurrence of opportunistic disease
2. Adjust feeding rates
3. The need for regulating the number of cages and the culture management practices of cage
farmers has been strongly advocated by authorities. Guidelines for the establishment of fish
cages in lakes and coastal waters have been formulated to provide local government units
and operators with information for making cage farming “sustainable, socially acceptable
and environmentally sound”
D. Marine pens/cages
1. Local government of Dagupan – ordinance for the zonation of coastal waters and regulation
of marine pens/cages located therein. Mariculture zones throughout the country have also
been identified by BFAR.
E. Open coastal waters
1. Seaweed culture - Use of floating rafts in deep waters = non-destructive to ecosystem +
higher production + lesser predation and fouling vs plastic monoline method
2. Varietal selection of red seaweeds has been done for improving growth rate, disease
resistance and carrageenan yield of cultured plants. In field tests, Kappaphycus Sacol variety
had the best growth and resistance to “ice-ice” (a disease related to adverse environmental
conditions such as high temperature and poor water circulation) in Batangas and Bohol.
Kappaphycus Sacol-Bohol variety = highest carrageenan yield
3. Oysters - The use of rafts for the hanging culture method for oysters is more eco-friendly
than the stake method because it causes less siltation and pollution on the ecosystem.
Contamination of oysters with domestic sewage and pesticides in the effluent of fishponds is
a food safety concern in certain areas
4. Mussel - net method which is more productive and efficient than using bamboo poles alone.
The method uses only 2,000 bamboo poles for hanging the polyethylene net (4-inch mesh) in
the sea compared to 5,000 poles in the old method.
5. With the progress achieved in the hatchery production of juveniles of the sea urchin
(Tripneustes gratilla) and abalone (Haliotis asinina) in the country, culture of the same in
grow-out cages with feeding of the macroalgae, Sargassum and Gracilaria
F. Integrated farming systems – utilize the resources and enhance the benefits of two or more culture
methods are efficient and cost-effective. The integration of aquaculture with other production
systems as agriculture and forestry has been widely applied in the Philippines
1. Nile tilapia fingerlings fertilized with regulated amounts of effluent from the washings of pig
houses
2. Integration of mangrove forests with aquaculture
a. culture of seaweeds, mollusks and fish in cages in sub-tidal waterways is compatible
with mangroves and amenable to small-scale farming operations
b. use of mangrove filters for absorbing effluents of intensive shrimp culture ponds
c. pen culture of mudcrab (Scylla sp.) in mangrove areas that are minimally disturbed has
been found to be the most lucrative and eco-friendly
3. Substitute for trash fish
a. P. canaliculata which is a pest of irrigated rice fields. The snail is gathered by-hand from infested
areas and sold fresh to fish farmers who process it for feeding to cultured species. The regular
supply of the snail, however, is not ascertained and its contamination with rice pesticides is a
possibility.
b. composting earthworms (e.g. Eudrilus eugeniae - African nightcrawler)

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Unit 4. Production of safe aquaculture foods
 The Department of Agriculture (DA) of the Philippines pursuant to Section 47 of Republic Act No. 8550
and upon recommendation by the BFAR issued Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 214 in 2001
for the implementation of the Code of Practice for Aquaculture in the country. The FAO embodies “the
general principles and guidelines for the environmentally sound design and operation” of aquaculture
for sustainable development. Included in the provisions of the FAO, among others, are: (1) Banned
chemicals shall not be used for any purpose; (2) Use of drugs, antibiotics and other chemical
treatments shall be in accordance with recommended practices and comply with national and
international regulations; (3) Records shall be maintained regarding the use of chemicals in ponds
suggested by the HACCP method; and (4) Discharged water shall meet quality standards
A. Codes of Conduct comprise a set of general rules and principles which should lead to the
responsible and sustained development of the industry. Therefore in some cases these Codes
include practical guidelines for the cultivation of aquatic organisms. In other cases they do not,
and instead they are supplemented by Codes of Good and Best Practice.
B. Codes of Practice take into consideration the best available methods, techniques, strains,
optimal feeding regimes, environmental sustainability, welfare of the animals and other issues
related to aquaculture. Such Code of Best Practices (CBPs) are practical and applied guidelines,
which are more specific in nature than general Codes of Conduct, and are recommended
practices at farm level to ensure a responsible development of the industry.
 The status of aquaculture regulations in developing nations varies greatly both in terms of
suitability of regulations and in their enforcement. Therefore, the aquaculture industry
needs to respond to environmental concerns proactively by voluntarily developing more
ecologically responsible production systems.
 The Philippine Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product
Standards (BAFPS) is developing a Best Aquaculture Practice Program that leads to
certification of farms
 Better Practice Guidelines (BPGs) aim to give farmers sensible and practical guidelines to
follow in the planning, management and operation of their farms
 FAO No. 212 for Guidelines on the Implementation of HACCP System was also issued by the DA in
2001 pursuant to Sections 62, 65 (1) and 67 of R.A. No. 8550 and upon recommendation by the BFAR.
The HACCP System is a preventive food quality management system which identifies, evaluates and
controls the hazard significant to food safety specific to a product. HACCP compliance certificates are
issued to fish processing plants that are HACCP compliant and apply good management practices
(GMPs) and sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs)
 In providing laboratory services for fish quality control, the DA, upon recommendation by the BFAR,
issued FAO No. 213 in 2001 for the “Establishment and Maintenance of BFAR’s Quality Control
Laboratories and Collection of Fees and Charges for Examination Services.” Such laboratories
undertake and provide advisory services on chemical, microbiological and sensory evaluations of fish
and fishery products for quality evaluation; undertake special chemical and microbiological
investigations on fishery products suspected to be toxic, contaminated and decomposed, or unfit for
human consumption; examine all fish and fishery products for export or import which may be sources
of fish pests or diseases to ensure quality of product and meet international standards; and update the
fishery industries on quality control of fish and fishery products through regular dissemination and
technical assistance
 Pursuant to Section 61 (d) and 100 of R.A. No. 8550, FAO No. 210 for “Rules and Regulations on the
Exportation of Fresh, Chilled and Frozen Fish and Fishery/Aquatic Products” was issued by the DA in
2001, upon the recommendation of the BFAR. Such rules and regulations require that: (1) Only fish
products which have been processed in fish processing establishments certified by the BFAR to be

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 compliant with the SSOP and HACCP System shall be allowed for export; (2) Fish products shall be
subjected to product tests required by the importing country at any BFAR laboratory or accredited
laboratories, the results of which shall be presented to BFAR as among the basis for issuance of the
Sanitary Health Certificate and that fish products shall be derived from species whose biological and
chemical characteristics meet the standards.
 Important regulations for aquaculture
A. Environmental Impact Assessment
 All of the information required in a proper site evaluation must be obtained in an
environmental impact assessment (EIA), but EIAs also must provide a detailed description of
the ecosystem to be affected, describe the proposed project, predict negative
environmental impacts, and provide a mitigation plan and monitoring program. The
magnitude of an EIA will increase as project size increases, and sensitive or more complex
ecosystems will need more detailed EIAs than less fragile or simple ecosystems.
B. Effluent regulations
 There are several ways of regulating effluents to include: discharge not allowed; discharge
allowed only if effluent quality is within specified limits (water quantity restrictions also may
apply); discharge allowed only if BMPs are used; discharge is allowed but user fees are
applied to effluent pollution loads. The first option of no discharge is unsuitable for many
types of aquaculture facilities because of overflow after rains, water exchange often is
necessary to maintain suitable water quality, and ponds must be drained for harvest.
Discharge permits with water quality criteria and water volume criteria require monitoring
and reporting at regular, specified intervals to show compliance. This kind of discharge
permit is suitable for large operations. The cost and expertise required for monitoring make
water quality (and water volume) based permits impractical for aquaculture effluents where
there are many small farmers and effluent outfalls. Likewise, the system of assessing a fee
for effluents based on concentration and volume (load) requires much monitoring, and this
system does not seem applicable to aquaculture. The best system appears to be the use of
general discharge permits that require farmers to use specified BMPs with little or no
monitoring required.
 The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) developed standards for certification of shrimp farms
and licensed these standards to the Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC). The standards
include effluent monitoring to demonstrate whether or not BMPs are effective in improving
effluent quality.
C. Best Management Practices
 Practices thought to be the most effective practical methods of reducing environmental
impact levels to those compatible with resource management goals are called BMPs. The
term practice refers to the structural, vegetative, or management activities needed to solve
one aspect of a resource management problem. In some situations, a single practice may
solve the problem, but usually a collection of practices or a “system of BMPs” is needed to
provide effective environmental management.
 An effective approach to voluntary regulation of an industry is for its members to adopt
codes of practices that contain BMPs designed to minimize adverse environmental impacts.
The most practical procedure appears to be for an industry group to develop a general code
of practice for a region or a nation, and this code of practice can be satisfied through
application of site-specific BMPs. Efforts on BMPs focus on the farm level where there is the
greatest likelihood of negative environmental impacts.
 BMP Development steps:

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 1. Environmental survey - The initial step in developing BMPs for production of a
particular species in a given area is to conduct a survey of production activities and
their potential effects on the environment and nearby communities
2. Environment assessment - The findings of the environmental survey should be
summarized in a report, because the information will be used later in stakeholder
meetings. The report should describe the industry and how it has been superimposed
on landscapes and communities
3. Stakeholder meetings - The credibility and effectiveness of BMPs are increased greatly
by the involvement of a variety of stakeholders. These stakeholders should include
producers, local extension specialists, local environmentalists, and representative of
communities situated near farms.
4. Presentation of BMPs
o The final BMP document should explain the environmental, social, or
conservation problem that each category of BMPs will address and provide the
producer guidelines for implementing the practices

D. Importations
 Non-native species can escape into the environment and possibly create a biological
nuisance. Countries should have policies about importation, quarantine, and distribution of
non-native species. Where non-native species are allowed, culture systems should be
designed to prevent escape, but experience indicates that it is difficult if not impossible to
assure that no animals will escape
E. Antibiotics, drugs and other chemicals – regulation
F. Feed regulations
 The government should require manufacturers to present the proximate composition of
feeds on the feed bags. It would be possible to ration the amount of feed that farmers can
purchase, but this might lead to use of low quality feed stuffs that cannot be regulated.
Therefore, feed rationing does not seem feasible for general use in limiting nutrient inputs
to aquaculture facilities. It seems likely that governments could regulate the composition of
feed and thereby prevent higher concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other
nutrients than needed
 Policies: Mandates toward aquaculture management
A. National agencies with jurisdiction over specific aquaculture processes

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 B. National agencies with support functions to management of environmental impacts of
aquaculture

 BFAR has jurisdiction over the management, conservation, development, protection, utilization and
disposition of all fisheries and aquatic resources of the country, except those within municipal
waters. In municipal waters, BFAR will coordinate with and assist the LGUs, FARMCs and other
concerned agencies in undertaking the functions specified earlier. The Fisheries Code of 1998
reconstituted BFAR as a line agency and enumerated its functions (related to aquaculture) per
Section 65:
A. Regulation and Monitoring
 issuance and re-issuance of fishpond areas covered by Fishpond Lease Agreements (FLA)s
and determination of rentals;
 monitoring of FLA grantees’ citizenship as grounds for cancellation;
 collection of data pertaining to fish hatcheries, fish breeding facilities and private
fishponds; and
 determination of abandoned, undeveloped, and underutilized fishponds suitable for
mangrove reversion
B. Standard setting
 assistance to LGUs in prescribing minimum standards for fish hatcheries, fish breeding
facilities and private fishponds;
 drafting and implementation of code of practice for aquaculture; and

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  determination of carrying capacity of lakes and rivers
C. Protection/Conservation
 determination of, and in coordination with the DENR, areas or portions of available public
lands certified as suitable for fishpond purposes to be declared as reservation, fish
sanctuary for conservation and/or ecological purposes
D. Technical Assistance
 conduct of verification studies for technology testing;
 zonation, i.e., determining suitable areas for mariculture operations; and
 establishing a registry of municipal fisherfolk
E. Marketing assistance
 assistance in preparation of feasibility studies
F. Credit
 provide soft loans through the Aquaculture Investment Fund
G. Organizing/strengthening of people’s organizations
 provide assistance in organizing/strengthening fisherfolk organizations and cooperatives
in coordination with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), non-government
organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs) and other concerned agencies
Unit 5. Recent Technological Innovations
 Aquaculture biotechnology can be described as the scientific application of biological concepts that
enhance the productivity and economic viability of its various industrial sectors. The Convention on
Biologicial Diversity defines Biotechnology as, “any technological application that uses biological
systems, living organism, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific
use.
I. Biofloc Technology (BFT)
 Control of bacterial community over autotrophic microorganisms is achieved using a high
carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio, whose nitrogenous by-products can easily be taken up by
heterotrophic bacteria.
o High C:N = optimum heterotrophic bacteria growth. The high C supersede carbon
assimilatory capacity of algae favouring bacteria growth instead. These bacteria
efficiently convert Carbon to new cell material (40-60% conversion rate) than other
higher organisms (10-15%). At the same time, they act as very efficient biochemical
systems to degrade and metabolize organic residues. They recycle very efficiently
nutrients in the form of organic and inorganic matter into new microbial cells that serve
as food for protozoa and copepods which in turn serve as food for cultured organisms.
o Carbon sources used are acetate, cassava meal, cellulose, corn flour, dextrose, glycerol,
glycerol + Bacillus, glucose, molasses, sorghum meal, tapioca, wheat flour, wheat bran +
molasses, starch
 Sustainable approach is based on growth of microorganisms in the culture medium benefited
by the minimum or zero water exchange. The microorganisms (biofloc) has 2 major roles:
1. Maintenance of water quality by the uptake of nitrogen compounds generating “in situ”
microbial protein
2. Nutrition – increasing culture feasibility by reducing FCR and a decrease of feed costs
 Macroaggregates (biofloc) is a rich protein-lipid natural source available in situ 24 hours per
day. In the water column occurs a complex interaction between organic matter, physical
substrate and large range of microorganisms such as phytoplankton, free and attached
bacteria, aggregates of particulate organic matter and grazers such as rotifers, ciliates and

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 flagellated protozoa and copepods  natural productivity that play an important role in
recycling nutrients and maintaining water quality
 Consumption of microorganisms in BFT – lowers FCR: microbial community is able to rapidly
dissolve nitrogen leached from shrimp feces and uneaten food and convert it into microbial
protein. These microorganisms might partially replace protein content in diets or decrease its
dependence of fishmeal
 In bioreactors, biofloc production can clean up effluent waters from aquaculture facilities,
converting dissolved nutrients into single-cell protein
II. Aquaponics
 Biointegrated system that links recirculating aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable, flower
and/or herb production. Involves:
o Hydroponics – production of plants in a soilless medium whereby all nutrients supplied
to the crop are dissolved in the water. Plants are fertigated (soluble fertilizers injected
into irrigation water) on a periodical cycle to maintain moist roots and provide a
constant supply of nutrients
o In aquaponics, nutrients are delivered via aquacultural effluent.
o Some plants are better adapted to this system: lettuce, herbs and specialty greens
(spinach, chives etc.) have low to medium nutritional requirements and are well
adapted to aquaponic systems. Plants yielding fruit (tomato, bell pepper etc) have a
higher nutritional demand and perform better in a heavily stocked well established
aquaponic system
 Component ratio – matching the volume of fish tank water to volume of hydroponic media.
Fish tank water: Bed ratio media ratio can be 1:1, 1:2 or 1:4.
 Principles:
o The waste products of one biological system serve as nutrients for a second biological
system.
o The integration of fish and plants result in a polyculture that increases diversity and
yields multiple products.
o Hydroponics beds function as biofilter – stripping off ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and
phosphorous so the freshly cleansed water can then be recirculated back into the fish
tanks
III. Reproduction Innovations
 Biotechnology and genetics have great potential to:
1. Increase production and enhance ecological sustainability
2. Applied to enhance reproduction and early development success of cultured organisms
3. Expand periods of gamete and fry availability
4. Satisfy new markets for farmed products, e.g., for specific market tastes or aesthetics
5. Provide avenues for improving the reproductive success and survival of endangered species,
thereby helping to identify and conserve aquatic biodiversity
6. Transgenic technologies can enhance growth rates and market size, feed conversion ratios,
resistance to disease, sterility issues and tolerance of extreme environmental conditions
7. Aid in development of specific genetic markers. Markers are short unique pieces of genetic
code that can help locate genes that are important for growth, sex determination factors or
disease susceptibility
 The GIFT (Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia) project in Asia is an example of a
programme aimed at examining the genetics of an important farmed fish species

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  Production of monosex populations: use of hormones in food animals is increasingly being
questioned by consumers and hybrid crosses that give skewed sex distributions may not be the
best hybrids for farm productivity
1. Alternative methods for producing monosex populations include cloning by nuclear
transplantation and gynogenesis. Cloning has been possible for carp for more than thirty
years and can form a useful basis for producing all female fry
 Production of sterile fry
1. Techniques include fish with extra sets of chromosomes, i.e., polyploid (triploid and
tetraploid) fish, or shock treatment using temperature or pressure during early embryo
development to cause retention of multiple sets of chromosomes in each cell and, in most
cases, sterility
 Ensure year round egg production
1. Using environmental manipulation, rather than hormone injection
 Molecular techniques also show significant promise for aquaculture application, in that they
help provide more accurate information on the genetic diversity of natural stocks and allow
genetic tagging of animals in breeding programme
 Endocrine regulation of reproduction - potential for chemical treatment of shrimp gonad
inhibiting neurohormone (GIH) that could promote reproduction without the negative side
effects of eye stalk ablation
IV. Feed Technologies
 Biotechnology offers opportunities for development of alternatives to fishmeal, especially plant
based protein sources, by enhancing production and processing techniques. Other technologies
also offer potential for enhancing the efficacy of feed delivery:
1. Plant protein has significant potential for addressing the problem of phosphorus pollution,
since plants do not contain the high levels of phosphorus found in animal protein
2. Brewers yeast is another protein source under investigation for finfish along with plat lipid
substitutes for fish oils. One of the difficulties in using plant proteins in aquafeeds is the
need for proper processing to destroy anti-nutritional compounds which may harm the fish
once fed. Researchers are looking at the possibilities of dealing with anti-nutritional factors
by producing feed enzymes to counteract them. Phytase is one example. This enzyme helps
fish make optimal use of the phosphorous available in plant-protein based feeds
3. A whole new area of biotechnological research aimed at finding cost effective and efficient
supplements to live microalgae, commercial production of freeze-dried algae,
microencapsulated diets, and manipulated yeasts
4. Improvement of the nutritional quality of Artemia through bioencapsulation (enrichment),
especially with highly unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins, has improved larviculture
outputs in terms of quality, survival, growth, and stress resistance. Bioencapsulation has
also been applied for oral delivery of vaccines, vitamins, and chemotherapeutants
5. Biotechnology helps in producing a product acceptable to consumers especially for
assessing and improving safety, freshness, colour, flavour, texture, taste, nutritional
characteristics, and shelf-life of cultured food products
6. Biotechnology tools can also be used to identify and characterize important aquatic
germplasm resources, including those of endangered species. The genetic make-up of
aquatic species can now be analysed, characterised and quantitative trait loci identified
that code for phenotypic characters that are beneficial for culture (e.g., fast growth,
disease resistance and cold tolerance). This can be achieved by marker-assisted gene
selection techniques, transgenic manipulations and improved cryopreservation of gametes
and embryos.

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 7. Bioremediation is another promising biotechnological approach for degradation of
hazardous waste to environmentally safe levels using aquatic microorganisms, or other
filtering macroorganisms
o Concomitant with bioremediation is enhanced feed delivery. Aquaculture
development in recent years has, therefore, included investigation into methods for
more efficient feeding. Underwater closed circuit television is in use to record when
fish are satiated (no longer feeding), so feeding can be halted, and also to monitor the
accumulation of wastes under moored cages. More recently, research organisations,
such as have been looking into the use of demand feeders, where the fish trigger
feeding by learning to push a lever. This method has shown some success and may
have potential for many farmed fish species. Training fish to trigger feeding when
hungry offers strong potential to lower feed costs, raise conversion efficiency and
reduce wastage and pollution. IFREMER are also looking to develop faecal stabilisers
for species such as turbot and seabass that have rather liquid waste. Feed additives
that would stabilise the faecal matter would benefit surrounding water quality in sea-
cage rearing situations
V. Holding systems
 The Oceanic Institute of the US, in Hawaii, has developed a similar bi-conical offshore cage
design to that of Ocean Spar, named the SeaStation 3000. The double cone shaped net is
suspended on a central floating vertical support column and can be permanently submerged,
with feed administered through a pipe from the surface. Access is via zippered doors
underwater and daily net cleaning is carried out by divers. In times of severe storms, the
structures can be sunk below the high-energy surface waves
 Conversion of disused oil platforms for use as offshore fish farms.
 Closed circulation systems which showed great potential for reducing fishmeal consumption
compared with open field farming.
1. Keeping particulate matter aerobic and in suspension in the growout pond facilitates
nitrification of waste products (essential to a healthy rearing environment) by the bacteria
in the pond. As long as the system is aerated, pond conditions can be kept suitable for
shrimp to thrive and the flocculent bacteria and organic matter that form in the water
contribute directly to the food of the shrimp. As a result, protein and fishmeal contents of
the feed can be considerably reduced. Closed systems of this kind can also be housed
inside buildings
VI. Pre-market conditioning
 Temporary holding of Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thunnus) to improve meat quality.
 Similar techniques were adapted by fishermen in the Mediterranean (Malta, Croatia and
Turkey) over the last few years, holding Atlantic bluefin tuna captured during the limited fishing
season (May-July). The fish are on a spawning migration at this time, thus flesh quality is poor,
and meat prices are depressed. The fish are held in floating cages until November or December
and fed on mackerel and herring. By then end of the holding period the fish improve in
condition and meet high market price quality for export to Japan.
VII. Disease Management
 Production of specific pathogen free (SPF) and specific pathogen resistant (SPR) stocks are two
complementary objectives being developed through shrimp broodstock management
programmes
1. SPF shrimp are produced by selecting animals shown to be free of specific pathogens,
using them as broodstock, and raising their offspring under strictly controlled sanitary
conditions.

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 2. SPR shrimp are developed through selective breeding of individuals that have survived
challenges/ infections by specific pathogens. Therefore have great potential to
enhance production in waters endemic for the specific diseases, but are inappropriate
for use in nonendemic waters, as they may carry sub-clinical infections of the
pathogen in question.
 Conventional methods of controlling such diseases, such as chemotherapeutants, are
ineffective for many new pathogens (notably viruses), thus, molecular techniques are
receiving increasing attention for pathogen screening and identification. In addition, these
techniques are providing significant insights into pathogenesis (disease development),
showing strong potential for disease control and prevention programs, as well as for
treatments of diseases (e.g., DNA vaccines). The increased sensitivity and specificity
conferred by nucelic acid (DNA or RNA) based probes has provided significant inroads for
early detection of diseases and identification of sub-clinical carriers of infections.
1. Reliable and sensitive diagnostic techniques and standards are required to ensure
such movements of live aquatic animals does not also include the dispersion of their
pathogens
 Harnessing the host’s specific and non-specific defence mechanisms in an effort to control
aquatic animal diseases has considerable potential for reducing the impact and losses from
diseases. Immunostimulants and non-specific immune-enhancers are being incorporated
into diets to boost protection
1. Probiotics are generally administered as live microbial feed supplements which affect
the host animal by improving the intestinal microbial balance to optimise the presence
of non-toxic species. A stable gut microflora helps the host resist pathogenic invasions,
particularly via the gastrointestinal tract. Antibiotics reduce specific or broad-spectrum
gut microflora and probiotics may have post-antibiotic treatment potential for
restoring the microbial balance
 Use of Probiotics in Aquaculture:
o Antibiotics have exerted a very strong selection pressure towards resistance among
bacteria, which have adapted to this situation, mainly by horizontal and promiscuous
flow of resistance genes. These resistance mechanisms can arise by: 1) chromosomal
mutations (non-transferrable) or acquisition of plasmids that can transfer resistance.
At high populations of bacteria found in aquaculture ponds, transfer via plasmids,
transduction from DNA adsorbed to the particles in the water or on the sediment
surface could all be likely mechanisms for genetic exchange.
o Probiotics denote bacteria that promote the health of other organisms or substances
secreted by one microorganism which stimulated the growth of another and are live
microorganisms which when consumed in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit
for the host.
o Mechanism of action of probiotics:
1. Competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria – microbiota in the gastrointestinal
tract of aquatic animals can be modified, for example by ingestion of other
microorganisms
2. Source of nutrients (fatty acids, vitamins) and enzymatic contribution to digestion
(by producing extracellular enzymes, such as proteases, lipases as well as
providing necessary growth factors)
3. Direct uptake of dissolve organic material dictated by the bacteria (influence on
water quality) – improved water quality has especially been associated with
Bacillus sp, gram positive bacteria are better converters of organic matter to CO 2

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 than gram negative bacteria. During production cycle, high levels of gram positive
bacteria can minimize build-up of dissolved and particulate organic carbon
4. Enhancement of immune response – non-specific immune system can be
stimulated as well as cellular and humoral immune defense; stimulates immune
system by increasing phagocytosis and antibacterial activity
5. Antiviral effects – inactivation of viruses can occur by chemical and biological
substances such as extracts from marine algae and extracellular agents of
bacteria
o Selection of probiotics for aquaculture:
1. The ability of microorganisms to colonize (efficiently adhere to intestinal
epithelial cells to reduce or prevent colonization of pathogens)
2. Probiotics must exerts its beneficial effects (enhanced nutrition and increased
immune response) in the host
3. Probiotic must be viable under normal storage conditions and technologically
suitable for industrial processes (lyophilized)
4. It is essential to know the origin (it is preferable to use strains isolated from the
host), safety (non-pathogenic) and ability of the strain to survive the transit
through the gastrointestinal tract of the host (e.g. resistance to bile salts, low pH
and proteases)
o Probiotics can be provided to the host or added to its aquatic environment by:
1. Addition via live food
2. Bathing
3. Addition to culture water
4. Addition to artificial diet
o European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) – works on all stages of food production and
supply, from primary production to the safety of animal feed, right through the supply
of food to consumers
o US Food and drug Administration (FDA) – regulates safety, labelling and health
statements made on conventional foods, medicinal foods, food for special dietary use
and dietary requirements
o Japan Foods for Specified health use (FOSHA) – program for the regulation of
functional foods
o Under normal conditions, one of the basic physiological functions of the resident gut
microbiota is that it functions as a microbial barrier against microbial pathogens and
as a complement to the establishment of digestive enzymes. During the initial feeding
period, it is possible to manipulate the establishment of an artificial dominance of a
predetermined group of bacteria in the fish-associated microbiota by adding a specific
strain of probiotics.
 Aquatic organisms are often adapted to extreme environments, and can, therefore,
provide unique models for research on biological and physiological processes.
Furthermore, studies of the developmental, cellular, and molecular aspects of aquatic
organisms could provide insights into the basis of disease mechanisms and pathogenesis in
humans

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Chapter 7. Culture of Commodities
Seaweed Culture
 Seaweeds are described as macroscopic forms of algae. They generally belong to four divisions of algae
and differentiated by their characteristic pigment combination. Western Mindanao ad Sulu supply 70%
of Philippines’ seaweed population
 Economic importance
1. Used as food – at least 60 species of Philippines seaweeds have been used as food. Most commonly
found in wet markets are: Caulerpa lentillifera, C. racemosa, Kappaphycus alvarezii, Eucheuma
denticulatum, Gracilaria verrucusa, Porphyra sp., Codium sp.
2. Used as medicinal herbs – goiter and other internal disorders are prevented by eating seaweeds.
Used in treatment of wounds, burns, and rashes. Used as laxative (relief for constipation) and
treatment of stomach disorders. Digenea simplex is utilized as vermifuge (used to expel worms).
3. Used as fodder (animal feed) – for some species of Halimeda, Sargassum, Asparagopsis, Hypnea
4. Sources of phycocolloids – these are polysaccharides (a complex carbohydrate of high molecular
weight) extracted from seaweeds that can form colloidal or gel systems in water.
a. Carrageenan – there are five known major forms such as kappa (κ), iota (ϊ), lambda (λ), mu (μ),
gamma (γ) and their chemical structures vary in the levels of sulfation and ratios of galactose to
3,6 anyhdrogalactose. Examples are Kappaphycus alvarezii (cottonii type) with kappa
carrageenan and Eucheuma denticulatum (spinosum type) with iota carrageenan. Other sources
of carrageenan are Hypnea, Chondrus, Gigartina.
b. Carrageenan is used in dairy products because of its stabilizing effects with milk proteins and as
gelling agent in making cosmetics, paints and pharmaceutical products.
c. Agar – mostly extracted from Gracilaria, Gelidium, Gelidiella, and Pterocladia. It is used as
medium for microbiological specimens, protective gels in canned meat, stabilizers in bakery
products and in the manufacture of paper and textiles. It is also used as clarifying agent in the
manufacture of wine, beer and coffee.
d. Alginic acid – extracted from Sargassum, Laninaria, and Turbinaria. Alginates are used as
emulsifiers and stabilizers in the food, paper, paint and textile industries.
 Main species cultivated in the Philippines
A. Kappaphycus alvarezii/ cottoniim earlier referred to as Eucheuma cottonii
Eucheuma denticulatum earlier referred to as Eucheuma spinosum
Eucheuma striatum var. tambalang and E. alvarezii = Kappaphycus alvarezii
Eucheuma striatum var. elkhorn = Kappaphycus striatum
“Sakol” variety – ice-ice disease resistant strain
o Suitable site for Kappaphycus/Eucheuma farming:
1. Moderate water current and wave action to maintain high diffusion pressure which enhances
the absorption of nutrients by the seaweed.
2. Avoid overcrowding – susceptible to pathogen (Vibrios) plus less crowding = better light
penetration = growth
3. Adequate but not excessive light; irradiance levels of 500-900 μEm-2 S -1 are optimum for
both photosynthesis and pigment synthesis. In times of very high light intensity (i.e summer,
El Nino) move plant to a deeper location where light intensity does not lead to photoinhibition)
4. Sufficient water depth; in shallow areas the seedstocks must not be exposed during low tides.
The development of the floating farm support system has made farming in deep areas
possible.
5. When farming shallow areas the substratum must be dark, consisting of coarse sand to rocky-
corally materials; substrata consisting of white fine sand must be avoided.
6. Minimal presence of grazers, microorganisms, silt epiphytes and flotsam.

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 7. Optimum temperature range 27-30 ºC.
8. Salinity level of 30-35‰; brackish water areas should be avoided.
o Seed supply
 Twelve varieties of K. alvarezii have been characterized based on their morphology, DNA
fingerprints and growth performance during the different cropping seasons. The information
derived from these studies is important and very relevant to the cropping management in
farms where the farmers use several varieties as seedstocks. The present seedstocks are
endemic in the Philippines.
 Supplies of seedstock are sourced from the wild and multiplied in a nursery plot. The original
seedstock is washed clean of dirt and other contaminants and transported as quickly as
possible to the nursery site in Styrofoam boxes with air holes in the top, without exposing it
to sun and wind. The nursery-reared cuttings become the seedstock for the first grow-out.
Subsequent supplies of seedstock are obtained from the first cropping, and so on.
o Grow-out farming Methods for Kappaphycus/Eucheuma
 The total grow-out period varies from 2-3 months after planting; thus, four cropping cycles
are feasible within a year. Seedstocks are prepared by tying 50-100 g pieces of cuttings with
soft plastic tying materials. The cuttings are tied at 20-25 cm intervals to the monolines in both
the bottom monoline and the floating methods.
 Two main farming systems are presently used by farmers. These are the fixed off-bottom
monoline and the floating methods. In each case farm maintenance consists primarily of
weeding out epiphytes associated with the crop, cleaning the seaweed of silt and dirt,
harvesting the poorly growing seedstocks and replacing them with fast growing ones,
removing other species of seaweeds that grow in close association with the Eucheuma,
replacing lost plants, repairing the farm support system and removing benthic grazers.
Epiphytes and flotsam compete with seaweed for nutrients and energy from sunlight resulting
in slow growth of the crop.

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  Bottom methods
1. Fixed off-bottom method – suited for shallow areas (not less than 0.75 m) during low
tides with moderate to strong water current. Pointed wooden stakes are driven into the
substratum. Monofilament lines, 10 m long are tied between stakes, with one meter
interval between lines. The distance from the ground is adjusted to the depth of water
during low tides so that the plants are not exposed to air and sun. The lines are positioned
parallel to the direction of the current.
2. Broadcast method is used in shallow areas with moderate or strong water current, sandy
to corraline bottom and mostly used in Spinosum farming.
 Floating methods – adapted to deeper areas
1. Raft method – a 4 m x 5 m raft is used. Monolines, 5 m length are attached at 20 – 30 cm
interval. Rafts are anchored to the substrate using nylon ropes. Monolines maybe parallel,
perpendicular or diagonal to water movement or shoreline depending on suitability of
site. Parallel orientation has many advantages: less breakage of plants and lines, minimal
uprooting of stakes and less entangling of floating debris.
2. Floating long lines
 Single floating line – Nylon ropes, 3 – 4 mm diameter, 100 m long are used with both
ends anchored to the substratum. Single lines are distanced 20 – 30 meters apart.
Floats are attached to the long lines.
 Multiple long lines – consist of 4 – 5 nylon lines, 3 – 4 mm diameter and 20 meters
long. Lines are spaced 30 cm apart and attached to 3 x 4 cm wooden support. Corner
ends are anchored to the substratum.
 Seedlings should be taken from healthy and fast growing variety in the area preferably from
the young portion of the plant. Seedlings should stay fresh, sprinkled with or submerged with
seawater most of the time. Protect it from sunlight, rain, temperature and humidity changes.
If seedlings are taken from other areas, water should be drained first before transport. Place
them inside styroboxes, rattan baskets or sacks. Tie each seedling using soft twine “tie-tie”
(not too tight, not too loose).
 Seedstocks weighing 100 - 150 grams are tied to support lines spaced at 20 – 30 cm apart in
both fixed off-bottom and floating methods. Maintenance of the farm consists of replacing
lost plants, weeding, and removal of benthic grazers. Unwanted seaweeds growing on
monofilament lines and stakes compete with Kappaphycus/Eucheuma for nutrients, light, and
space. Grazers like sea urchins and starfishes are removed since they consume significant
amounts of seaweeds.
 The crop is harvested after 10 – 12 weeks. The best plants from the harvest are used as seeding
for the next crop. The harvest is cleaned, sorted and with dirt or foreign materials removed
from the plants. Newly harvested crop is spread uniformly on a drying platform. The seaweeds
are dried in 2-3 days during a hot, sunny weather, then packed in plastic sacks and brought to
processing plants. A moisture content of 30% or below is required by processors and
exporters.
o Detailed procedure for culture:
1. For fixed off-bottom culture- tie the seedlings 15-20 cm apart to the rope 10-20 m lon with
soft plastic string
2. Put the ropes to the desired site during the lowest tide and tie the both ends to stakes already
placed 1 m apart from each other.

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 3. For single raft longline- tie seedlings as above but anchor ropes to a bamboo raft.
4. A raft unit consist of 4 bamboos in a square arrangement as support with 2 ends tied in turn
to anchor lines which are staked to the seabed.
5. Longer raft longline- line is 50-70 m ling and floats are regularly spaced in this instance to add
buoyancy to the raft.
6. For hanging longline- best for deeper water (5-10 m), less bamboo support is used but a good
concrete block anchor is necessary
7. Visit the farm 2-3 times weekly and remove undesirable algae attached, barnacles or attached
sediments. Re-tie loose or fallen seaweed and check and tighten loose rope or stake. Check
for any signs of ice-ice disease (whitening and hardening of the thallus) and totally harvest the
crop immediately when it occurs. Select a new set of seedlings, change farm site and lower
the stocking density
8. The crop is harvestable in 45-60 days and can be sold to wet or dry to processors. Dried
seaweeds have higher value if it is clean and moisture content is 35-39%.
9. The harvested seaweeds are exposed to the sun for 3 days in a clean area. It is place on
coconut leaves or lattice bamboo and reversed several times to remove stone and dirt. Then
store in a clean, cool, and well ventilated place.
o Handling and processing
o Harvesting simply consists of detaching the stocks from the support line, placing them in a
bangka boat (a vessel that looks like a catamaran) and transporting them to the drying area.
Traditionally the harvested seaweed is cleaned, sorted, and freed from dirt and other seaweeds,
before being sun-dried on clean drying platforms (usually made of bamboo slats). This method
had been slightly modified recently to minimize the loss of materials and facilitate improved
drying. The platform is first lined with fine mesh braided nylon net and the harvest is spread on
top of it. The plants are regularly turned over to ensure complete sun-drying.
o The drying crop must be protected from rain: the crop is piled into a heap by pulling the lining
net to one part of the platform which is then covered by a waterproof sheet. During hot, sunny
weather, the harvest may be dried in two or three days. The final moisture content of the crop
should not be more than be 40 percent (moisture <40 percent; contaminants: <1.0 percent
percent.). The dried material is tightly packed in plastic sacks and stored in dry areas before
shipment to buying centres.
o There are two commercial carrageenan products:
1. refined or 'traditionally extracted carrageenan' - Refined carrageenan is processed by
boiling the seaweed in alkali for several hours under oxygenated conditions. The dissolved
carrageenan is leached into a solution and subjected to viscosity control, pumped and
filtered, then coagulated in alcohol. The coagulate is dried and powdered.
2. ‘semirefined carrageenan’ (SRC) or 'Philippines Natural Grade Carrageenan' (PNG) - PNG
carrageenan is processed by soaking the freshly harvested or dried seaweeds in alkali at a
moderate temperature. 90 ºC is used for Kappaphycus (‘kappa carrageenan’) and 60 ºC for
Eucheuma (‘iota carrageenan’). This process does not involve the dissolution and leaching
of carrageenan into solution. The carrageenan remains intact and protected by the inert
cellulose matrix of the cell walls. The processing of PNG utilizes the non-extractive method
which leaves more than 2.0 percent acid insoluble matter (AIM) in the product with
cloudier gel compared to refined carrageenan.

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B. Farming of Caulerpa
o History of culture
 1950s: culture started in Mactan, Cebu due to accidental introduction with other seaweed
species to fish ponds as fish food
 1980s: pond and reef culture in Calatagan, Batangas
 1982 – some 800+ tons of Caulerpa were exported to Japan and Denmark in fresh, brine-cured
and salted form
 Present: cultivation in traditional brackishwater ponds
o Utilized as food in the form of fresh vegetables: high demand due to delicate, light taste, soft and
succulent texture, fast growing species
o Have thalli consisting of long branching horizontal stolon which gives rise to rhizoids at its ventral
side for attachment. Have large coenocytes (thallus is a single cell, continuous tube without cross
walls –aseptate). The algal body is strengthened by structures known as internal trabeculae which
are extensions of the inner wall.
o C. racemosa and C. lentifera are gathered from wild stocks and sold in markets. Only C. lentifera
are presently cultures in ponds
o Site selection:
1. Culture require a flow through system to facilitate water exchange to maintain the necessary
level of nutrient required for growth and development. In ponds, this is achieved by
providing both entry and exit gates for each pond compartment. Peripheral or diversion
canal may have to be provided to divert runoff water from pond during rains to avoid drastic
lowering of salinity
2. Must be far from sources of freshwater. Cauleroa is purely marine stenohaline alga and will
die even in slightly brackishwater. Salinity should not be lower than 30 ppt and won’t grow
in low pH (acidic)
3. Pond bottom must be at or just a little above the zero tidal level to enable frequent water
change
o Planting Caulerpa
1. Drain ponds to a depth of 0.3 meters to facilitate planting. Broadcasting is inefficient.
Planting is done by burying into the mud one end of a handful of Caulerpa cuttings at ~1
meter interval. Uniform planting is facilitated with the use of lines as guide or the planted
spots are marked by pieces of bamboo. Stocking rate: 1000 kg/ ha - harvest after 2-3 months
2. After planting, flood the pond to a depth of 0.5 to 0.8 m. flooding should be done slowly to
prevent newly planted cuttings from being uprooted and carried away by the current. The
pond water should be changed only several days after plating to make sure that the cuttings
are already well-rooted.
3. During growing period, change water every 3-4 days and increase frequency to every other
day around the 3rd week when they are already well rooted. Frequent water change provides
fresh supply of nutrients eliminating the need for fertilizer application.
4. During rainy days, pond water should be maintained at a slightly greater depth to reduce
possibility of dilution below 30 ppt. After heavy rains, pond water should be immediately
drained and replaced by fresh seawater to ensure salinity is >30 ppt
5. Fertilization is necessary 1 to 2 weeks before harvest when a large crop has been produced
and appear pale in color (light green or yellowish). Broadcasting method is okay but wrapping

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 fertilizer in many layers of gunny or plastic sacks and suspending these is strategic places in
the pond at a level where the bags are just about half submerged in water produce good
results. Pond water should not be changed for several days after the fertilizer has been
applied.
6. Weeding removes other seaweed species and associated organisms which compete with
Caulerpa for space, light and nutrients
7. Harvesting is done by uprooting the plants from the muddy pond bottom. More crops can
be produced during a growing season if partial harvesting is done leaving a sizeable amount
of 20-25% of crop in the ponds to serve as seed stock for the next crop – reduce labor cost
for replanting and much shorter growing period.
o Post-harvest
1. Wash in seawater to remove mud and other debris. Sort, unsuitable thalli and other seaweed
species removed. Place in bamboo baskets lined with banana leaves or other seaweed (i.e.
Sargassum). Cover basket with plastic sack laced in the basket. Placed under shade to allow
to drip before transport.
2. For export (i.e. Japan): in fresh, brine-cured or salted form – packed in Styrofoam boxes with
aeration holes on the upper side of the cover of the box, taped and sent via air cargo.

C. Farming of Gracilaria
o Gracilaria (gulaman) is a red algae that grows naturally in shallow waters in the tropics. Natural
production declines during rainy months. It is a source of agar. Agar is used in the food industry as
binder, stabilizer or as a suspending and gelling agent. It is used as a growing medium for bacteria
and plant tissues. It is used as food for rabbitfish and abalone.
o Culture started in 1962 in Southwestern Taiwan.
o Gracilaria can tolerate a wide range of salinity:
1. Gracilaria bailinae (Gracilaria heteroclada) – grow best in lower salinities
2. G. firma and G. changii – purely marine conditions
o Suitable site for pond culture of Gracilaria
1. Located near seawater and freshwater resources since the optimal salinity requirement is 15-
24 ppt. A sandy, muddy pond bottom with high organic load is preferred but very soft muddy
bottom should be avoided since cuttings of Gracilaria will easily sink in mud and die.
2. Protected from strong winds because there is a tendency for Gracilaria to accumulate in the
leeward side of the pond. The formation of thick heaps of Gracilaria in one side of the pond
has adverse effect on the growth due to shading.
3. Smaller ponds are easier to manage because in large ponds Gracilaria tend to accumulate at
one side due to influence of wind-induced waves (resolved by increasing water depth during
windy periods). In large ponds, wind breaks consisting of bamboo slots are installed
perpendicular to the direction of the wind to prevent the seaweed from being transported to
one side of the pond.
4. Increase water depth during summer to prevent rise in water temperature and also during
cold months to prevent water temperature from dropping to very low lethal levels in Gracilaria
5. Pond bottom should be at or near the zero tide level to facilitate water exchange.
6. To control epiphytes and competing algae, a low density of Milkfish or Tilapia may be stocked
in ponds.

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 7. Formation of thick heaps of Gracilaria should be avoided as these has adverse effects on
growth due to shading.
8. pH should be slightly alkaline (7 to 9) and 8.2 to 8.7 is optimum for growth
o “Rice planting” method for Gracilaria
 Seedstocks weighing 15 – 20 g is staked in the pond bottom. The distance between plants is
10 – 15 cm. Harvest is done after 45 – 60 days of culture. Newly harvested Gracilaria is sun-
dried for 2 – 3 days.
POND CULTURE FIXED-BOTTOM CULTURE

o Ice-ice triggered by bacteria could take place under the following conditions:
o If there is slow water movement in the cultivation ground – pathogens especially bacteria, are
highly motile and can easily invade seaweed surfaces. Strong water (aside from enhancing
nutrient exchange) also prevents potential pathogen from establishing on the seaweed
surface
o If the cultivation ground is close to freshwater source such as rivers or creeks that reduce
salinity below normal. This is especially not suitable for Eucheuma (requires 33-35 ppt)
o If water temperature is high, especially if this is accompanied by high light intensity.

o Market and trade of seaweeds

 The local market for dried seaweed in the Philippines consists of farmers selling their produce
through the main channels, which are local traders, farmers' cooperatives and non-governmental
organizations. The dried produce goes to large buying stations in the area commissioned by big

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 processing companies. Independent traders may also sell their stocks directly to local exporters
who sell them on to international processors
 According to the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines, three types of product are
exported by the 22 industry players, namely, dried seaweed, semi-refined carrageenan and refined
carrageenan.
 The export market for carrageenan from the Philippines consists of Europe, North America, Asia,
South America, New Zealand and Australia, in that order of importance. The seaweed industry in
the Philippines imports minor amount of seaweeds from USA, Chile, Indonesia, and Singapore. The
latter two countries supply the Philippines with raw material for iota and kappa carrageenan from
Eucheuma/Kappaphycus, while the USA and Chile supply raw material for the manufacture of
lambda carrageenan, mostly from the genus Iridaea.
 In order to strengthen the future of the industry, two important concerns will have to be addressed:
1. enhancing production capacity for dried seaweeds
 improvements in farming and harvesting
 post-harvest technology to improve quality
 the expansion of farming to new sites that conform to site selection criteria
 problem with seedstock supply has been resolved by establishing farms designed mainly
for the production of 'seedlings' for other farmers
– Hybridization through somatic fusion is hampered by the lack of the enzyme
carrageenase which can dissolve the cell walls to isolate/produce live, naked
protoplasts
2. encouraging more investment in the industry
o Main issues in seaweed industry:
1. Impact on the ecology of farm sites
 Highly productive farms are usually located in areas characterized by good water movement
(current and/or moderate wave action); appropriate salinity levels and depth at low tide (in
shallow farming areas); diverse flora and fauna; clear, fertile and unpolluted water; and
appropriate substrate. Favourable ecological conditions are indicated by high unit production.
The initial but minor negative impact on the site is the clearing of the area before the building
of the support systems in shallow areas where the fixed off-bottom monoline method is
utilized
 The original abundance of the flora and fauna recovers quickly during the succeeding days
after planting. However, high production of these farms attracts more farmers into the same
area, which results in overcrowding and exceeding the carrying capacity of the environment.
Crowding or intensified farming in a limited area also causes changes in the hydrology of the
area. It has been shown that good water movement by current and/or moderate wave action
is the primary factor that enhances the growth of the crop through the enhancement of
nutrient absorption. Water movement also prevents rising seawater temperature and
transports nutrients to the crop. When water movement is significantly reduced due to
overcrowding, especially during the day at low tide, rises in seawater temperature will occur.
Elevated seawater temperature during high irradiance causes adverse effects on the
productivity of the crop (lowered growth rates), a precondition of the occurrence of two
important farm problems, the occurrence of 'ice-ice disease' and blooms of epiphytes. These

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 conditions also exert a negative impact on associated flora and fauna. Domestic pollution from
farmhouses (waste disposal) may also have a negative impact on the environment.
2. Impact on the biodiversity of associated flora and fauna
 In areas where favourable environmental conditions are maintained throughout the
different cropping seasons, seaweeds show very high growth rates and form thick ground
cover, which attracts associated fauna (fish and invertebrates) and other seaweed species.
During the cropping period seaweeds serve as a habitat and feeding ground for associated
fauna as shown by the increase in their populations. The farm support system also provides
additional substrate on which the associated seaweed species grow. Thus biodiversity
appears to be enhanced in farmed areas. It is apparent, however, that changes in the level
of biodiversity is affected by the farming cycles, being comparatively lower during the start
of cropping (planting) and harvest periods and high during the grow-out period.
 The farming of deeper areas using the floating methods does not exert a negative impact
on the coral communities below. A recent field study done in Lamitan, Basilan showed that
the coral community at 5-10 m below the multiple floating units was observed to be robust
and healthy. Hardwood and/or iron bars are used as anchors for the support lines.

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Commodity: Milkfish
Basic Info
● Characteristics

o Herbivore/detritivore o Not carnivorous

o Filter and benthic feeder o Resistant to diseases
o Euryhaline (0-100 ppt) o Stunting possible
o Eurythermal (10-40C)
o High fecundity (1-9 M eggs) and longevity (spawn every year for 20 years)
o Broodstock husbandry and hatchery technology already developed)
● Taxonomy
o Phylum: Chordata
o Class: Actinopterygii
o Order Gonorynchiformes
o Family Chanidae
● History
o 1954 - modular system Dr. Saturnino Abesamis
o 1960-deep water plankton method (BFAR)
o 1968-BFAR's failed hatchery project in Lake Naujan, Mindoro
o 1970- fishpen culture (LLDA)
o 1970-BFAR with UNDP production calendar as guide for farmers in different climatic zones
o 1974-SEAFDEC with IDRC of Canada, short (wild) and medium term (captive allow to mature) breeding
o 1980-SEAFDEC natural spawning of captive milkfish
o 1981-BFAR+SEAFDEC launched National Bangus Breeding Program (NBBP)
o 1990-Norwegian type of marine cages in deeper waters (beyond 10 m)- Maximo Abesamis
● Top producers
o Philippines and Indonesia - tank production hatchery system (intensive or indoor system)
▪ 85% of milkfish production in the Phil comes from brackishwater fishponds
▪ Top producing regions: Regions VI, I and III
o Taiwan - pond hatchery system (semi-intensive or oudoor system)
● Species and variants
o Chanos chanos
o Variants:
▪ Elongated caudal fin (Philippines)
▪ Goldfish type (Indonesia)
▪ Dwarf or hunchback shad type (Hawaii and Australia)
▪ Red head, red fin and brilliant blue dorsal surface (Australia)
Life History

● Adults ● Eggs and embryo

○ Pelagic ○ Pelagic
○ Spawn at night in reefs ○ 1.1 to 1.25 mm diameter
○ 0.5 - 6 M eggs/ spawn
● Larvae
○ Float, carried by water currents to coastal areas, 2-3 weeks to fry
○ Egg size, size at hatching, amount of yolk and initial mouth size are greater in milkfish than in many
other tropical marine fishes
○ Younger larvae - "yolk-sac larvae" or "free embryos", pre-flexion and flexion stages are mostly near the
surface to 20-30 m down, occur both far and near shore
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 ○ Older larvae – post flexion >10 mm TL occur only near the surface and only near shore
● Fry
○ End of pelagic interval : enter coastal wetlands like mangrove swamps and estuaries which serve as
nursery grounds
○ Zooplankton- feeding larvae become benthic-feeding juveniles following metamorphosis
● Juveniles
○ 50 mm in length, migrate to coastal lagoons or upstream to freshwater lakes
○ Return to sea for maturation and spawning
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Milkfish in cages attain sexual maturity after 5 years (3 kgs and above)
● Place of culture: Floating net cages or concrete tanks with flow-through filtered seawater
● Live Transport
o Pre-starved (2 days) and anesthetized after harvest, individually packed in transport plastic bags with 40
liters chilled seawater and 2-phenoxyethanol as sedative and placed in styrofoam boxes. Travel time 6-7
hours. If more hours, change 50% of transport water every 6 hours
● Food: 36-38% high protein diet for gonadal development
● Sex determination
o Easier during spawning months (March-October). Sex ratio – 1M: 2F
o Male are usually smaller and swims faster than female; milt oozes out from the urogenital pore if slight
pressure is applied to the abdomen
o Gravid female have distended abdomen; oocytes from pre-gravid gonad can be sampled by intraovarian
biopsy using polyethylene cannula; can be used as broodstock if the yolky oocytes are spherical; ripe
females are sluggish
o Those with undetermined sex may be implanted with LHRH-a hormone during initial check-up to induce
maturation for reliable sex determination later.
● Spawning
o Induced and Natural
o Spawning should be induced at salinities higher than 32 ppt to ensure that the eggs would float rather
than sink and that the sperm will be completely activated.
o Gametes are released by spawners for external fertilization. Eggs are collected immediately to prevent
cannibalism using a manually operated sweeper-type egg collector.
Hatchery
● Egg incubation: 1600 eggs per liter for optimum hatching (14-16 hours) to larvae
● Place of culture: Concrete or canvas tanks of 1-1.3 m depth
● Stocking: 30 1-day old larvae per liter and harvested at 21-23 days (fry)
● Food
o Phytoplankton (Chlorella) and zooplankton (Brachionus) – start production at least 2 weeks before
hatchery receives eggs or larvae
o Feeding starts one yolk reserves are consumed (~36 hours). At day 15, enriched Artemia is added.
o Formulated diet in lieu of rotifers and Artemia is also available given at day 7 (<250 µm)
● Fry collection from the wild
o Greater during full and new moon as result of greater spawning activity during quarter moon. Fry catch
is usually greater at flood and high tide
o Fry season begins earliest in the south (Cotabato, Zamboanga): start Jan-Feb, peak in May, decline in
August, smaller peak in Sep-Nov. In Visayas (Cebu, Panay, Negros): start Mar-Apr, peak in May, second
peak in Oct, lasts til Nov-Dec. In Northern Luzon (Ilocos, Cagayan, Pangasinan): start April, peak May-
June and lasts til Oct

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 o Stationary collecting gears: fry barrier, tidal set net, fry filter net. Mobile collecting gears: scoop net,
scissor net, fry sweeper, fry seine
o Fry is stored in plastic basin (150-300 fry/liter) in 1:2 freshwater: seawater, fed with yolk of hard-boiled
egg or fried flour everyday until bought fur nursery use
o Milkfish fry stored for more than two weeks are generally weak and will have low survival when stocked
in nursery ponds. Strong fry: swim continuously along basin wall in the same direction, swim vigorously
against the current after swirling, react with quick avoidance movements when tapped
Nursery
● Area for culture: Brackishwater fishpond
● Stocking density
o 30-50 fry/m2
o Stunted fingerlings provide a continuous source of stock for year-round operation. Transition pond is
stocked with 10-15 fingerlings per sq.m.
o Stocking is usually done in the early part of the morning when the temperature is low. Acclimate.
● Day of culture: Grows to fingerling size (3-5 g) after 30-45 days of culture
● Food
o Lumot- algal complex dominated by filamentous green algae (Chaetomorpha, Cladophora,
Enteromorpha, Spirogyra). These are too coarse and fibrous and only the decaying algae were utilized by
the fish
o Lablab- benthic biological complex consisting of small plants and animals. Blue green algae (Oscillatoria,
Lyngbya, Spirulina, Anabaena), diatoms (Navicula, Pleurosigma, Nitzschia), green algae, animal
components (protozons, copepods, polychaete worms, larval forms of molluscs, insects and decapods).
It initially forms as layers or films at the pond bottom and then develops into a coarse and flabby mat
that eventually loses attachment from the bottom. Introduced by FAO consultant from Taiwan (Yun-an
Tang) – most widely used natural food. Requires high salinity (25-45 ppt) difficult to achieve during rainy
season.
o Plankton – all microscopic organisms suspended in water. Plant and animal components similar to
lablab. Effective in nursery but unpredictable results in grow-out
o Lablab: water is let in just to cover pond bottom apply fertilizer depth increased slowly, 3-5 cm at a
time until depth of 20-50 cm. Plankton: water is immediately filled to depth of 75-100 cm platform is
positioned 5-20 cm below surface. Lumot: water (30-cm) is admitted to allow growth of lumot grown
in pond by staking method (50-100 grams are staked at intervals of 1-2 meters) or by sowing/spreading
method where fragments of alage are thrown uniformly at the pond bottom
● Harvest
o Done in the morning. Mass mortality occurs if fingerlings are harvested before sunrise (water has low
DO) or late in the day (Water temperature is high)
o Keep fingerlings for at least 12 days (1 to 2 days is recommended) in the holding pond or confinement
net for conditioning and excretion of gut contents before packing if to be transported for long distance
o Pasulang / Freshening method – water is initially decreased and new water admitted the next day.
Fingerlings will go against the current of the inflowing water and congregate in the catching pond
o Seining method – only if the above method cannot be undertaken, stressful
o Draining method – start gradual draining at 2 to 3 pm and completely drain before dark to prevent
fingerlings to jump and get stuck in the mud. Milkfish fingerlings are sensitive to light at nighttime.
o Gill net – for partial harvesting in ponds and pens using net of appropriate mesh size
o Stationary fish corral – in small-sized ponds to catch small quantity of fish. Water is admitted to make
the fish swim towards the corral installed near the main gate. The fish are then scooped or seined.

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Grow-out
Area of System Specifications Stocking Depth Pond
Culture name Density Area, ha
Brackishwate Modular In three stages using ponds with progressively 3,000/ha 40-50 1-10
r Pond increasing area 1:2:4 so in
Proportion of rearing ponds is 1:2:4 or 1:3:9. Fish first
moved periodically from one module to another module
(every 30-45 days) by inducing them to swim stock
against the current. 12,000
Straight-run/ Stock and wait method, water management purely 1,000- 40-50 1-50
extensive tidal 3,000/ha
Fry in small nursery pond fingerlings in large
rearing pond
Deep-water ≥ 1m depth, plankton instead of benthic algae as 4,000- ≥100 1-10
plankton food + supl. feeding, less prone to snail infestation 6,000/ha
Greater water volume per unit area = more space of
fish
Semi- Smaller pond size, with paddle wheel aerators 8,000- ≥100 1-5
intensive DOC 1 to 45-0: natural food afterwards formulated 12,000/ha
feed
Intensive Smaller (0.1 -1 ha) but deeper (1-2 m) grow-out 20000- 1-2 m 0.1-1
Mass mortality is a constant threat 30000/ha
Needs form
Stock Periodic stocking of multi-size fish and partial 4000- 40-50 1-10
manipulatio harvesting (assorted sizes of 5 to 100 g) 5000/ha
n Popular in Taiwan, with supplementary feeding
Polyculture Two or more species with complementary feeding 1,000- 40-50
habits and behaviour are grown together 3,000/ha
Milkfish with shrimps (3,000-5000 fry)/ crabs
(10,000 crablets)
Freshwater Fishpen Feed mainly on plankton and forage for food at the 3-5/ m2 3-7 m 1 to 400
Lake bottom, may require supl feed only since Laguna de deep
Bay has abundant nat food waters
2
Estuaries, Made of bamboo frames with synthetic nettings 6-12/ m 2-5 m 500-
Marine Barrier net enclosure (PE, 7 knots, knotted) waters 1600 m2
Nursery net (V-net, size 8-12)
Grow-out (PE, CC net, 17 knots, knotless)
Insufficient natural food, high protein (27-31%)
formulated diet essential
FW, Cages Can accommodate high SD due to free flow of 5-30/m3 (shallow) 2-3 m
estuarine, water current bringing new water and removes 30-40/m3 (deep (FW)
marine metabolic waste lakes and bays) deeper
waters 5-10 g fingerlings in cages split after 1-2 months 40-100/m3 for MW
to grow-out cages (offshore)
● Day of culture: 3 months of culture (4-8 mo in fish pen, 6-8 mo in cages), harvest when fish are scarce in the
market to maximize profit. This is usually during full moon nights when not much fish are caught in the sea
● Food
o Daytime feeders: bottom associated blue-green algae, diatoms and detritus
o Artificial food: rice bran, pelleted diets (23-27% crude protein)
o Cyanobacterial mat, filamentous green algae, plankton
o Feeding methods:
▪ Hand feeding
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 ● Food ration is broadcasted for 15-30 minutes at fixed areas of the pond
● Allows uniform feeding and observation of feed response but costly and labor intensive
▪ Feeding tray
● Designed for use with sinking pellets
● Feed ration is placed on a 1x1 m or 1x2 m fine meshed net situated 15-20 cm below
water surface
● Use is being discouraged due to feed losses resulting from nutrient leaching and feed
disintegration caused by low stability of fish feeds
▪ Feeding ring
● Utilized for floating feeds and usually made of buoyant bamboo frame to prevent feed
from drifting outside the feeding area
● Cost effective and labor saver but would encourage competition among the fish leading
to uneven sizes
● Setting up of several small feeding areas using feeding rings around the pond instead of
only a few large ones will be advantageous
▪ Demand feeder
● Composed of a pellet feed reservoir equipped with a pendulum system, which drops
pellets into the water when the fish hits the shank of the pendulumCost and labor
efficient; reflects on appetite and condition of fish
● Should be used strictly with a maximum feeder: fish ratio to ensure uniform feeding,
cannot be used for smaller than 20 g fish
▪ Feed spreader or blower
● For bigger cages, ensure equitable feed distribution with more uniform growth of fish
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: growth is retarded at 45 ppt, frequent water exchange done during summer months
● Temperature: 25-32 C
● pH: high pH ( too fertile = plankton bloom), low pH (infertile, plankton growth slow), 6.5-8.5
● Dissolved Oxygen: 3-10 ppm
o Do not feed when DO is below 1.5 ppm because the fish would not eat and formulated feed will only go
to waste.
● Hydrogen sulphide: fish will die at 2 ppm concentration
● Weather conditions: during rainy days, drain the uppermost freshwater layer in the water column to prevent
sudden drop in salinity
● Turbidity: Keep Secchi disk reading between 20 and 30 cm. reapply fertilizer if plankton does not bloom but if
secchi reading is less than 20 cm stop fertilization and replace about ¼ of volume of pond water. A combination
of regular water exchange and pond fertilization will maintain good plankton blooms.

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Commodity: Tilapia
Basic Info
● Characteristics
o Euryhaline
o “carpe” in West Africa, “St Peter’s fish” in Israel, “bream” in Southern Africa, “mojarra” in Latin America
o Simple reproduction/ breeding process, feeds low on the food chain
o Rapid growth rate, resistance to physical handling and diseases
o Good tolerance to high stocking densities and intensive rearing conditions
o Filleting yields for tilapia is relatively low: 42% (skin-on), 32% (skin-off)
o All Tilapia are native to Africa. The Asia and Pacific Region has no native tilapia and no native fish species
with comparable attributes to tilapia for aquaculture.
● History
o Derived from bushman dialect til (fish) and native exclusively to the African continent (excluding
Madagascar) and from the Jordan Valley and coastal rivers of Palestine. Their expansive geographical
distribution reflects the species’ intrinsic capacity for adaptation to various types of habitat and
environmental condition.
o 1930: Earliest known international transfer is O. mossambicus in Java
o 1940-1950: O. mossambicus was disseminated throughout the Asia and Pacific region
o 1950’s: first tilapia introduced was O. mossambica (wonder fish) from Thailand but people lost interest
because it multiplies fast, producing many offsprings resulting to poor growth
o 1970’s: Nile Tilapia was introduced. Back story: 50 pieces of nile tilapia fry was given as a royal gift from
King of Japan to the King of Thailand who treasured it and bred them in his Chitralada palace. When the
king distributed the fish to thai farmers they were called Nile tilapia Chitralada strain.
o Technology was developed to produce all male, sex reversed tilapia (SRT) seed, because male tilapia
grow faster than females, and the unwanted reproduction, overcrowding and harvest of undersized fish
are avoided
o 1980’s: some of the conseuences of the lack of attention to tilapia genetics were beginning to emerge.
In the Philippines for example, disappointing tilapia harvests were attributed largely to inbreeding and
to accidental hybridization with O. mossambicus that had become established in adjacent waters
● Top producers
o Fifth most important fish in the world. Asia – 80% of world production, Africa – 1% & Latin America – 2%
o Second to milkfish as the most widely cultured species in the Philippines (Region 3 – biggest prod)

Life History
● Adults
○ Omnivorous, feeds on a wide range of natural food like lablab, plankton, detritus, crustaceans, benthos,
aquatic plants and supplemental food (rice bran, fish and copra meal)
○ Mozambique, Nile and blue tilapia are more efficient consumers of plankton than Zill’s tilapia because of
their finer and more numerous gill rakers. Tilapia has an intestine length between five to eight times its
body length.
○ Spawning rituals of mouth brooders: nest building (shallow holes dug at pond bottom, done by males to
attract females) and courtship: 1-5 days Ovulation and spawning: < 2 hours Incubation (temperature
dependent): 6-10 days, holding of the seed in the mouth continuously
○ Being a maternal mouth brooder, the number of eggs per spawn is small in comparison with most pond
fishes. The number of eggs that can be laid in one spawning is limited by the capacity of the buccal
cavity to accommodate for incubation offset by the fact that they are multiple spawners
● Larvae
○ Newly hatched larvae are about 3.5 mm TL and have a large yolk sac, unpigmented eyes and no mouth.
The yolk is completely absorbed on day 5.
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 ● Fry
○ Two to three week old fry (10–13 mm TL) reach inshore waters via active migration or through passive
advection.
○ 10 – 30 days, continued maternal dependency, fry and mother begin to feed � feeding and recovery of
the mother (14-30 days)
○ In Central Luzon, hatcheries nurse fry to fingerlings and there is no significant nursery subsector.
○ Twenty one day-old fry caught from the wild or obtained from a hatchery are ready to be stocked into
nursery ponds. After 30–45 days in the nursery, fingerlings are grown to marketable size (250–500 g) in
ponds, pens, and cages.
● Juveniles
○ Milkfish larger than 20 mm have the characteristic shape and morphology of the adult and are
considered juveniles.
○ In aquaculture terminology, juveniles <10 cm long are called fingerlings.
Hatchery/ Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Become sexually mature in about 2-3 months from fry stage with average weights of 15-40 grams.
o They spawn as often as once a month and spawning takes place throughout the year. Fertilization is
external, the eggs are released by the female and fertilized by the male fish.
● Place of culture
o Tilapia species breed better in conditions where a natural floor substrate is available due to nesting
procedures of reproduction. Reasons for difference in seed production: varying temperature in rearing
water used for spawning, seedstock harvesting method and presence of non-tilapia species that prey on
eggs/hatchlings
Seed Prod’n Pond-based Hapa-based Concrete tanks
Characteristics Square ponds being better than Inverted mosquito net (made of meshed With shallow edges to
long, narrow ponds PE netting) with 4 top corners tied to allow harvest of fry that
bamboo stakes prefer the shallow,
warmer areas along the
edges
Size 300 to 500 m2 3mx3m 4-100 m2
Water Depth 0.5 – 1 m 1.5 m 0.8 m
Advantages Simple, pond serves as spawning Production per square meter is high Highest seed production
and rearing pond, thus fingerlings Fry are more uniform in size, fry and since water quality
produced are larger breeders easily handled management can be easily
No supplemental feeding done and controlled
required at high manuring rates
Disadvantages Number of fingerlings produced Management is more complicated and
is lesser and are not of the same intense compared with other methods,
size easy target for poachers and hapas may
be destroyed or blown away during
typhoon, supplementary feeding a must

● Sex determination
o Gonochorist species: individual can either be male or female but not both. Male has two openings just in
front of the anal fin. The large opening is the anus and the smaller opening at the tip is the urogenital
pore. Female has three openings: the anus, the genital pore and the urinary pore.
o Tilapia can become sexually mature in 3-4 months of age
o Tilapia can be sexed when it has attained the weight of 15 grams. Application of ink or dark dyes to the
papillae may increase the accuracy of sexing and allow sexing of smaller fish.
o Development of the Male and female gonad (sex differentiation) takes place between 10th-20th day,
after first feeding period. During the period when the fry is still sexually undetermined (labile period) the
phenotypic sex can be inverted by feeding them with hormone (sex reversal).
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• Taxonomy and Variants
1. Genus Tilapia (Substrate spawners). Both parents guard, protect, aerate the breed, and help move clutch to
different nest sites. Fry at first feeding are 4-5 mm and show feeble swimming ability. Fry survival relatively
low.
2. Genus Sarotherodon (Paternal/biparental). Both parents stay close to each other. Eggs and fry brooded in
oral cavity up until they are ready for release. Brood may not be collected once released. Fry are between 7-9
mm at first breeding, well developed fins for swimming. Fry survival high.
3. Genus Oreochromis (Maternal). Female solely involve in brood care. After spawning, female leaves nest to
rear her clutch in safety. Fry brooded up until free swimming. There is an extended period of care during
which fry seek shelter in buccal cavity for safety. First feeders have well-developed fins for swimming. Fry
survival high.
Species Body coloration Fin appearance
1. Mozambique tilapia Black to gray; male with yellow Bright red margin on the
Tilapia mossambica throat when actively breeding dorsal and caudal fins
Oreochromis mossambicus
2. Nile tilapia White to bluish; male with reddish Prominent bars on the
Tilapia nilotica throat when actively breeding caudal fin; white stripes
Oreochromis niloticus on dorsal and anal fins
3. Blue tilapia Bluish; male with dark White spots on the
Tilapia aurea throat when actively breeding caudal, dorsal and anal
Oreochromis aureus fins
4. Zill’s tilapia Yellowish-green, male with reddish Prominent dark spots on
Tilapia zillii breast when actively breeding the dorsal fins; yellowish-
green spots on caudal fins
• Among the locally available species, T. nilotica is the most preferred because of its fast growth and attractive
appearance.
• Biology of different Tilapia species
Mouth-brooders
1) Oreochromis aureus biology and culture.
•Can live in areas with cold or hot temperatures
• Used in hybridization and monosex culture
a. Reproduction:
1. Female incubates eggs in her mouth.
2. Optimum temperature 23 to 28 degrees centigrade.
3. Spawn 3 or more times per year with 1500 to 4300 eggs produced per year.
4. Eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days and female guards fry for an additional 8 to 10 days after hatching.
2) Oreochromis mossambicus biology and culture.
• Mossambika (Tagalog), 1st tilapia species in the Philippines
• Freshwater to seawater (30 ppt)
• matures in 3-4 months
• Problems:
o Starts to spawn even when only 25 g weight
o Smaller fish because of unintentional breeding
o Proliferation
a. Reproduction:
1. Female incubates eggs in her mouth
2. Optimum temperature 23 to 28 degrees centigrade
3. Can breed 6 to 12 times per year with 2000 to 10,000 eggs produced per year.
4. Eggs hatch in 2 to 5 days and the female guards the young for an additional 8 to 10 days.
3) Oreochromis niloticus biology and culture.
• Plapla (Tag.)
• Introduced by BFAR in 1972
• Freshwater

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 • Easy to rear, feed and adapt in the tropics
• Has many strains through genetic selection programs
a.Reproduction:
1. Female incubates eggs in her mouth.
2. Optimum temperature 25 to 29 degrees centigrade.
3. Average of three spawns per year with about 750 to 6000 eggs produced per year.
4. Eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days and female guards young for 8 to 10 days after hatching.
Substrate Spawners
1) Tilapia rendalli biology and culture.
a. Reproduction:
1. Both parents dig a nest and incubate the eggs and fry.
2. Optimum temperature 25 to 30 degrees centigrade.
3. Spawning may occur at 7-week intervals with 12,000 to 20,000 eggs produced per year.
4. Eggs hatch in 5 days.

2) Tilapia zillii biology and culture.

a. Reproduction:
1. Both parents dig a nest and guard the eggs and fry.
2. Optimum temperature 22 to 26 degrees centigrade.
3. Six spawnings per year possible with about 6000 to 42,000 eggs produced per year.
4. Eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days.

Other species:
1. Red tilapia or Gintong Biyaya (Oreochromis spp.)
• Offspring of:
O. niloticus and O. mossambicus (Taiwanese red tilapia)
O. niloticus, O. mossambicus and O. hornorum (Phil. Red tilapia)
• Red coloration is from mutant mossambicus, Not favored by local buyers because of color
• Form and shape is from niloticus
• Fast growing, can be used in sea cages
• Can fetch a higher price in western countries, known as cherry snapper in the US

2. Hornorum and mossambica hybrid

• “jewel tilapia”: offspring of O. mossambicus and O. urolepis hornorum
• all male hybrid, can live in salt water
• Used to counter effect of luminous bacteria in prawns

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• Control of tilapia population
Due to early maturity and frequent breeding, there is the problem of overcrowding, slow growth and harvest of many
small-sized tilapias. Thus, there is a need to control tilapia population. Monosex culture has been recognized as the most
effective solution to the problem of early maturation and uncontrolled reproduction. The following methods are used to
control tilapia reproduction:
1.Periodic harvesting of tilapia fry and fingerlings with nets to reduce competition for food.
o effective in small ponds, labor intensive, requires little skill.
2. Separation of sexes after an initial growth period (monosex culture).
o males grow faster than females, difficult for large ponds since large numbers of fish are needed and
the process is slow. Mistakes are made and sexing is about 90% efficient. Requires trained labor.
3. Culture of all-male tilapia - preferred since the male grows faster and attains a large size than the female.
• Monosex culture can be attained by:
1. Manual sexing – tilapia can be manually separated by sex through ocular examination of the
urogenital papilla. Manual sexing can be done to tilapia 10 cm or longer. An average worker can do
manual sexing for about 2,000 fish/day. The disadvantages of this method are; it is tedious, causes
stress to the fish, only 80 – 90 % accurate.
2. Artificial sex reversal
3. Hybridization – crossbreeding of two species of tilapia to produce all-male or predominantly male
hybrids. Hybrids of T. nilotica and T. hornorum are produced by the given procedure.
 Production of pure genetic strains of T. nilotica and T. hornorum.
 Pure strains are now crossed.
 Fingerlings from the two species are sexed when they attained weights of 20 – 30g and the
males and females are stocked in segregated broodstock ponds. The fish are fed with
agricultural byproducts at the rate of 5% body weight daily. In two to three months, the
fish grow to 60 – 100g and become sexually mature.
 Mature male T. hornorum and female T. nilotica are introduced in the spawning pond at a
1:1 ratio. Hybrid fingerlings are collected after two months.
 The problem in the hybridization process is the difficulty in maintaining pure genetic lines
which are necessary to obtain consistent results. In commercial production, varying
proportions of females occur as a result of contamination of the broodstock lines.
4. Production of YY males
4. Culture in cages which are suspended above the pond bottom.
• spawned eggs fall through the cage mesh and die preventing overcrowding, cage materials may be
expensive, requires intensive feeding with high quality ration.
5. Culture at very high densities in ponds or raceways.
• crowding reduces the urge to reproduce, intensive feeding with a high quality ration is required.
• good water supply must be available, requires electric, gas or diesel aeration devices.
• requires skilled management.
6. Stocking predacious fish as fingerlings or adults in the tilapia pond.
• Fish predators such such as snakehead (Chana striata), tarpon (Megalops cyrinoides), grouper
(Ephinephelus sp.), sea bass (Lates calcalifer) and tenpounder (Elops hawaiensis) have been used to control
tilapia population. At the same time, carnivorous species have high market value when sold. Successful
control is attained if the ratio of the predator is enough to keep the tilapia population down.
• To prevent the predators from preying upon the original tilapia stock, the size of fish at stocking and the
time interval between stocking of the prey and the predator should be considered.
7. Reproductive sterilization
• Tilapia can be rendered sterile either incapable of producing eggs or sperm or incapable of fertilization.
Studies show that feeding fish with food containing papaya seed make them sterile

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 ● Food
o Breeders require 20-30% crude protein in diet, for optimum growth
● Spawning
o 3 females: 1 male (pond), 5-7 females: 1 male (hapa), 2 females: 1 male (tank). Male is always bigger
than female. Stocked at 2 to 4 fish per m2.
o Occurrence is influenced mainly by water temperature where breeding activity will ensue at
temperatures around and exceeding 22C. Spawning is observed to be better if water temperature is
within 29-31C. Control of Tilapia population – see back
o The reproductive potential of breeders decline with age. On the average, the hatchery operators change
breeders every 21 months and a partial change of breeders is also made after one year.
o Fry collection (in ponds): Every day using using dip nets or “fry dozers”, 10-12 days after stocking
breeders, drained four weeks after stocking to remove breeders and remaining fry and fingerlings
o Fingerling collection (in ponds): 30-45 days after stocking of breeders, knot 32 mesh seine, done 3-4
times per harvest period every 2-4 weeks, grade using 22k, 17k, 14k and 10k nets. For conditioning,
stock fingerlings (2-3 kg fingerlings/m3) in hapa or tanks 3 days before disposal but stop feeding 24
hours prior disposal. Restock small fingerlings in earth nurseries to reach the desired size of size 22 at
15-30 days and size 17 at 45 days. Stocking density 25-30 fingerlings/m2
Nursery/ Larvae
● Place of culture: Ponds, concrete tanks (round, square or D-end) or floating cages
o From pond-based hatchery, fry are stocked at 200/m2 in ponds with 0.5 meter depth and reared 2-4
weeks.
o From tank-based hatchery, collected fry are placed in fine-meshed net enclosures (2 m x 2 m x 1 m) at
1000 fry/m2 for 5-7 days.
o From hapa, postfry are transferred to nursery tanks for rearing to fingerling size in 2-3 weeks with
density of 500/m2.
● Food
o Tilapia fry are more demanding in their diet than the adults, requiring 45% protein level
Grow-out
Area of Specifications Stocking Depth Pond Area,
Culture Density m2
Concrete For intensive culture, artificial feeds used, requires big capital, 100-200/m2 10-100 ft in
Tank generates lot of aquaculture wastes – see back diameter
Stock larger size fingerlings since they are most resistant in
enduring high stocking density and continuous swimming;
gradually increase water depth to allow the fish to adjust to the
tank condition
Net cages Accounts for 37% of production, placed in lakes, dams and 10-15 2-6 m Six units of
reservoirs larvae/m2 (fixed) 5x5x3 joined
Laguna de Bay only natural feeds >10 m in 1 module
Taal Lake, Pantabangan, Magat, Ambuklao artificial feeds (floating Fixed: 9-300
(intensive system - 50-100 larvae/m2, harvest in 3-4 months ) m2, floating:
If using CC net, use larvae >10 g 1-1250 m2
Fishpond Supplies 48% of production, extensive 10000- 1.0-1.5 100-10000
Harvest after 4-6 months 20000/ha
Semi intensive = natural food with 26% crude protein 20000-
40000/ ha
Intensive = 100% commercial formulated feeds >100000/ha
Harvest after 3-4 months

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 ● Harvesting
o Total harvest after 6 months by total draining. The pond is initially drained to the half-level mark. The
larger fish are caught with 25 mm mesh seine and then transferred in net enclosures in another pond
with clear water to wash the mud from the harvested fish. The pond is totally drained to collect the
remaining fish.
o Selective harvest after 4 months but can be bad in the long run because only large fish are caught,
smaller fish are allowed to multiply, thus recruits are not as robust as parents
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 0-15
● Temperature: 28-32
o Appetite is highest at optimum temperature and declines as temperature increase or fall outside the
optimum limit. Oxygen requirement also increase with increase in body temperature.
● pH: 6.5 -9.0
● Dissolved Oxygen: > 5 mg/l
o The concentration of oxygen level in the atmosphere is high (21%) but has low solubility in water and
rate is further reduced by an increase in temperature, altitude, salinity and concentration of carbon
dioxide.
o DO in the water can be supplied by phytoplankton through their photosynthetic activity, dissipation of
atmospheric oxygen into the water or through the use of mechanical aeration.
o Low DO increase the toxicity of ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. In the absence of oxygen, accumulated
waste are in reduced form specifically, hydrogen sulphide.
o DO in the water should be high and carbon dioxide, ammonia and other metabolic gases should be kept
low to allow osmosis of oxygen through the gills and expiration of ammonia.
o Rapid drop of atmospheric pressure lowers the water surface tension and causes oxygen depletion in
the water
● Turbidity: 30-35 cm
● Ammonia: <2 mg/liter
● Carbon Dioxide: <73 mg/liter
o Toxicity of both carbon dioxide and ammonia could be minimized by presence of sufficient oxygen and
phytoplankton. Ammonia is a nitrogen source and can be readily used by phytoplankton. With the
presence of oxygen, ammonia is used by bacteria and converted into nitrate, a less harmful form.

Commodity: Giant Freshwater Prawn

Basic Info
● Characteristics
o Hardy and fast growing. FCR is comparable to tilapia. Almost all live in freshwater and some spend part
of their life in BW or SW. It can be caught in rivers and lakes with connection to brackishwater since
most require BW in the initial stages of their life cycle. Some prefer rivers containing clear water, while
others are found in extremely turbid conditions (esp. rosenbergii species)
o It can migrate to 200 kms upstream from their spawning ground towards rivers and lakes. Can be used
in polyculture with tilapia and carp. Consume less feed than tilapia since they are nibblers and slow
feeder.
o Nocturnal feeder so 40% of feed ration must be given at night. Feed on anything such as terrestrial
animal feeds, fish feeds, kitchen refuse etc.
o Possess may biological advantages for commercial culture including attaining maturation in captivity, a
relatively large size and rapid growth rate.
● Taxonomy
o Phylum: Arthropoda
o Subphylum: Crustacea
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 o Class: Malacostraca
o Order: Decapoda
o Sub-order: Pleocyemata
o Infraorder: Caridea/ Natantia
o Family Palaemonidae
o Macrobrachium rosenbergii, largest species known
● History
o 1914: Cowles discussed the geographical distribution of the species, the value of fishery and biology
o 1976: trials were conducted to culture freshwater prawn however the studies were never sustained. For
these trials, the collection of wild spawners and larval rearing of M. rosenbergii was conducted in
Misamis Oriental, Mindanao between 1967-1979. Post larval stage was attained but larval rearing lasted
only for 39 days.
o 1981: a local banker-industrialist established a 100-hectare commercial macrobrachium farm in Sta.
Rosa, Nueva Ecija and a hatchery in Bulacan. services of experts from Israel were utilized for the project.
marketable prawns were sold live in Metro Manila utilizing in-house retail outlets.
o 1992: Imported from Thailand by BFAR and trials were conducted by NFFTC which currently operates a
hatchery.
o 1999: Studies on hatchery management at NIFTDC.
o 2001: The commercial protocol that entail lower production cost but with higher survival rate was
developed.
● Top producers
o Native to tropical countries of Asia and the Pacific
o Endemic in the Philippines especially from river tributaries and lakes in the provinces of Ilocos, Cagayan,
Pangasinan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, Palawan, Bicol, Leyte etc. Locally known as ulang, udang, kising
kising, pafe, padao, aklig, budsang
● Species and variants
o M. americanum (Cauque river prawn – western watershed of Americas)
o M. carcinus (Painted river prawn – Atlantic)
o M. choprai (Ganges river prawn – Ganges river systems)
o M. lar (Monkey river prawn; from Africa to the Marquesas islands of the pacific; was introduced into
Hawaii, also grows to a large size, hatchery techniques have not yet been developed)
o M. malcolmsonii (Monsoon river prawn; Bangladesh, India, Pakistan)
o M. vollenhovenii (African river prawn – West Africa, from Senegal to Angola)
o Macrobrachium rosenbergii dacqueti: western form found in the waters of east coast of India, Bay of
Bengal, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
o Macrobrachium rosenbergii rosenbergii: eastern form found in Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New
Guinea and Australia. Four species caught in commercial quantity throughout the year in the country are
M. lepidactylus, M. idella, M. rude, M. mamillodactylus.
Life History
● Adults
○ Male has very long 2nd chelipeds in which all segments are elongate & have blunt spines.
○ Slow moving and hide in shade and under shelter in the shallow areas of rivers, canals and ponds during
daytime, but are very active during night time.
○ Adult males have strong territorial behaviour and individuals will maintain a clear area around
themselves within the radius of the sweep of their antennae into which no other members are allowed.
● Eggs and embryo
○ Incubation of fertilized eggs takes 18-21 days, depending on the temperature (28-30C). Berried female
aerates the eggs by movement of the pleopods. Number of eggs varies from 3,000 to 80,000.
○ Initially, yellowish to bright orange in color then gradually change to gray a few days before hatching.
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 ○ Mating and incubation take place in freshwater. Berried female may migrate to BW where eggs hatch or
larvae flow down the river to coastal zone.
● Larvae (zoea): 22-35 days to PL
○ Larvae complete their development in estuarine environment. Newly hatched larvae require
brackishwater within 1-2 days or they will die.
○ 11 distinct larval stage to PL. In captivity, all the larvae develop at the same pace up to stage IV
(synchronous larval development)
● Post-larvae (PL): 4 months to adult
○ After metamorphosis, PL settle to the bottom to become crawlers and like to cling to submerged objects
like fine-mesh netting and change to bottom feeders.
○ In this stage, they would migrate from coastal waters back to rivers and grow into adults.
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Males and females reach first maturity at 15-35 g within 4 to 6 months.
o Obtain by cast netting berried females from farm ponds containing adult animals. Broodstock
maintained in ponds, rather than in tanks, usually give better hatching rate and good healthy larvae.
o A female is capable of producing ~20,000 viable stage 1 larvae. As a rough guide, 1 g weight of berried
female produces 1,000 larvae.
o Food for broodstock: 40% crude protein
● Place of culture
o Larval rearing tanks must have good drainage (i.e. circular conical bottomed tank). If rectangular tanks
are used it is essential to slope them slightly towards the drain end. Interior is coated with pure epoxy
resin to provide a smooth surface which facilitates tank cleaning and reduces crevices for bacterial
growth
o Later-stage larvae (stages IV or V) are moved from conical tanks to U-shaped bottom tanks which have
greater bottom surface area and are thus more suitable for settling PL.
o Larvae should not be exposed to direct sunlight (90% of the flow-through tanks kept outdoors should be
covered). Replace natural light with artificial sources which contain the near-blue (non toxic) UV
wavelength. A level of 250-800 lux is recommended for commercial hatcheries.
o Allow BW to stand so sediments will settle. Chlorinate with 5 ppm active chlorine for 1 day. Remove
residual chlorine by vigorous aeration for 6 hours before use (sodium thiosulfate is an alternative to this
method but may be toxic to the larvae). Ozonation or UV light can also be used.
o Flow through or recirculation system (continuous circulation of the larval water through physical &
biological filters to remove solid & nitrogenous waste). Two types of flow-through: Clearwater and
Green water system – see back
● Sex Determination
o Mature male prawns are considerably larger than the females and the second chelipeds are much larger
and thicker. The head of the male is also proportionately larger, and the abdomen is narrower. As noted
above, the genital pores of the male are between at the base of the fifth walking legs. The female genital
pores are at the base of the third walking legs.

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 ● Spawning
o Blue and orange clawed males are preferred. During mating, male deposits sperm as gelatinous mass on
the ventral thoracic region between the periopods (walking legs) of the female. Female starts to lay eggs
about 5-6 hours after mating. As the eggs extrude, they are fertilized by the sperm attached to the
exterior of the female body.
o Healthy animal with large egg mass that are brown in color are selected. Berried females should be
disinfected before they are put into the hatch tanks. They are held in aerated freshwater with copper
sulfate or formalin solution to inhibit fungus like Lagenidium or fouling zooplankton like Zoothamnion or
Epistylis from growing on the egg mass.
o Berried females are placed in a tank (300 liters) where eggs are allowed to hatch (SD: 2-4 /m2, sex ratio:
4F: 1M). Keep temp at 25-30. Temp below 25 promote fungal growth on egg mass and above 30 may
lead to protozoa infection.
o Don’t feed 2-3 days before egg hatch. After the eggs are hatched (2-3 days for gray or brownish eggs; 3
weeks for orange eggs), spent females are removed. Females with orange eggs should be maintained at
0 ppt until the eggs start turning gray.
o Once the eggs have hatched and the mother prawns have been removed, increase salinity in the hatch
tank by 3 ppt until 12 ppt is reached.
Hatchery
● Stocking
o Stage 1 to PL (60-100 larvae/L)
o Two stage rearing: 500 stage 1 PL/L up to 10 days (Stage 5 or 6) then reduce density to 50 larvae/L
o Dilution rearing: 100 larvae/L into 35-45 cm water then gradually increase the water level (70-90 cm) as
animals grow
● Food for hatchery: Brine shrimp nauplii (Artemia), Cladoceran (Moina), Rotifer (Brachionus), fish eggs, egg
custard, tubifex worms, mussel (Lamellidens or Batissa violacea), ox liver
● Daily exchange of water is essential in maintaining an optimum environment for larval growth. Turn off air
supply to allow settling of solid particles stir water clock-wise or counter clock-wise siphon off sediments
from the bottom of the tank water exchange is 50% (rectangular tank) and 10% (circular conical tank). Done
after last feeding so no uneaten feed is left overnight in the tank or before feeding In the morning
● Day of culture: First PL are expected at about Day 23 and usually 90% metamorphose within the next 10 days
until day 32-35 (non-synchronous metamorphosis). Reduce water level in the tank to about 35 cm. Larval rearing
salinity is maintained at 12 ppt until metamorphosis, thereafter salinity is reduced to 6, 3 and 0 ppt by using
freshwater for water exchange at a rate of 50% per day.
● Two Aquaculture Technology Research Centers dispersing freshwater prawn seeds: 1) National Freshwater
Fisheries Technology Center (1992: M. rosenbergii imported from Thailand, 1998: Breeding trials in aquaria

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 succeeded by mass production in tanks); 2) National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center
(1999: studies on hatchery management)
Nursery/ Larvae
● PL holding before transport for stocking in ponds
o In 50 m3 concrete tanks with freshwater and substrates
o 5000 PL/m2 for one week or up to 1500-2000 PL/m2 for one month.
● Place of culture: Earthen ponds ~50 sq.m. with a depth of 0.8 to 1.5 m or cages or rectangular, flat bottom 5000
/l tanks at 25/m3 and reared for 2-5 weeks before stocking to grow-out ponds until they are 3-5 grams
o Artificial shelters are placed in the nursery ponds to serve as hiding place of the post larvae during
molting to prevent cannibalism and since PL are primarily bottom-dwelling organisms. These include:
twigs, bamboos, pipes, PVC or recycled materials like nets, bricks or stones, used mineral water bottles
● Food: Clam, snail or squid meat, shrimps and fish flesh and a variety of formulated pellet feeds
● Harvest: Reduce water level then collect them with fine-meshed nets
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Freshwater prawn farming should not be attempted where the water supply has a total hardness of
more than 150 mg/L (CaCO3)
o Lake-based cages (B-net, 10x20x1m)
● Stocking density
o Extensive 4-10 pcs/m2
o Semi-intensive 4-20 pcs/m2
o Intensive >50 pcs/m2
● System of management
o Continuous system: regular stocking of PL & culling of market sized fish. Problem: large dominant prawn
have negative impact on PL
o Batch system: Stocking each pond once then total drain during harvesting. Reduces dominance problem
but: Heterogenous individual growth (HIG, some grow faster and become dominant)
o Combined system: Stock pond once and cull-harvesting (selective) when some reach marketable size.
Reduce dominance and HIG problems
o Modified batch system developed in Puerto Rico: 60-90 d in nursery (200-400 PL/ m2) and 2-3 months in
juvenile pond (20-30 pcs/m2)
o Some farms do not have sufficient ponds and will by-pass the nursery phase and stock instead with 7-10
day old PL at 5-10/m2 and harvest after 5.5-6 months.
o New trend is monosex (all-male) culture since males grow faster and bigger than females.
● Day of culture: 4 to 5 months, harvest by seining the prawns using size 17 net (selective) or draining the pond
● Food
o Live or fresh food (termites, earthworms, insects), plant vegetable feedstuffs, formulated diets,
reformulated diets (ground tilapia feeds mixed with fish meal and starch as binder), chicken pellets (to
be given during first 2 months of culture), ground fish flesh mixed with cooked broken rice (to be given
after 2 mos of stocking), tilapia sinking pellets, trash fish
o Prawn pellets must be of the sinking types with good water stability because prawns are bottom
feeders. They feed slowly by holding a pellet in their claws and eating it bite by bite until the whole
pellet is gone
● Problems: Greatest is predation through humans (poaching), carnivorous fish (Snakehead or murrel can be kept
out by the use of fine net fences around the ponds and by screens placed at the inlet), crabs (removed by sinking
jars/traps in pond banks) and birds (minimized by food poisoning and shooting)
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 12 ppt

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 ● Temperature: Optimum is 28-31C. Above 33 is lethal to prawn larvae. Any sudden change of temperature by
more than 0.5 will have an adverse effect on prawn larvae.
● pH: 7.0-8.5
● Dissolved Oxygen: >5 ppm
● Turbidity: >25 cm
● Hardness: 50-100 ppm
● Ammonia: <1.5 ppm
● Un-ionized ammonia: <0.1 ppm

Commodity: Catfish
Basic Info
● Characteristics
o High market demand. Tender and delicious meat. Resistant to diseases and rapid growth.
o Can be stocked at high densities. Can survive in water with low DO. Tolerates low water quality
o Mostly freshwater. None of the saltwater species are being cultured because of few eggs.
o Bimodal respiration: a supra-branchial or accessory respiratory organ, composed of a pear-shaped air-
chamber containing 2 arborescent structures (covered by highly vascularized tissue which can absorb
oxygen from atmospheric air) allows the fish to survive for many hours out of the water or for many
weeks in muddy marshes.
o Carnivore: eats benthic organisms, worms, decomposing organic matter, insects, termites, chicken
entrail
o Scaleless, 4 pairs of barbels, can move over land using pectoral spines. Dorsal and anal fins containing
only soft fin rays
● Taxonomy
o Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Siluriformes
Family: Clariidae
● Top producers: Iloilo, Central Luzon, Davao City
● Species and variants
o Clarias gariepinus (African catfish): deep occipital process
o Clarias macrocephalus – native to the Philippines: blunt occipital process with small white spots along
sides of the body
o Clarias batrachus
Life History
● Adults
○ Undertake lateral migrations from the larger water bodies, in which they feed and mature at about the
age of 12 months, to temporarily flooded marginal areas in order to breed.
○ Most species of Clarias are slow foraging predators, with very small eyes, using their four pairs of
barbels to feel their way around in the dark and find food detected by the array of sensitive taste buds
covering the barbels and head.
● Eggs and embryo
○ The adhesive eggs stick to submerged vegetation and hatch in 20-60 hours, depending on temperature.
Sexual differentiation begins between 10 and 15 dys after atching.
● Larvae
○ Development is rapid and the larvae are capable of swimming within 48-72 hours after fertilization
○ Larvae are almost exclusively dependent on zooplankton for the first week of exogenous feeding
● Juveniles
○ As flooded marginal areas dry up with the end of the rains, juveniles and adults make their way back
to deeper water.
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Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Wild: 2-3 years
o Captivity: 6-8 months
o Can be obtained from lakes, rivers and other freshwater bodies. It can be stocked in earthen ponds or
concrete tanks with mud at the bottom. Breeding season varies but usually starts May.
● Place of culture
o Ponds
o Hapa (2-3 cubic meter) located in ponds. Advantage is that eggs are concentrated within the hapa where
they can be treated against fungal infections and hatchlings easily collected after yolk sac absorption.
Cover hapa to prevent breeders from jumping out.
o Concrete tanks with stony gravel substrate (serves as substrate for the released egg)
● Sex determination
o Males have elongated urogenital papillae around the anus. Females have simple round opening.
● Spawning
o Seasonal gonadal maturation is associated with the rainy season. Spawning usually takes place at night.
No parental care ensuring survival of the offspring. 2 females: 1 male per 100 m2
o Propagation can be: 1) Induced propagation without hormone treatment 2) Semi artificial reproduction
with hormone treatment (injection then spawning in tanks) and 3) artificial reproduction (stripping) –
produces a greater quantity of eggs
o Females spawn 700 eggs per kg BW (natural). About 20-90 eggs/ g BW can be stripped from a gravid
female after hormone injection. Artificial propagation involves inducing the gravid females to spawn by
anesthetizing female with 2-phenoxyethanol, injection of different hormones and manually stripping the
eggs after several hours. Male catfish (>200 g, >7 months old) are anesthetized and sacrificed. The male
reproductive tract (testes-seminal vesicles) is dissected, rinsed and macerated in 0.9% NaCl to obtain the
milt to fertilize the eggs. Place stripped eggs and milt in basin or bowl and mix for 30 to 60 seconds using
a feather. The eggs are fertilized by adding an equal volume of clean water.
o Incubation of fertilized eggs:
o Add 5 mL tap water, mix to endure fertilization then transfer fertilized eggs to a scoop net. Wash with
running water to remove excess milt. Spread the eggs on a net tray inside a flow-through hatching
trough or basin (Hatchlings will pass through the screen and the dead eggs and shells remain on the
screen). Maintain a water level of about 10 cm.
o Eggs are allowed to stick to the roots of floating water hyacinth or Nile cabbage/water lettuce or brush.
After hatching, the larvae sink to the bottom of the hapa and egg shells/ dead eggs remain stuck to the
roots

Inject females with: Strip after:

1 pituitary gland (homogenized)/ 100 g BW 13-14 h, pulverize in mortar, mixed w/ physiological salt
solution
4 I.U. of HCG/g BW 13-18 h, expensive
0.05 µg LHRHa + 1 µg pimozide (PIM)/g BW 16-20 h
0.5 µL Ovaprim/g BW 16-20 h
0.2-0.5 µL Ovatide/g BW 16-20 h
2.5-5 mg Desoxycorticosteroid Acetate/100 g BW Suspended in oil which causes severe ulcers on the female
Hatchery
● Eggs hatch 24-30 hours after fertilization. After 3 to 4 days, the yolk sac will be absorbed. Feed larvae with
natural food organisms such as newly hatched Artemia and Moina for 4 days.

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 ● Transfer 4-6 day old larvae at 30/liter in bigger tanks with 10-15 cm water level. Aerate mildly, place shelters at
the bottom and feed with Artemia, Moina and wean to formulate diets (44% crude protein). Transfer to nursery
system on day 15.
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Catfish fry are heavier and longer when grown in ponds (smaller better than larger ponds) than in tanks:
when reared at a SD of 200/ sqm than 400-1,000/ sqm, when fed with formulated diet (34% CP) than
those given with commercial diets or a combination of blanched chicken entrails and rice bran
Grow-out
● Area for culture: Ponds 50-3,000 m2 with a depth of 0.7 – 2.0 m. inner side of dikes must be firm to prevent
catfish from burrowing through and escaping.
● Removal of tadpoles (Rana occipitalis, Ptychadena pumilio, Xenopus tropicalis) is essential since they compete
for the same food resources within the pond. They feed on the phytoplankton which is needed by the
zooplankton which is consumed as food by catfish larvae.
● Stocking density: 5-20 fingerlings/m2
● Day of culture: 3-5 months from 3-5 g to 80-200 g
● Food
o Diets containing 35-42% crude protein

Commodity: Eels
Basic Info
● Characteristics
o Anguila are aquatic breathing fish that require high concentrations of oxygen. Transport elvers in small
bamboo-woven baskets or wooden boxes. If travel time exceeds 24 h, oxygen-pack the eels in
polyethylene bags with a water level almost two thirds of the total area
o Because monopterus are air-breathing, transport them in open-mouth buckets or earthen pots with a
small water column and aquatic weeds floating on the surface. Hatchlings are aquatic breathers so do
not transport them at the very tiny stages unless circumstances demand so.
o The world demand for river eels has been increasing mainly because of the market expansion of some
delicacies such as the kabayaki (broiled eel with sweet soy sauce) in East Asia.
o 2009: CITES added European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in CITES Appendix II in 2009
● Taxonomy
o Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Anguillidae
● Top producers
o Abundant in Cagayan Province (northern Luzon), Albay and Camarines Norte (Eastern Luzon), Iloilo and
Negros Occidental (Central Philippines) and North Cotabato and Zamboanga del Sur (Mindanao)
● Species and variants
o Anguila: water breathers
▪ 16 species worldwide, 4 species in the Philippines: A. bicolor (=A.pacifica, A.spengeli, worth
culturing), A. marmorata (A.mauritiana), A. celebensis, A. japonica (highly favoured)
o Monopterus: air-breathers
▪ 6 species in Asia. 1 endemic species in the Philippines (M. albus)
▪ Species worth culturing: M. albus (ricefield eel), M. cuchia (swamp eel)
Life History
● Adults

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 ○ Anguila are catadromous (spends early stage in freshwater and migrates to the sea, where they move to
the spawning grounds).
○ Monopterus do not migrate during spawning.
○ Eels breed in the deep sea.
● Eggs and embryo
○ Eggs hatch into elongated leaf-shaped larvae called leptocephali; attain a length of about 40-70 mm and
planktonic for 6-18 months.
● Larvae - leaf-shaped larvae is called leptocephali
○ Upon reaching relatively shallower depth of the sea, the leptocephali reduced body length and depth
transforming and metamorphose into the familiar cylindrical shape- now referred to as elvers or glass
eels characterized by the absence of body pigments and the internal organs (heart, vertebrae, stomach,
etc.) are visible through its transparent body; migrates into estuaries and brackish water such as lower
reaches of rivers and creeks.
● Juveniles
○ Upon completion of the body pigmentation and reaching the juvenile stage, there are now known as the
yellow (color of the belly) and brown (color of the back) eels; inhabit rivers, swamps, and lakes for 8-10
yrs then develop into sexually mature “silver eels” with mature gonads then migrate to the deep sea to
breed and perhaps eventually die.
Hatchery/ Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Anguila mature in 5-10 years. Cannot be bred in captivity.
o Monopterus are sexually mature in 10-12 months. Can be bred in captivity and can be reproduced by
breeding.
● For Monopterus:
o Prepare a tank where the water does not necessarily need to be highly oxygenated. The eels are
burrowing in habit. Use a strong material (such as cement or polyethylene sheets) for the base so that
the eels do not burrow in very deep and make it difficult to be retrieved.
o Layering of tank:
1st layer: 10 cm mud
2nd layer: 10 cm straw previously cured for a week
3rd layer: 10 cm finely chopped banana trunks cut a week before
4th: 10 cm cow or carabao manure. Use only that w/c is dark-mud in appearance
5th and top layer: mud, placed in a slope with one end higher than the other
o Put water 15 cm above the top layer. Allow materials to decompose for a week. Drain the water out and
put fresh water. Repeat this process every week for 20-25 days until no more froth appears
o Introduce tilapia or carp fingerlings to test if the tank is ready for culturing eels. If the fish do not die in 3
days, the tank is ready for the introduction of eel. Before introduction of eel, plant aquatic plants such as
water hyacinth or kangkong on the top soil to protect eel from direct sunlight and serve as hiding place
o For a 1 x 2 x 1 m tank, introduce 95-100 eels with a ratio of 70 females and 30 males
● For Anguila
o Because these are aquatic breathers, a pond/ tank where water is highly oxygenated is necessary.
Construct 1 x 4x 1.5 m twin tanks with an outlet at the bottom. Do not use mud
o Spray the water to be introduced using a simple spraying device. The tiny particles of water falling into
the tank carry a good amount of atmospheric oxygen. In a few days, water will turn green indicating
presence of phytoplankton. Use spraying device or automatic or manual paddle wheels if eels are
choking
o Instead of concrete tanks, dug-out ponds can be used. Pond bottom should be layered with pebbles to
facilitate netting. Provide shelter as eels avoid light
o Stocking density of pencil-sized eels: 50-100 kg per m2
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 o When properly fed, 70% of the eels will attain a weight of 250 g in 8-9 months
 Fry capture from the wild
o Glass eels are captured around the shores of France, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom and
either used nationally or exported to eel farmers in other countries. Some glass eel fishing in Spain
and Portugal uses scoop nets and traps. In France they are caught by small trawlers using wing nets
and trawls. The only legal fishing gear for this purpose in the UK is the scoop net.
● Food
o Fish, snails, aquatic insects, invertebrates, worms, slaughterhouse wastes
● Sex determination
o M. albus is protogynous: females first and later develop into males
o <30 cm (females), >40 cm (males)
o 30-40 cm: hermaphrodites or at the sex-reversing stage; prone to cannibalism
Nursery
● At first the glass eels (~0.33 g each) are kept in smaller tanks of 3-4 m² for quarantine purposes. The density at
this stage is 10-15 kg/m². When the eels reach approximately 5 g they are transferred to a juvenile production
unit with larger tanks (6-8 m²) and stocking densities (50-75 kg/m²). At this point the eels can digest dry feed
pellets (1 mm).
Grow-out
 Extensive pond systems
o The traditional form of eel culture in Europe is in ponds of about 100-350 m². When eels reach
marketable size they are transferred to larger ponds (1000-1500 m²). The ponds may be static or flow-
through. The best temperature range in ponds is 18-25 °C.
 Intensive culture in recirculation systems
o These systems consist of square or circular tanks from 25-100 m², usually built of cement or fibreglass.
The eels are stocked at a size of 50 g. Densities reach up to 100-150 kg/m². Extruded dry feed (1.5-3
mm) is fed automatically several times a day. Individual growth rates are very different, and grading
every 6 weeks is necessary in order to reach a high overall growth performance.
 Valliculture
o Eels are also extensively cultured in marine and brackish waters within a form of aquaculture known as
valliculture. In these Mediterranean systems, mainly in Italy, in the north Adriatic, elvers of 15-35 g are
stocked at the rate of 4-15 kg/ha. The elvers are mainly imported from France but also from Denmark,
the Netherlands and Sweden.

Commodity: Asian Catfish Pangasius

Basic Info
● Characteristics
o Native to Mekong River drainage in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand but has been introduced to other
countries for aquaculture as a food and ornamental fish
o Known as tra in Vietnam, basa, pangas or Pangasius in the world market. Vietnam Pangasius is marketed
to 40 countries as frozen fillets and 80 countries as value added products. When sold at small size for
aquarium grade it is marketed as the iridescent shark or mystic shark.
o Tropical warm water catfish which grows to a maximum size of 8 kg. Highly resistant to crowding, low
oxygen, grows well on less expensive, lower protein feeds.
● Taxonomy
o Phylum Chordata
o Class Actinopterygii
o Order Siliformes
o Family Pangasiidae
● History

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 o 1990: fingerlings were collected seasonally from the river and supply was limited
o 1995: development of hormone spawning and fry rearing technique
o 1999-2002: Basa catfish fillets exported to the US increased affecting US catfish farming industry
resulting in import restrictions and higher tariffs which apply only to Vietnam
● Species and variants
o Includes 21 species distributed throughout South East Asia. P. hypopthalamus and P. bocorti are the
most important aquaculture species in the region

Life History
 Like all Pangasiid species, P. hypophthalmus is a highly migratory riverine fish species that makes long-distance
migrations over several hundred kilometres (potamodromous) between upstream refuge and spawning
habitats and downstream feeding and nursery habitats. P. hypophthalmus is omnivorous, feeding on algae,
higher plants, zooplankton, and insects, while larger specimens also take fruit, crustaceans and fish.
 This species is benthopelagic. Females take at least three years to reach sexual maturity in captivity (being then
over 3 kg in weight), while males often mature in their second year, probably taking about the same time in
the wild. A mature 10 kg female can spawn over one million eggs. Wild broodstock typically spawn twice
annually but in cages in Viet Nam have been recorded as spawning a second time 6 to 17 weeks after the first
spawning.
 The life cycle of P. hypophthalmus is intimately tied to the annual monsoon flood cycle, with spawning taking
place in May - June at the start of the monsoon season. In the dry season this and other species congregate
and shelter in the deeper refuge areas. The spawning habitat consists of rapids and sandbanks interspersed
with deep rocky channels and pools. The eggs are sticky eggs and are deposited onto the exposed root systems
of rheophilic tree species like Gimenila asiatica.

Hatchery/ Broodstock
● Age at maturity: after 2 years
● Sex determination: Females are larger than males. Ripe males release milt when gentle pressure is applied to
the lower abdomen.
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 ● Spawning
o Females can produce 50,000 eggs/kg. Mature eggs are ~1mm in diameter and are strongly adhesive
after spawning. Individual females may be spawned more than once during the spawning season.
o Selected fish are placed in holding tanks. Hormone injections (HCG and Oviprim) to induce ovulation are
given twice to the female at 8 hour intervals. Males are injected once at the first time of the first
injection of the female. . Broodstock are spawned in single pairs or in larger numbers and are usually dry
stripped
o Release of eggs occur 8-10 hours after second injection. Eggs are stripped from the female and added
with milt from the male and mixed for 1 minute to ensure fertilization. Eggs are scattered over spawning
mats placed in aerated hatching tanks.
o Hatching occurs 24 hours later. Larvae are free swimming upon hatching and begin to feed on newly
hatched artemia 48 hours after hatching. After 3 to 7 days, fry are stocked in nursery ponds
Nursery
● Nursing is done in 2 separate stages to reduce stocking density. In the first nursing phase larvae are stocked at
400-500/m2 just prior to yolk sac absorption, so that natural feeds are available and the larvae have enough
space to avoid cannibalism. Water is only topped up and is not exchanged during the nursery phase unless water
quality deterioration is obviously causing stress. Boiled egg yolk and soybean meal mixed into an emulsion is fed
5 -6 times a day for the first 2 weeks. Thereafter commercial pellets are fed.
 After 4 weeks, following a 24 hour starvation period the nursery ponds are partially (about 1/3 depth) gravity
drained and then pumped dry, and the 0.3-1 g fry are harvested by seine net and transferred and stocked at
150-200/m2 in another pre-prepared pond without Moina. Typical larvae to fry survival rate during the first
nursing stage is 40-50 per cent. In the second nursing stage, from fry to 14-20 g fingerlings, survival rates over
the 2 month nursing period are typically 60-70 per cent.
 In the Mekong delta of Vietnam the majority of fingerlings are transported from nursery facilities to grow-out
farms in transport tanks with continuously pumped water that are carried in boats. Fingerling transport is done
early in the morning to avoid direct sunlight. Transportation of fingerlings overland is less commonly conducted;
this involves using metal drums with car battery powered aeration. Additionally, transportation overland for
very short distances can be carried out in metal drums without aeration.
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Large floating cages or pens suspended in rivers or in earthen ponds
o Earthen ponds (typically ranging from 1 000 to 10 000 m2) are of simple design and are sited adjacent to
or near river tributaries. Producers aerate the ponds and exchange water for several hours daily during
the culture period by tidal exchange and pumping; this reduces muddy off-flavour and produces whiter
flesh. Despite recommendations from government extension agencies to stock 20-40 fish/m2, intensive
monoculture ponds are usually stocked at 40-60/m2, with some grow-out farmers stocking even higher.
o Net cages are sited on major river tributaries of the Mekong River delta and range in size from 50 to 1
600 m3 with larger cages commonly having living quarters above the water. Ongrowing cages are
typically stocked at 100-150/m3 and yields are typically 100-120 kg/m3/crop. Stocking densities for pen
systems are typically 40-60/m2.
● Stocking density
o Can be stocked as high as 120/m2
Optimum Parameters
● Dissolved Oxygen: can survive as low as 0.05 to 0.1 ppm
● Temperature: 22-26C
● pH: 6.5-7.5

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Commodity: Carps
Basic Info
● Taxonomy
Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Family Cyprinidae
● History
o Bighead carp introduced in 1968 by BFAR
● Top Producers
o Only 8 reported a production of >1000 tons
▪ Bangladesh ▪ Iran
▪ China ▪ Laos
▪ Taiwan ▪ Malaysia
▪ Egypt
▪ India
● Species and variants
o Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)
▪ A biological aquatic weed control in natural waterways, lakes and man-made lakes
▪ Has a specialized pharyngeal teeth for rasping aquatic vegetation
▪ Food
● Fry 7-9 mm TL- protozoa, rotifers and nauplii
● 12 mm TL- plus cladocerans and copepods
● 13-17 mm TL- cladocerans, copepods and benthic algae
● 17-23 mm TL- organic detritus
● 30 mm TL- phytoplankton and minute algae
● >30 mm TL- exclusively macrovegetation and softer land plants
● Fry and larger fish also take cereal brans, oilcakes, silkworm pupae, kitchen refuse and
dung which are given as supplementary food
o Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
▪ 1-3d old fry 7-9mm TL- feed on zooplankton, rotifers and copepod nauplii
▪ Fry- copepods, cladocerans and phytoplankton
▪ Large fry and adults- dinoflagellates, diatoms, etc, primarily phytoplankton and secondarily
zooplankton
o Bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis)
▪ Larvae- feed mainly on unicellular planktonic organisms, nauplii and rotifers
▪ Fry and adults- diatoms, dinoflagellates, etc
o Common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
▪ 4 subspecies:
▪ C. carpio carpio- European area
▪ C. c. aralensis- mid-Asian region
▪ C. c. haematopterus- Far Eastern region
▪ C. c. viridivio-laceus- Vietnam
▪ Has numerous varieties and sub-varieties or strains
● Big-belly carp (China)
● Long-bodied carp (China)
● -colored carp C. carpio var. flavipinnis (Indonesia)
● Mirror carp C. carpio var specularis
● Russian mirror carp C. carpio var. specularis
● Scale carp C. c. var. communis
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 ● Leather carp C. c. var. nudus
● Japanese races
▪ Food
● Postlarvae 10 mm- cladocerans, water flea, nauplii, Cyclops
● 10-20 mm- Cyclops, rotifers, cladocerans, Moina, nauplii, BGA, diatoms
● > 10 cm- thrive on decayed vegetable matter containing bottom dwelling organisms,
notably tubificids, mollusks, chironomids, ephemerids and tyrichopterans
● Common carp dig and burrow into pond embankments and sides in search of organic
matter
● Gulp mud, sift bottom making pond water turbid
o Catla (Catla catla)
o Fastest growing of the major Indian carps
o Rohu (Labeo rohita)
o A bottom and column feeder and prefers to feed on plant matter including decaying vegetation
o Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala)
o A detritus eater with a narrow range in food variety; subsists mainly on decayed vegetation
o Goldfih (Carassius auratus)
Life History
● Adults
○ Carp are omnivorous, with a high tendency towards the consumption of animal food, such as water
insects, larvae of insects, worms, molluscs, and zooplankton. Zooplankton consumption is dominant in
fish ponds where the stocking density is high. Additionally, the carp consumes the stalks, leaves and
seeds of aquatic and terrestrial plants, decayed aquatic plants, etc. The pond farming of carp is based on
the ability of the species to accept and utilize cereals supplied by the farmers.
○ The spawning of European carp starts when the water temperature is 17-18 °C. Asian strains start to
spawn when the ion concentration of the water decreases abruptly at the beginning of the rainy season.
Wild carps are partial spawners. Domesticated carps release all their matured eggs within a few hours.
After hormonal treatment carp release their ripe eggs within a much shorter period, which makes
stripping possible. The quantity of released eggs is 100 to 230 g/kg body weight. The egg shell becomes
sticky after contacting water.
● Eggs and embryo
○ Fertilized or unfertilized fish released by the fish in the breeding process
○ The egg shell becomes sticky after contacting water. The embryonic development of carp takes about 3
days at 20-23 °C. Under natural conditions, hatched fry stick to the substrata. About three days after
hatching the posterior part of the swim bladder develops, the larvae swim horizontally, and start to
consume external food with a maximum size of 150-180 µm (mainly rotifers).
● Larvae
○ Hatched larva not carrying exogenous food but carrying own yolksac and generally performing only
vertical movements
● Post-larvae
○ Larva after absorption of yolksac, eating exogenous food and swimming in all directions
● Fry
○ Young fish measuring approximately 2-2.5 cm TL
● Juveniles
○ Young fish measuring 2.5-13 cm TL
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o In the Philippines, bighead carps attain sexual maturity at about 2 years of age when fish weigh 2-3 kg
● Place of culture
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 o Spawning on nests, aquatic weeds and inundated grass in tanks and ponds
▪ Carp may spawn throughout the year in tropical areas of India, with peaks in January-March and
July-August. Breeding is carried out in hapas, cement tanks or small ponds. Submerged aquatic
plants are used as substrata for egg laying. When the fry are 4 to 5 days old, they are stocked
into nursery ponds. The 'Sundanese method' is used for spawning carp in Indonesia. The
broodfish are kept in broodfish ponds, segregated by sex. Matured broodfish are transferred to
25-30 m² spawning ponds. 'Kakabans' (nests made of the fibre of Arenga species) are installed
into the ponds. The fish lay their eggs on both sides of the kakabans. When spawning is
completed, the nests are transferred to hatching/nursing ponds. Small ponds are used for
spawning carp in China. Aquatic weeds (Ceratophyllum, Myriophyllum) or floating palm leaves
are used as spawning substrata. Small 'Dubits ponds' (120-300 m² water surface area) were used
for spawning, and for short nursing of carp fry in Europe in the past. More recently, ponds with
an area from a few hundred m² up to 10-30 ha are used here. Two to four weeks after spawning,
the fry can either be harvested from these large ponds, or may remain there up for rearing to
fingerling size.
o Hatchery based seed production
▪ This is the most effective and reliable method of seed production. Broodfish are kept in water
saturated with oxygen, within the temperature range of 20-24 ºC. They are given two doses of
pituitary gland injection, or a mixture of GnRH/dopamine antagonist, to induce ovulation and
spermiation. The eggs are fertilized (applying the 'dry method') and the adhesiveness of the eggs
is eliminated using salt/urea treatment, followed by a tannin acid bath (the 'Woynarovich
method'). Incubation is carried out in Zoug jars. The hatched fry are kept in large conical tanks
for 1 to 3 days, and are usually stocked at the stage of 'swim-up' or 'feeding fry' into properly
prepared ponds. Approximately 300 000 to 800 000 newly hatched fry can be expected from a
single female.
● Sex determination
o Males attain 1st gonad maturity earlier than the females.
o Female broodstock is bigger than male.
o Females- have soft palpable abdomen with swollen and reddish genital papilla; good quality eggs are
grayish to greenish.
o Males- rough or callous pectoral fins and whose head and body surfaces are rough to touch; express
milt when a slight pressure is applied on the abdomen
● Food
● Spawning
o LHRHa – Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue. HCG – human chorionic gonadotropin
o A dopamine antagonist (e.g. pimozide or domperidone) is sometimes used
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Shallow, aquatic weed-free drainable ponds of 0.5 to 1.0 ha are the most suitable for carp nursing.
● Stocking Density: The stocking density is 100-400 fry/m².
● Days of culture: 3-4 weeks
● Food
o Moina, Daphnia, supplementary feeds, such as soybean meal, cereal meals, meat meal, rice bran or rice
polishings
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: up to 5 ppt
● Temperature: 23-30 C
● pH: 6.5-9.0
● Dissolved Oxygen: can survive as low as 0.3-0.5 ppm
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Page 245
Commodity: Mud Crab
Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ Two pairs of antennae between the eyes detect minute changes in water currents and chemistry. Below
the antennae there are two small openings through which urine is excreted.
○ Mouth is covered by six layers of paired appendages. After larger food organisms are crushed by the
claws, they are passed to the outer mouthparts where hard indigestible fragments are sorted and
discarded. The remaining soft choice tissues are then passed to the inner (sixth) pair of stout jaws
(mandibles) where pieces are bitten off and swallowed.
○ Claws (chelae) have different functions: left (cutter), right (crusher). Males’ crusher is bigger than
females but up until a CW of ~10 cm, gross morphology of males and females are essentially the same.
○ Food location is by contact chemoreception using the dactyls of their walking legs. The fifth pair of
walking legs are flattened into paddle-like structures that are used in swimming. They have the ability to
release legs or claws if handled roughly (autotomy).
● Taxonomy
○ Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Order Decapoda
Family Portunidae
Genus Scylla
● Species and variants
○ S. serrata – giant or king
○ S. tranquebarica – purple/ lawodnon
○ S. paramamosain – orange
○ S. olivacea – green/ native/ pulahan
○ S. serrata prefers more oceanic waters (28-35 ppt) while the other three species prefer less saline
waters (18-25). It has also the least impact on earthen structures in terms of burrowing behaviour.
Life History
● Adults
○ Courtship and mating in brackishwater. After mating, mature female migrates into the open sea where
they spawn. Spawned eggs are attached to the pleopod of the abdomen or tail flap of the female.
Berried female migrate to brackishwater.
● Eggs and embryo
○ Egg incubation is 7-14 days. Eggs hatch into zoea and go through 5 molts, after which they become free-
swimming megalopa. Megalopa molts once into the 1st crab stage (C1) which is more crab-like in
appearance
○ 1st 3 zoeal stages: zooplankton
○ Zoea 3 to megalopa stage: Artemia
● Crablet
○ Migrate to estuaries, tidal beaches of some rivers and mangrove areas
○ Crablets: adult Arteima, finely chopped mollusks, trash fish
● Adults
○ As crabs grow and during cooler months, the intermoult period increases. More active nocturnally.
○ Spawning migrations of female from mangrove forests across reef flats to offshore habitats. A month
after, young crabs migrate towards the brackishwater.
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Reach sexual maturity within 3-6 months
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 ● Place of culture: Maturation tanks – typically large (>10 m3), shallow (80-100 cm deep) tanks are used
o Incubation tanks – relatively small (100-500 liters)
o Hatching tank
● Food
o Mussel (Perna viridis) meat, mixed seafood (squid, fish, marine worms).
o Sufficient lipids (10%) and fatty acids are needed in broodstock diets to enhance gonad development,
hatching and larval metamorphosis.
o As crabs are most active at night, more feed should be provided in the latest feed of the day
● Sex determination
o Heterosexual and show obvious sexual dimorphism. Immature female – triangular shaped abdomen.
Mature female- broader, semi-circular shaped abdomen. Males – T shaped abdomen.
● Spawning
o A minimum weight of 200 to 300 grams for broodstock and 450 grams for spawners are desired. The
king crab is sexually matured when the width of its carapace reaches 14 cm and it weighs 450 grams
while the other mud crabs can spawn even if its carapace is still below 10 cm and weigh 300 grams. Mud
crabs become mature and mate when they are 4 months old. Wild broodstock have better reproductive
performance than pond-reared broodstock.
o Maturation/ broodstock tank: 1.5/m2. Low light conditions and inclusion of shelters in the broodstock
tank minimize stress levels, leading to better reproductive performance. Female mud crabs require
access to a sandy bottom to spawn their eggs successfully so place a sand tray. By excavating a
depression and extending her abdomen over it, a chamber is created allowing extruded eggs to attach
successfully to the setae of her pleopods.
o Males guard females, cradling them prior to their moult. The male carries the female underneath him
using three pairs of walking legs. The male can successfully mate and transfer spermatophores (packets
of sperm) into the female’s spermathecum once she has molted and is soft shelled. During copulation
(last 7-18 hours), the male turns the female upside down. The female stays in the protection of the male
until her shell is fully hardened and clasp for for 5 to 7 days to fertilize the eggs. Spawning occurs whole-
year round. Peak: May-September. Females release 1-6 million eggs per female. Females retain sperm
after mating so that 2-3 egg masses can be produced without the intervention of a male.
o Two methods of spawning: the natural and the induced. In the natural method, the mud crab is left in
the tanks until they become sexually mature and spawn. For induced spawning, the most common
method used is ablation where one (unilateral ablation) or both (bilateral ablation) of the mud crab's
eye stalks are crushed or cut. Eyeball is incised with a sharp blade and contents are squeezed out
o The advantage of unilateral ablation is that the mud crab can spawn again while in bilateral ablation the
mud crab dies after hatching the eggs. In both cases, observe the mud crabs closely until the eggs fill the
abdominal flap.
o Since ablation increases the appetite of the mud crabs, feed the mud crabs more until the eggs are
hatched. A separate incubation tank is required because the egg mass is highly susceptible to parasitic,
bacterial and fungal infection. Incubation ranges from 7 to 13 days. At this time, the berried (pregnant)
crabs should be transferred to another tank without the substrate. Expect the eggs to hatch when the
eggs turn from light orange to dark grey. Due to the large number of larvae, a separate hatching tank is
used
Hatchery
● Place of culture
o Tanks filled with 5-10 tons of filtered seawater with 34 ppt salinity. When tanks are not being examined,
they can be covered with plastic or similar sheeting to avoid temperature fluctuation (must be within
±0.5C) in tanks and control aerosol sprays.
o Can be: circular tanks with conical base, hemispherical round tanks, parabolic and rectangular tanks.
Larvae grown in black tanks have higher survival rates.
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 o The more oceanic the source of marine water, the better, as this reflects the offshore water conditions
under which mud crab eggs hatch naturally. Direct strong sunlight should be avoided. But below 1000
lux, larvae eat less and have increased mortality rates. 24 hour light exhibit decreased survival compared
with 12 hour light/ dark cycle.
o All functional areas are adequately separated to minimize the risk of pathogens spreading between
different parts of the operation.
o Newly spawned zoea are phototactic, a light shone on a darkened spawning tank will attract larvae
towards it and the the surface of the tank
● Food
o Microalgae: while crab larvae may consume this, their nutritional value is relatively low compared with
live feed especially those with EPA and DHA. This include Tetraselmis, Nannochloropsis, Microalgal
pastes and Instant Algae of Tetraselmis, Nannochloropsis, Isochrysis and Thalassiosira. Live feed: rotifers
and Artemia. Enrichment products on live feeds such as Vitamin C improves metamorphosis of z5 to
megalopa
o Two main methods for producing rotifers:
1. Low intensity – densities range from 100 to 300/mL. Utilizes on-site cultured live algae as feed.
2. High intensity – densities range from 500 to 1,500/ mL. Utilizes concentrated algal pasts. Reduces the number
of rotifer production tanks required for a hatchery. Uses water exchange to manage water quality as
opposed to the static, batch-culture rotifer system resulting in lower levels of bacterial pathogens
● Stocking density: 30-200 mud crab zoea1 larvae/ liter
● Harvest
o As zoea 5 mud crab larvae metamorphose to the megalopa stage, there can be significant cannibalism
by megalopae on zoea 5 larvae that have yet to go through metamorphosis
o Ideal culture and food conditions are needed to improve synchrony at which larvae undertake
metamorphosis. Separate megalopae from tanks with mixed larval population to minimize cannibalism
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Tanks with soil (10 cm thick) inoculated with lablab. For large tanks, line them with mud substrate that
has been seeded with lab-lab. Surface area of tanks is most important. Commonly, nursery tanks are
rectangular with a flat base or fiberglass with sloping floor to a sump (drainage). Must be covered with
roof to filter out direct sunlight or prevent rain from entering the tanks. Include shelters (bunches of
netting, leaf fronds, straw, PVC cut-offs, artificial sea grass.
o Hapa nets (Net cages) with 1-2 mm mesh size and dimension 1m x 1 mx 1.5 m. Install the nets in a
canvass-lined earthen pond. Line the hapa net bottom with 3-5 cm thick mud substrate. Survival is
higher here than in earthen ponds.
o Earthen ponds – Gracilaria, netting, straw or other shelters as habitat for crablets or mud as best surface
for megalopae to settle on to become crablets. Surrounded by a short fence (height 20-40 cm)
constructed of relatively fine mesh (1-2 cm) netting to ensure crablets cannot walk away. The fence
becomes more effective if the top of the net is covered with plastic sheeting which the crablets cannot
climb over.
● Food
o Artemia are given to megalopae prior to settlement. Once settled, formulated feeds or diets of trash fish
or mollusc can be sued to feed crablets. Diets of 45-55% crude protein and 9-15% lipid.
● Stocking Density
o 1-2000 megalopae/ m2 (ponds), 50-70 megalopae/ m2 (net cages)
● Days of culture
o 3-4 weeks (CW: 1 cm)
Grow-out
● Area for culture
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 o Brackishwater ponds – dig up trench canals parallel to the dikes when polycultured with milkfish. In
monoculture, trenches are not needed but ponds should be provided with a water depth of 80-100 cm.
To prevent escape of crabs each pond is fenced with bamboo or nylon net (1-2 cm mesh size). Above the
water level, a plastic sheet covers the bamboo support.
▪ Some ponds have raised areas or mounds within them that enable crabs to leave the pond from
time to time, to mimic the periodic exposure that occurs in the natural environment and used as
feeding stations also
▪ Elevation must be more than 1 meter but not more than 10 meters above the highest
astronomical tide (HAT) level. Ponds constructed in land less than 1 meter above HAT cannot be
drain harvested during high tides whilst very elevated sites require more energy for pumping.
o Cages - dimension of 2.0 m x 0.70 m x 0.25 m. Green nylon net with 12 mm mesh size is used for side
walling, bottom flooring and top movable cover. The cage is divided into 3 main divisions and each
division is further subdivided into 8 cells for a total of 24 cells per cage.
▪ Floats are provided at the sides of the cage. The cage is set at the fringes of the water at lowest
tide such that about 3/4 of cage height is submerged in water. Coconut fronds are placed on top
of the cage to shelter crabs from the sun during lowest tide. Lean marketable size crabs are
stocked at one crab per cell.
o Pen - The net enclosure is made of green polyethylene net with 1 – 2 cm mesh size and wooden posts as
structural framework. The upper portion of the net should extend not less than 30 cm above the water
mark of the highest tide level and the lower end embedded about 50 to 70 cm below the surface to
minimize the risk of mud crabs burrowing under the walls of the pens.
▪ The top edge of the enclosure is lined with 30 cm plastic strip/sheet to prevent mud crabs from
climbing over the top. A 50 cm dike is built around the enclosure to retain additional water
during lowest tide.
▪ A wooden gate is installed to drain water every 7 days to allow exposure of mangrove roots.
Continuous submergence of the roots will lead to the death of mangroves. Ditches or canal are
constructed at a depth of 20 – 40 cm depth to serve as refuge of the crabs during lowest tide.
Low tidal ranges and low-to-medium density mangroves are preferred. But height of pens must
be higher than maximum tides so that stock cannot simply swim out of the pen
▪ Have an inner nursery structure that can be used to hold very small stock for a limited period of
time, until they are large enough to be retained in the main pen structure
o Crab fattening – after molting, crab musculature takes some time to grow to fill its new shell, so the crab
is referred to as “empty”, “thin”, or a “water crab”. Fattening is the process whereby “empty crabs” are
held and fed for a period, often a few weeks until they are full of meat and ready to market. Done in
pens, tanks and cages and their claws are tied allowing high SD (3-5/ m2)
o Silviculture and Canal Systems – to counter mangrove damage, large areas of new mangrove forests
have been planted to provide lumber. These are constructed around canal systems to ensure adequate
circulation and drainage allowing low-intensity culture of mud crabs (0.05 crabs/ m2), both in canals and
within the new mangrove forests themselves.
o Cellular systems – crabs are kept in individual containers (or cells) for grow-out, fattening or soft-shell
production to mitigate against the risk of cannibalism. It can be river, coastal or pond-based as long as
oxygen demand in these high density grow-out systems are met
● Stocking density
o 5,000 to 10,000/ha or to 30,000/ha (semi-intensive)
o Male crabs have significantly higher final weight than female crabs. Stocking monosex mud crabs can
simplify post-harvest processing and may minimize aggressive behaviour between crabs associated with
sexual maturity also survival was higher for monosex that mixed sex crabs
o Polyculture: mud crab (5,000-10,000/ha) + milkfish (500-2,500/ ha) or shrimp (10,000-20,000/ ha)

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 o At the farm, crablets should be put in basins with a small amount of water from the pond for which they
are intended to acclimatize.
● Day of culture
● Food
o Trash fish, mollusks, crustaceans, polychaetes, slaughter wastes, fish wastes, horse mussels,
brackishwater snails, shrimp heads (be cautious may result in disease transfer), golden snails (Pomacea
caniculata), telescope snails (Telescopium telescopium), small bivalves. They are capable of catching live
fish and shrimps, seizing them with their chelae. Lower feeding rates are expected in cooler months
o Supplemental formulated feeds (high protein – 32-42%, high lipid – 6-12%). They have high apparent
digestibility coefficient for cellulose, soybean and rice bran in formulated diets, together with their
ability to consume starches.
o They are messy eaters when compared to shrimp, handling feed with their claws; so for crab feed
wastage to be minimized, a good binder needs to be found.
o In pens, feeding is usually undertaken before or during an incoming tide, as this is when crabs emerge
from their burrows in the mud to feed.
● Harvest
o Use crab pots baited with food attractive to crabs. Since the largest crabs in a pond tend to enter traps
first, ponds can be partially or selectively harvested on a regular basis, progressively removing the larger
crabs from the pond. To complete harvest, pond is drained.
o Since premium prices are obtained for female “egg-crabs”, females may be harvested only when mature
ovaries (red-orange) can be viewed through the carapace.
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 10-25 ppt (S.serrata crablets), 30-35 ppt (broodstock)
o The salinity tolerance (5-40 ppt) of mud crabs enables them to survive in freshwater for a few hours and
hypersaline conditions for extended periods.
o Freshwater for salinity control is most likely to be required in the driest times of the year.
● Temperature: 25-35C
● pH: 7.5-8.5. <0.5 variation diurnally
● Dissolved Oxygen: ≥5 ppm
o Their ability to breathe air enables them to utilize their habitats effectively even at low tide and leave
water that has a low oxygen level.
● Nitrite and ammonia are not a concern in larviculture since they are usually well below toxic levels and crablets
have high ammonia tolerance
● Hydrogen sulphide: <0.1 ppm
● Hardness: >2,000 ppm
● Turbidity: 20-30 cm

Commodity: Grouper
Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ The demand is fast growing particularly in Hongkong, Japan and Singapore
○ They are characterized by thick-set or stout bodies, slightly elongate with brown spots or blotches. They
also have very large mouths and normally protruding lower jaw.
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum: Chordata
○ Class: Actinopterygii
○ Order: Perciformes
○ Family Serranidae
● Species and variants – locally called inid or lapu-lapu

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 ○ There are about 40 species in tropical waters and 2 species E. coioides and E. malabaricus are presently
cultured in the Philippines.
○ Major farmed Asian species include:
▪ E. coioides (orange spotted grouper)
▪ E. malabaricus (Malabar grouper)
▪ E. fuscoguttatus (brown marbled grouper)
▪ E. tauvina (greasy grouper)
▪ E.akaara (red spotted grouper)
▪ E. polyphekadion (camouflage grouper)
▪ Cromileptes altivelis (king, polka dot grouper)
▪ Plectropomus spp (coral trouts)
▪ Siniperca chuatsi (Chinese perch) – raised mostly in China (BW ponds)
○ Farmed in the eastern US and Caribbean:
▪ E. striatus (Nassau groupers)
▪ Mycteroperca microlepsis (gag groupers)
▪ M. bonaci (black groupers)
▪ E. itajara (jewfish)
Life History
● Adults
○ Highly carnivorous and feed on fish and shrimps.
○ Fecundity is from 400,000 to 700,000 eggs per kg female.
● Eggs and embryo
○ Live, fertilized eggs are pelagic, and measure about 0.8 – 1.0 mm in diameter with a single oil globule of
0.19 mm. Eggs are single, non-adhaesive and buoyant at normal salinities.
○ Fertilized eggs hatch after 18 to 20 hours at 27 to 29 °C. Total length of hatchlings is 1.6 to 2.3 mm. Yolk
and oil which nourish the early larva until after feeding begins, tend to be exhausted quickly (2 to 5 days).
● Larvae
○ The grouper larva has an elongated and serrated second dorsal-fin spine and pelvic fin spines. A long
serrate spine is positioned at the angle of the preopercle. A large melanophore is found on the caudal
peduncle which migrates from the ventral midline to a midlateral position early in development.
○ Larvae of most species spend at least their few weeks drifting with the oceanic plankton. Eat copepods
and other small zooplankton. They have small mouths at first feeding. Larval period is long (35 to 70
days) and groupers tend to require live food longer than most marine fish that have been reared.
● Fry
○ The size of hatched larvae is 1.7 mm. Newly-hatched larvae become free-swimming larvae (2.7 mm)
after 3 days, start feeding, then metamorphose into juveniles (25 mm) after 35 to 50 days.
● Juveniles
○ Feed on Acetes and mysid shrimps
○ Young groupers (about 16 cm in total length) are found in shallow waters where they can find hiding
places and move to off-shore areas as they grow. Biological minimum size is 45-50 cm in body length at 2
years of age. Grouper reverse sex (from female to male) when they attain 65-75 cm in body length.

Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Primary sexual maturity is obtained in 4 to 6 years. Female E. malabaricus will take 5 years to become
functional male.
● Place of culture
o Adults are captures by traps or hook and line. Depending on species and capture depth, the gas bladder
might expand too much for the fish to recover on its own, so that it might float helplessly upside down.

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 When deflation is necessary, use a hypodermic syringe with a 20-gauge needle attached and the plunger
removed.
● Sex determination
o Protogynous hermaphrodite: female male. A few of the small species are simultaneous
hermaphrodites (male and female at the same time) but self-fertilization seems to be rare.
o Males are slightly longer than females.
o Nassau groupers spawn in large aggregations with sex ratio near 1:1. Gags spawn in harems with sex
ratio of 1 male: 10 females.
● Spawning
o June to September and November to December (INDONESIA), August (SINGAPORE), April to July
(KUWAIT), year-round except May in tanks and July-October in floating netcages (PHILIPPINES). In the
Philippines, the onset of monthly spawning cycle in tanks and floating netcages has been observed over a
period of 3 days before and after the last quarter moon.
o Grouper start spawning before sunset. Distinct courtship behaviour is observed: the male and female
are found pairing closely with one another and swim swiftly in a counter-clock wise direction. There
have been reports of aggregate spawning but most species are solitary fishes.
o Natural spawning can be done by temperature cycling (raising or lowering temperature to the spawning
range of 24 to 27C). This occurs mostly with well-fed, uncrowded fish during natural spawning season
under conditions of ambient temperature and partial or total natural light. Day length seems to be a less
important stimulus for spawning than temperature.
o Induced spawning can be achieved by injection of HCG, GnRHa and pituitary gland extract from salmon.
A female with fully-yolked oocytes (developing eggs) is given 1 to 3 injections of HCG. Ovulation (release
of mature eggs into the center of the ovaries) occurs within 24 to 72 hours (usually 36 to 50 hours) after
the first injection. If newly caught brood stocks are used, the hormone should be administered as soon
after capture as possible to limit the effects of stress on oocyte development.
o When ovulation has occurred, milt is stripped from one or more males and collected in 3-cc hypodermic
syringes (without needle). The eggs are stripped from the female into a beaker, milt is added plus filtered
water and the mixture is stirred. After 3 to 5 minutes, the eggs are transferred to a larger container and
washed several times by water exchange or repeated transfer.

Hatchery
● Eggs
o Eggs are collected in automatic strainers or with soft, fine dip nets. Transparency, buoyancy,
roundness, normal egg size, size uniformity, lack of stickiness, possession of a single oil globule
and normal oil globule size are initial signs of quality.
● Stocking Density
o 5 to 20/ L is safe but can be stocked up to 40/L.
● Place of culture: tanks 10 to 16 feet or more in diameter are better because surface film removal is safer,
temperature and water quality changes are moderated and the fish contact the tank walls less often.
o Providing the correct amount of turbulence in larval tanks is critical. With too little turbulence, the water
stratifies (maybe thermally) and zooplankton and fish can aggregate dangerously because they are
attracted to bright areas of the tank. This can result in oxygen depletion, frequent collisions and feeding
difficulty.
o With too much turbulence, the fish are battered. Larvae stressed by fright, strong current, toxins,
pathogens or malnourishment might appear exhausted or stunned, swim erratically, drift with current
and/or not feed well. Early grouper larvae, especially when stressed, exude a large amount of mucus,
which can cause them to stick to each other, to the surface film, or to solid objects.

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 o Gorging on Artemia and cannibalism are other problems. This can be addressed by adding the Artemia in
small amounts and by feeding rotifers and copepods for at least several days after Artemia are started.
Cannibalism can be minimized by feeding the fish well, weaning them as soon as possible, and grading.
o One of the greatest problems is a surface film that is sticky, suffocating and/or toxic. Films so thin that
they have no effect on other species can kill grouper larvae on contact. The film-producing substances
(e.g. polysaccharides, organic and inorganic oils, proteins, soaps, plasticizers) have to be excluded from
larval tanks as much as possible since on the first days of feeding, skimming the surface with air jets and
stand pipes can be dangerous because early grouper larvae tend to drift with the current rather than
swim against it, and they cannot tolerate much turbulence. The larger the tank, the safer the larvae
from turbulences and from going down the drain. Standard skimming can be used once larvae can swim
well enough to avoid them.
● Food
o Larvae are raised in green water (phytoplankton Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis and/or Chlorella). First
feeding: small rotifers, oysters, clam or mussel eggs and larvae. Growth and survival are better if
copepods or mixed zooplankton are included in the diet.
o Cladorcerans (water fleas)
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Nursery cages (4x2x1.5 to 8x4x1.6 m), mesh size of 0.5 to 1 cm
● Source of fry
o Grouper fry or "tiny" for commercial cage and pond production are still wild caught. The size of the fry
(tiny) varies from 5 to 50 mm. Fry are usually collected from coastal waters near mangrove areas. In the
Philippines, the major sources of grouper fry include waters off Pangasinan, Cavite, Mindoro, Quezon,
Ormoc, Masbate, Bulacan, Cagayan, Dadiangas, Negros Occidental, and Capiz. But fry or fingerling supply
from these sources is seasonal and unreliable. R & D institutions like SEAFDEC/AQD and some progressive
fish hatchery operators have therefore developed, or are developing, captive broodstock and seed
production techniques. The fish breeding association in Taiwan has been known to produce fry in
hatcheries in commercial quantities.
o Grouper fry are collected in nominal quantities using various devices:
▪ BRUSH LURES
Locally called bonbon or pagungpong in the Visayas, brush lures are devices made of twigs, grass or palm
leaves and set in shallow estuarine or mangrove areas. These attract grouper and sea bass fry /
juveniles which are then collected using scoop nets.
▪ ROCK MOUNDS
Locally called gango, the rock mound is a conical pile of rocks or dead corals set along depressed portions
of intertidal areas, seagrass beds, and mangrove tidal pools. This method has been in use for more
than 50 years and considered the most ecologically sustainable collection gear for grouper
juvenile. The rock mound is usually 0.5 to 1.3 meter high (depending on water depth at lowest
tide). It is generally colonized by fishes from the immediate vicinity. Harvesting is carried out with
the use of an encircling net during low tide. After the net has been set up, the rocks are taken out
one by one while fishes take refuge inside the pouch of the net. When the last rock has been taken
out and the last fish collected, the rocks are returned to its original place.
▪ BRUSH PILES
Locally called padugmon or padum-ok, brush piles are similar to rock mounds but are made of tree
branches, twigs, and palm leaves. They are set on soft bottom areas like mudflats. Harvesting is
similar to rock mounds.
▪ Other fry collection gears include bamboo fish traps, and scoop or dip nets.
● Food

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 o A 50-watt incandescent, hover type lamp are installed every cage to attract food (mysids, copepods and
other young fishes and crustaceans at night that serve as food). Finely chopped trash fish and or mysid
shrimp are also given.
● Stocking Density
o Place fry (2-3 cm) in nursery cages inside grow-out ponds. Stocking density is 60 fry/m2
o Stock are sorted out weekly to minimize competition for space and food and to prevent cannibalism.
Sorted same-sized stock are transferred to other cages.
● Days of culture
o 30-35 days
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Fish cages (5 x 5 x 3 m), mesh size of 2 to 5 cm
o Floatation materials such as plastic drums or empty plastic containers plus provision of shelters made of
bamboos or PVC pipes
● Stocking density
o Grouper juveniles (5-10 cm) are stocked at 5,000/ha
● Day of culture
o 5-7 months
● Food
o Stock 5,000 – 10,000 adult tilapia / ha which will serve as food for grouper or chopped trash fish and/or
mysid shrimp. Tilapia are allowed to reproduce for a month and fingerlings will serve as food for
groupers.
● Harvest
o A net is placed at the farthest end of the pond and dragged slowly towards the other end of the pond.
Undersized fish are returned to the pond.
o Modified lift nets are used to harvest and place at the pond bottom. Shelters (sawed off bamboos or
PVC pipes) are provided in the middle of the net. Harvested grouper are stocked 20/ m3 in pre-installed
net
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 18-32 ppt
● Temperature: 27-30 C
● Dissolved Oxygen: >5 mg/L
● Depth: 1-2 m for ponds, not less than 3 meters at lowest tide (for cages)
● Ammonia: should be kept near zero
● Nitrite: <0.1 ppm for larvae and <1 ppm for older fish

Commodity: Shrimp
Basic Info
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum - Arthropoda
○ Class - Crustacea
○ Order - Decapoda
○ Family - Penaeidae
○ Genus - Penaeus, Litopenaeus
● History
○ Sugpo culture in the Philippines evolved from the sugpo fry entering milkfish ponds through the
incoming tides. When the fish farmers obtained good price from the harvested sugpo, they started
stocking their ponds with sugpo fry caught from the coastal waters and estuaries. In the early 1960s, due
to increasing demand from the international market, sugpo growers started stocking hatchery-produced
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 fry. Intensive culture began by stocking hatchery-produced sugpo fry at high densities and given
commercial feed with pond aeration. Sugpo production started from 1,800 metric tons in 1982 to a
maximum of 47,500 metric tons in 1990. In the early 1990s, sugpo production gradually decline due to
outbreak of diseases and environmental degradation.
○ 1960-1980
- Philippines: one of pioneers in shrimp farming
- earliest published literature on shrimp farming using extensive method - annual production below 5,000 MT as
secondary crop in milkfish ponds
- shrimp fry dependent from the wild
○ 1980-1989
- became a significant industry (semi-intensive to intensive)
- hatchery bred fry are available
- Japanese market established which absorbed 80% produced in Asia
○ 1990-1995
- Japanese market collapsed
- a start up or development period
- development/import of technology
- production increased rapidly due to increased number of pond areas
- a rapid growth (‘shrimp rush/shrimp fever’)
- government support and financing no longer a problem
- attracts more and more investors
○ 1996-1999
- industry stabilizes to a certain level and then decline to the extent of collapse due to outbreak of diseases,
prawn production continue to decrease until 1999
○ 2000-present
– verification runs on shrimp culture using environment-friendly protocol was conducted thru SEAFDEC, AQD-
BFAR Joint Mission in its pilot sites located in different parts of the country with different climatic
conditions
- SEAFDEC, AQD and BFAR started to respond to the requests of the private sectors for an on-farm techno
demonstration/transfer.
- Philippine shrimp production gradually increases from 34,627 MT in 1999 to 42,390 MT in the year 2001.
● Species and variants – penaeid shrimp belong to 2 groups based on structure of female thelycum (receptacle
structure on ventral thorax of females where spermatophore is deposited by male at mating)
○ Open-thelycum species: indigenous to western hemisphere, reversed photoperiod regime is used (with
artificial lights) so that animaals will spawn during daylight/normal working hours, moltmature mate
spawn
■ Litopenaeus vannamei (whiteleg shrimp), L. stylirostris, L. occidentalis
○ Closed-thelycum species: brown shrimp species, natural photoperiod is used in maturation facilities,
molt mate mature spawn
■ Peneaus monodon (black tiger, giant tiger prawn – sugpo, lukon, pansat), M, japonicus,
Fenneropenaeus indicus (formerly P. indicus), F. merguiensis (P. merguiensis)
Life History
● Adults (10 months, benthic)
○ Mature and breed only in tropical marine habitats. They show marked nocturnal activity, burrowing into
bottom substratum during the day and emerging at night to search for food as benthic feeders. Under
natural conditions, the giant tiger prawn is more of a predator than an omnivorous scavenger or detritus
feeder than other penaeid shrimp. After moulting, the new shell is still soft which causes prawns to
become vulnerable and they may subsequently be eaten by their predators or companions. Adults are
often found over muddy sand or sandy bottoms at 20-50 m depth in offshore waters.
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 ● Eggs and embryo
○ Fertilization 12 h, planktonic
● Larvae
○ Hatching 20 d, planktonic
○ Nauplius (NI-NVI) Zoea (ZI-ZII) Mysis (MI-MIII)
○ P. monodon larval, juvenile, adolescent and sub-adult stages in coastal estuaries, lagoons or mangrove
areas
● Postlarvae
○ Larvae metamorphose to PL stage, PL1 (age in days). PL15 – PL25 are the ones generally stocked in
grow-out ponds
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Males become mature from 20 g and females from 28 g onwards at the age of 6-7 months
● Place of culture
o Circular tanks of 12 m3 capacity, color of inner wall of the tank is clack with a white sand substrate, light
intensity reduced at 100 lux
● Food
o Commercial feed pellets and natural food like mussels and squids with 6% cod liver as lipid source
● Sex determination
o Females are commonly larger than males
● Spawning
o Spawners used in hatcheries are generally caught in the wild, mainly in the coastal waters. In case of
mature spawners not being available, broodstock development may sometimes be resorted to. Ovarian
maturation of broodstock is hastened by eyestalk ablation. In the eyestalk of decapod crustacean, a
gonad inhibiting hormone (GIH) is produced. With ablation, production of GIH is decreased resulting in
the increase of maturation and spawning rates. Unilateral ablation is sufficient to induce maturation
while bilateral ablation have caused high mortality rates, loss of balance and abnormal behavior in the
broodstock. Ablation is done by the removal of the eye and the total or partial removal of the eye stalk
by cutting with surgical scissor, clamps, ligation or manual pinching.
o 3-5/m2 at a ratio of 1-2 females to 1 male
o Remove spawners after spawning. Eggs hatch in 12-17 hours. Collect nauplii by exposing a portion of the
tank to light.
Hatchery
● Place of culture
o 10 to 50 ton tanks with clean seawater
● Stocking density
o 50,000-80,000 nauplii/ton
● Food
o Natural food (Chaetoceros, Tetraselmis, Skeletonema). Add Artemia to diet in the Mysis/ PL stage
● Days of culture
o Transfer PL5 in nursery tanks where substrates have been installed
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Brackishwater ponds, 200 to 2000 m2: 50-100 P5/m2 without supplementary feed, 150 to 200 P5/ m2 if
with supplementary feeding
o Floating cage (3 x 4 x 1.2 m): 25,000-30,000 P4-P5/ cage for 30 to 40 days
o Raceways: 1-2 ton oval tank with airlift aeration to circulate water: 5,000/ m3 stock density
o Tanks: 3 to 40 tons, 2500 – 3000 P1-P2 or P4-P5/ ton
● Stocking density: 50-100/ m2
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 ● Food
o Brushing prepared fish paste in a feeding net frame. At P11, feeding is shifted to chopped fish or mussel
meat
● Days of culture
o P34 – P35 are harvested after 30 days rearing period
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Traditional flow-through system
o Flow-through with water treatment
o Zero water discharge
o Recirculating system
▪ For the recirculating system:
a. Effluents from the grow-out pond are reused after passing through the treatment pond
b. Water is fully circulated by pumping twice
i. From head reservoir to grow-out pond
ii. Treatment pond to grow-out pond
▪ In treatment ponds:
a. Effluent from grow-out ponds passes through several hurdles
b. Install baffles to serve as mechanical filtration units and to settle suspended solids
c. Dissolve nutrients can be taken up by biofilters (oyster, Gracilaria, mussel)
d. A filter box fitted with a 2-hp submersible pump is installed at the end of the pond
o Crop rotation
o Polyculture (Bangus/Tilapia)
▪ 2,000-6,000/ha shrimp with 500-2,000 milkfish/ ha
o New Technology by SEAFDEC
▪ Lowered stocking density (at least PL18 at 25/m2)
▪ Improvement of pond bottom management - plowing or tilling to improve bacterial profile of
sediment, as well as water effluent water quality, pathogenic Vibrio count is reduced
▪ Crop rotation – allow time for organic waste to break down
▪ Improvement of feed quality
▪ Stocking of laboratory-screened fry
▪ Use of greenwater technology
▪ Use of probiotics in water and feed
▪ Increase in aeration
▪ Use of settling ponds
● In the low discharge system, a small amount of water is discharged from the grow-out
pond and released to the sea after passing through the settling or mangrove
impoundment. To be effective, hold pond effluents in mangroves for 6 hours or more.
▪ Employment of biosecurity measures
● Stocking density
o Stock biomanipulators at 5,000-10,000/ha (tilapia and milkfish). They are stocked inside reservoir pond
or in walled net (10x10x1.5 m) that are placed in the middle of grow-out ponds and to the sides of the
ponds. Fish can feed on the sludge deposited in the center

Stocking densities Extensive Semi-intensive Intensive

(/m2)
Pond size, ha 2 and larger 0.5-1.5 0.25-0.5
P. monodon 5-10 20-50 50-300
P. merguiensis 10-50 80-100 100-500
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 P. japonicus 30-100 100-300 300-2,500

● Days of culture: 4 to 6 months

● Harvest
o Partial harvest may be done with the use of bamboo traps (bakikong), pound or cast nets.
o For total harvest, Bagnet (lumpot) mounted on a wooden frame which fits into the grooves of the gate is
used. The shrimps are caught in the bagnet as water is drained from the pond. The remaining shrimps
are then handpicked after complete drainage of the pond
● Food
o Shrimp diets must have 38-46% protein
o Higher salinity areas (28 ppt and above) lablab is dominant over filamentous algae, deeper ponds with
lower salinity (10-25 ppt) Chaetomorpha (lumot jusi), Enteromorpha intestinalis (bitukang manok),
Rupia maritime (Kusay-kusay) and Najas graminea (digman) are dominant, along with diatoms, rotifers,
nematodes, ostracods, copepods and other planktonic organisms
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 10-25 ppt
● Temperature: 25-32 C
● pH: 6.5 -8.7
● Dissolved Oxygen: >3.5 ppm
● Carbon Dioxide: < 10 ppm
● Total Ammonia N: <1.0 ppm
● Nitrite: <0.1 ppm
● Secchi disc visibility: > 50 cm

Commodity: Blue Crab

Basic Info
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum : Arthropoda
Class : Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda
Family : Portunidae
● Top producers
○ Highest in Region VI (includes Negros Occidental which export crabmeats to parts of the US and Asia),
Region VIII and Region V
● Species and variants
○ Portunus trituberculatus (Japanese “gazami”)
○ P. armatus - formerly pelagicus (“blue swimming crab”)
○ Callinectes sapidus (“blue crab”)
Life History
● Larvae
○ 4 zoeal stages and a megalopa stage. The megalopa moulted to the first crab instar. First zoeal stage:
algae + rotifer, other zoeal stages: rotifer + Artemia, megalopa: Moina/Artemia+prawn-egg custard
● Juveniles
○ Juveniles most commonly occurring in intertidal shallower areas. Age of maturity around 1 year.
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Male crabs attains maturity by its 12th molt and female crab by 14th molt
● Place of culture
o 1.5 ton capacity fiberglass tanks (to keep berried females from wild)
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 o 5 to 10 FRP tanks (for brood stock development). Preferably black to minimize algal growth and mimic
natural environment
● Sex determination
o Male crabs, are bigger and more colourful than the females, with a dark-blue carapace, pale belly and
rich blue on their legs and claws. Female crabs are dull brown in colour with small irregular white
patches on the carapace and tips of chelate and walking legs are dark brown.
● Spawning
o Continuous breeder so berried crabs are available throughout the year. Healthy ovigorous females with
yellow/orange colored eggs can be from the wild or raised in captivity.
o Incubation period is 8-10 days.
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 30-33 ppt
● Temperature: 27-31 C
● pH: 8.0-8.5
● Dissolved Oxygen: 4-8
● Total Ammonia: <0.1 ppm
● Nitrite: <0.05 ppm

Commodity: Mussel and Oyster

Basic Info: Mussel
● Characteristics
○ Mussels are farmed in deeper waters which face problems of contamination due to increasing organic
loading from urbanization
○ Its ability to attach to substrates with byssus, makes it an ideal aquaculture species using different
culture systems.
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
○ Order: Mytilida
○ Family: Mytilidae
● Species and variants
○ Perna viridis: green mussel/ tahong
○ Mytilus edulis: blue mussel
○ Modiolus netcalfei: brown mussel/ amahong
Basic Info: Oyster
● Characteristics
○ Popular bivalve delicacy because of its excellent flavour and taste
○ Shells mostly used as raw materials for the manufacture of lime and poultry grit. Shells also serve as spat
collectors for culture
○ Oysters clean the water, remove nitrogen, accelerate denitrification, enhance water clarity
○ Requires no feed input. Has the highest concentration of zinc of any food. Very high in vitamin B12, iron,
selenium, phosphorous and magnesium.
○ Oyster farming has remained in shallow sub-tidal areas where the spats are collected. These areas are
now increasingly subject to domestic pollution with its consequential effect on quality and food safety
○ Pacific oysters are protandrous hermaphrodites, most commonly maturing first as males. Females can
revert back to male when food supply is limiting as, for example, when they are severely overcrowded.
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
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 ○ Order: Ostreida
○ Family: Ostreidae
● History
○ Began at Hinigaran, Negros Occidental in 1921
● Top producers
○ Negros Occidental, Pangasinan and Cavite
○ Farms for oyster culture are located in 17 provinces comprising Regions 1, IV and VI
● Species and variants
○ Crassostrea iredalei: slipper-shaped oyster/ talabang tsinelas
■ Most commercially desirable because it grows at a faster rate and has straight shell margins
which make them easier to open.
○ C. malabonensis: kukong kabayo/ subtrigonal oyster
○ C. cucullata: curly oyster/ kulot
○ C. palmiper: palm-roofed oyster/ pulid-pulid
Life History
● Larvae and adults
○ Mussels have two relatively distinct phases in their life-cycle. A free swimming planktonic or larval stage
and a sessile adult stage. The free-swimming larvae remains planktonic for 7–15 days depending upon
the water temperature, food supply and availability of settling materials. At about 2–5 weeks old, the
larvae (0.25–0.3 mm) seek a suitable substrate to settle on and final metamorphosis takes place,
changing its internal organ structure to the adult form. The young spat then grow rapidly and within 4–8
weeks, after settlement, they measure 3–4 mm in shell length.
● Eggs and embryo
○ Eggs hatch into free-swimming planktonic larvae and remains in the waters for 2 to 3 weeks before
settling down on any hard surface (logs, stones, shells and bottoms or empty oyster shells). Newly-
settled larvae are called spats. The settlement season on spatfalls of green mussel is from April to May
and October to November. For oysters is from January to February and from July to September.
Hatchery/ Broodstock
● From the wild
o Mussels are characterized by high fecundity and a mobile free living larval phase, which have facilitated
its widespread distribution. Seed availability therefore greatly influences which culture techniques are
used. When using wild seed, various spat collectors are employed, including polyethylene and palm-
coconut fibre ropes.
● Age at maturity
o 6-10 months after seeding. The bivalve species reaches sexual maturity within the first year and spawns
with the rising of seawater temperature. In the Philippines, mussels spawns year-round, however the
peak period of spawning and setting is in April and May and again in September to October. Eggs and
sperms are shed separately and fertilization occurs in the water.
● Place of culture
o Broodstock conditioning requires high water flow and low density in flow-through broodstock tanks in
which adults are suspended off the bottom in a mesh tray with large apertures in the base so as not to
retain feces and detritus (oyster and mussels) but for others they are buried in 10 cm deep trays filled
with coarse sand or shell gravel (clams and some scallops, Pecten ziczac). Seawater used is not filtered:
the diversity of food species present in unfiltered seawater is beneficial in the conditioning process.
● Food
o Both feed on very minute animals and organic particles suspended in the water. They are also called
filter-feeders and they obtain food by straining the water through their gills and the food particles
directed towards their mouth

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 o Cultured marine algal species are used most frequently as the principal food supply during conditioning.
Useful algal species that can be cultured intensively on a large-scale are Tetraselmis (various species,
including T. chuii, T. tetrahele and T. suecica), Isochrysis galbana (and the T-Iso clone), Pavlova lutherii,
Chaetoceros muelleri (previously named C. gracilis), Thalassiosira pseudonana and T. weisfloggii and
Skeletonema costatum.
o A mixture of these species, on a proportional basis, is more beneficial than a single species diet.
o Care should be taken not to feed relatively indigestible species (e.g. Chlorella sp.) or, species known to
be deficient in the more highly unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. Dunaliella tertiolecta). Dunaliella is known to
be lacking in the C20 and C22 highly unsaturated fatty acids considered to be nutritionally essential.
● Sex determination
o Protandric hermaphroditism: male to female – includes clams of the genus Tapes (Manila clam- Tapes
philippinarum), Mercenaria (American hard shell, quahog – Mercenaria mercenaria), Mya and Spisula,
oysters of the genus Crassostrea and many types of mussel including Mytilus sp. and Perna sp.
o Truly functional hermaphrodites – mature both male and female gonads simultaneously: northern
European King scallop, Pecten maximus, the (Brazilian or Caribbean) sand scallop, Pecten (Euvola) ziczac,
the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, the calico scallop, Argopecten gibbus, the Chilean scallop,
Argopecten purpuratus, and some species of Chlamys. Sexes are separate (dioecious) in other large sea
scallops, e.g. Placopecten magellanicus and Patinopecten yessoensis
o Flat oysters of the genera Ostrea and Tiostrea exhibit alternate sexuality. They switch sex at the end of
each reproductive cycle. A single European oyster (Ostrea edulis) can go through two or three sex
reversals each spawning season when sufficient food is available and during an extended warm water
period.
● Spawning
o Spawn throughout the year with peaks at certain periods. Spawners release millions of their gametes
into the water where fertilization takes place.
o Adults taken from the sea are brought to the hatchery, their shells thoroughly scrubbed and rinsed to
remove epifaunal (fouling) organisms and sediment and then placed in tanks.
 Hatchery production of M. edulis (in temperate zone only)
o Hatchery production is based upon conditioning adult mussels by using algal food and temperature
control. The natural maturation cycle is actually mimicked at the hatchery. Mature mussels are cleaned
up and hung as a group in larval tanks. M. edulis spawning is induced by thermal shock or by stripping.
Once spawning is completed, 24 hours are required for the larvae to reach the straight hinge stage.
Larvae are fed ad libitum and allowed to grow until they are ready to set onto ropes (13-15 days).
Deployed in setting tanks, mussels are transferred at a 1 mm size to a nursery, where they will remain
until they reach 6-10 mm; then the spat is moved outdoors into grow-out systems.
● Spat collection (from the wild using raft culture)
o For oysters, empty oyster shells are tied to polyethylene or polypropylene ropes with 2 cm diameter at
5-6 cm intervals. The collected ropes are tied 10 cm apart in the raft with weights attached to the end of
the ropes.
o For mussels, the collection ropes made of nylon with coconut husks inserted at 5-6 cm interval are hung
10 cm apart. Weights are tied at the end of the ropes to prevent them from floating.
Grow-out
● Area for culture (Mussel)
o Stake (tulos) method - utilizes bamboo as spat collectors. Bamboos are staked/planted to a depth of ½
meter in soft muddy bottom at 0.5 –1 m apart. The bamboos are regularly inspected to monitor mussel
growth and to control predators (starfish, crabs) and competitors (barnacles, filamentous algae).
Mussels are harvested when they are 5-10 cm in length by pulling up the mussel-laden stakes and
loading them to a banca. The clusters of mussels are stripped off with an iron rod. In partial harvesting,
divers pick out the bigger mussels and leave the small ones for next cropping. Barnacles and dirt are
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 removed before the harvested mussels are brought to the market.Commonly used in Binakayan in
Cavite, Binloc in Dagupan, Binmaley in Pangasinan, Abucay in Bataan. The stake method is simple and
cheap but a disadvantage is that the bamboo poles can be used for only two years. Predators (crabs,
starfish, burrowing snails) can crawl up the stake and reach the oysters. Another major drawback is that
siltation is increased which will make the site too shallow for further mussel culture
o Hanging (bitin) method – preparation of spat collectors, ropes are threaded with coco fiber by bamboo/
empty oyster shell at 10 cm intervals, collectors are hung on horizontal bamboo poles at 0.5 m apart,
setting of collectors is timed with the spawning season, spats collected are allowed to grow on the
collectors until marketable size
o Stake method – midway between rack and bottom methods, bamboo poles, 4-6 m in length are staked
firmly at the bottom in rows, 0.5-1 m apart during low tide in areas about 3.0 m deep and above.
o Tray culture – limited to detached clusters of mussel, bamboo or metal trays (1.5m x 1m x 15cm) are
used, hang between 2 poles of the hanging or stake or suspended on four bamboo posts
o Rope-web method – uses synthetic ropes as spat collectors. Polypropylene ropes of 12 mm in diameter
are made into webs tied vertically to bamboo poles. Full-stretched rope-web collectors are positioned 3
m apart along the rows. In harvesting, the rope-webs are untied from the bamboo poles and lifted to a
raft. Cluster of mussels are removed from collectors through the use of sharp knife. The rope-web
collectors are then cleaned and dried for the next culture season.
● Area for culture (Oyster)
o Stake (tulos) method – bamboo poles are utilized similar to mussel farming
o Lattice (bitin) method – bamboo splits are used to construct a lattice which is held together with
galvanized wire or monofilament nylon twine, splits are spaced about 15-30 cm apart and usually one
lattice unit comprises 10-16 splits, which can be easily handled by one operator, can be mounted on
rocks or suspended in the water column when mounted on long bamboos or empty drums and
positioned either horizontally or vertically
o Hanging method (sampayan) – oyster or coconut shells are tied to synthetic ropes at 10 cm intervals.
The length of the ropes will depend on the depth of the water. The collectors are hung to bamboo plots
at intervals of 25-30 cm. The plots form like a rectangle, with a dimension of 2 m x 1 m. In harvesting,
the collectors are untied from the poles and hauled to a banca. The oyster clusters are broken up and
cleaned prior to transport to the market.
o Broadcast (sabog) method – an age-old traditional procedure for oyster farming. Oyster shells, stones,
tin cans or any piece of hard objects are scattered at the bottom where spatfall is known to occur. This
method is applicable in areas with a maximum depth of 2 m to ensure ease in harvesting. In Bulacan, a
bamboo mat measuring 5-10 m in length and 2-3 m in width is used as a spat collector. In harvesting,
the oysters are raked or dredged with a scoop net. The oysters are loaded in a banca where they are
sorted and cleaned prior to transport to the market. There is minimal cost of investment although it can
only be used in coastal areas with firm bottoms and shallow waters, high mortalities due to silt and
predation, difficulty in harvesting and could be easily washed away by currents or easily buried by
sediments.
● Area for culture (Mussel and Oyster)
o Raft culture - A 6 x 8 m raft can be made of bamboos with metal/plastic drums or styrofoam blocks as
floats. Raft is anchored at the bottom.
o For oysters, collection ropes are tied to the raft at 50 cm interval.
o For mussels, when spats are 0.5 cm diameter, they are transferred to growing ropes using sinamay strips
for binding. Synthetic ropes or native fibers (cabo negro or abaca), with 2 cm diameter are used with
small pieces of bamboos inserted at 30-cm interval to prevent growing mussels from slipping off. The
ropes are tied to the raft at 50 cm interval. The raft is regularly inspected. Predators and other
unwanted species like crabs, starfish, barnacles are removed from the ropes.

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 o Some advantages of the raft culture method are the following; 1) less laborious to collect, transplant,
and harvest a large number of oysters/mussels, 2) less predation on suspended mussels/oysters, 3) it
utilizes all available water volume for the animals to feed well, 4) growing ropes are easier to maintain
and can be used again for several years, 5) the method does not accumulate silt and would not make the
area shallower compared to bamboo stakes.
● Harvest
o Mussels can grown 6 cm in 6 months after settling and oysters at 7.5 cm in 8 months after settling.
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 27-35 ppt (mussel), 17-26 ppt (oyster)
● Temperature: 20-30 C
● Depth: at least 1.5-2.5 m at the lowest tide for traditional and at least 5.0 m for non-traditional culture methods
● The site must be non-shifting or soft and muddy bottom to minimize siltation.

Commodity: Giant Clams

Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ Feed input is only needed at the land nursery stage, afterwards no feed onputs are required.
○ Commercial size for aquarium trade in ~2 years. They are sold for very high retail prices in the USA,
Europe and Japan. They are not prone to diseases.
○ In 1983, they were included in the list of endangered species (Appendix II-CITES)
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
○ Order: Cardiida
○ Family: Cardiidae
● Species and variants
○ Tridacna gigas, the true giant clam. It can reach to > 1.3m in shell length and hundreds of kilograms in
weight, living to >50 years of age. This is the largest species of bivalve mollusk to have ever lived in the
fossil record of our planet. It has four to five folds and a rougher texture
○ Tridacna derasa, the smooth giant clam. Second largest species reaching > 55 cm shell length. Six to
seven vertical folds.
○ Tridacnas quamosa, the scaly or fluted giant clam. This species reaches 40 cm shell length and has light
to moderate byssal attachment as adults.
○ Tridacna maxima, the elongated, rugose, or small giant clam. This species grows up to 40 cm shell length
and has great byssal attachment to the substrate. The mantle is very colourful and the clam is sought
after in the aquarium trade.
○ Tridacna crocea, the boring or crocus clam. This is the smallest species of giant clam reaching to 15 cm
shell length. It has a wide byssal opening at the shell base and therefore burrows into the substrate so
that only the extended colourful mantle touches the substrate surface. Like T. maxima, it is a good
species for the aquarium trade
○ Tridacna tevoroa. This quite large (>50 cm shell length) clam is found in moderately deep water (14-35m
depth). The species is unusual in that it is the only species of the genus Tridacna which does not have
the mantle overhang the edge of the shell.
○ Hippopus hippopus, the horse's hoof clam, the bear paw clam, the rolling clam, or the strawberry clam.
This species reaches 50 cm shell length and is often found on sandy areas and on seagrass beds. The
mantle does not extend over the shell edge.
Life History
● Adults

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 ○ Experts refer to them as unique because they manufacture their own food through the algae that live on
them, similar to corals. The algae supply food to the clams through photosynthesis which supply sugars
and nitrogen-rich compounds. Referred to as “built-in food factories,” giant clams need only sunlight,
water, and carbon dioxide in order to make their food. This is considered an advantage because in
culture, feeding is entirely omitted.
● Eggs and larvae
○ Fertilized eggs undergo gastrula to trocophore stages in 12 hours. After this, they become trocophores,
by which time, they are still incapable of ingesting food particles. When the digestive system is complete
(the veliger stage), they can now take small phytoplankton, three days after fertilization. Veligers then
metamorphose to juvenile clams 2 weeks after fertilization.
● Juveniles
○ Larvae settle on hard substrate, transform into juveniles, attach their byssal threads on reefs for anchor
and arrange themselves so that their mantles face the sun. Until 2.5 years, clams are vulnerable to
predation. Growth during this period is fast, about 2.5 cm per yr in ideal reef flats.
○ Juveniles can be harvested 3-4 months after fertilization when they range from sizes 1-10 mm
Hatchery/ Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Juveniles are not available from the wild so hatchery production is needed. They reach sexual maturity
in 4-5 years.
● Food
o Sugars and proteins produced by the algae living inside their tissues, tiny, drifting plants and animals
filtered from the water
● Sex determination
o Gonad ripeness is easily visible
● Spawning
o Spawning is induced by heat shocks or serotonin injection
o When sexually mature, clams continuously release millions of eggs in a day, spawning being triggered by
diurnal, lunar, and environmental cues.
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Clams are placed in trays, cages, enclosures or a combination of either on or without substrates. These
areas would ensure that there is less fouling of cages, predation on clams is less severe, and human
access for farm management is easier.
● Stocking Density
o For a cage size 1 x 5 x 0.3 m, approximately 100 juveniles (30-40 mm) can be stocked. For bigger
juveniles, (70-80 mm), fewer clams should be stocked (30 ind)
● Days of culture
o Long (12-18 months) but only requires clean seawater and some additional soluble nutrients, at this
stage giant clams of size 20 mm may be transferred to the grow-out phase.
Grow-out
● T. gigas and H. hippopus are suited to intertidal zones while T. derasa and the others are grown best in shallow
subtidal sites. By this time, protective cages are no longer necessary. A nylon netting atttached to floats (similar
to a floating fence) may be helpful in excluding large predators and marking the farm area. The clams may be
left in these areas for several years until harvest.

Commodity: Abalone
Basic Info
● Characteristics

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 ○ Highly prized for their large abductor muscle. The foot is the prized part and is used for locomotion and
feeding.
○ Slow-growing one-shelled gastropods. Slow-feeding nocturnal herbivores (algivores) with adults grazing
predominantly on seaweeds.
○ Shell is characterized by having a row of respiratory pores called “tremata” located along its left margin
○ Temperatre species are bigger than species found in the tropics
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Gastropoda
○ Order: Lepetellida
○ Family Haliotidae
○ Genus Haliotis “sea ear”
● Top producers
○ Main markets are China, Japan, Hong Kong, USA, Mexico, Korea and Europe
● Species and variants
○ About 70 species. Species of the world:
■ H. discus hannai (Ezo awabi, the Pacific or Japanese abalone) – most valuable abalone in terms
of meat content and most cultivated of all species, considered a cold water species cultured on a
large scale in both Japan and China
■ H. discus discus (Kuro awabi) – meat is tougher than H. d. hannai
■ H. tuberculata (European abalone or Ormer) – only commercial species in Europe
■ H. rufescens (Red abalone) – largest abalone species worldwide farmed intensively in US and
Mexico
■ H. fulgens (Green abalone)
■ H. corrugata (Pink, corrugated or yellow abalone)
■ H. cracherodii (black abalone) – dark colored meat, badly affected by the Withering Foot
Syndrome outbreaks in California
■ H. kamtschatkana (Pinto abalone) – heavily fished and formed a large part of the diet of coastal
native Indian tribes
■ H. diversicolor supertexta (Tokobushi) - While only making up a small portion of the fisheries
catch it forms the major part of the massive Taiwanese abalone aquaculture industry.
■ H. rubra (Black-lip abalone) – one of the three commercially important abalone species in
Australia
■ H. laevigata (Green-lip abalone or mutton fish) – second most important species of Australia
■ H. iris (Paua) – principal commercial species of New Zealand. It has a very iridescent shell that is
strikingly beautiful
■ H. australis (Yellow foot Paua) – second commercial New Zealand species
■ H. midae (Perlemoen) – only commercial abalone found on the African continent
○ 3 species occur in Philippine marine waters
■ Haliotis asinina -the donkey’s ear abalone, tropical abalone
● Grow to a maximum size of 10-11 cm in shell length
● Existing commercial abalone fisheries in the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Negros,
Samar, Surigao, Zamboanga, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi. Locally named kapinan, lapas,
sobra-sobra, piel
■ H. varia- shell length 6-8 cm
■ H. ovina- shell length 6-8 cm
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Captive: within 6-8 months of culture at shell size of 35-40 mm
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 o Gonad maturation enhanced by proper nutrition, high water temperature and longer photoperiod
● Place of culture
o Broodstock are held in fiberglass or concrete spawning tanks of 1-ton capacity with flowthrough sand-
filtered seawater. Contained in mesh cahes suspended in flow-through tanks. Gutters are added as
additional substrate
● Food
o Herbivores: veliger larvae and juveniles feed on epiphytic microalgae such as diatoms. Gradually shift to
macro-algae or seaweed until the adult stage
● Sex determination
o Dioecious. Females have dark green to greyish green to almost black gonad. Males have milky white
gonad. In gravid animals, the gonad bulk can be seen protruding between the shell and foot muscle.
● Spawning
o Wild-caught or hatchery-bred adults of 50-60 mm shell length are stocked at a ratio of one male to 3-4
females at 20-30 broodstocks per cage and fed ad libitum with Gracilaria. This is practiced on most
abalone farms due to lower spawning response of females making eggs the limiting factor.
o Gametes of either sex are released into the water column where fertilization takes place. Males release
their milt earlier that triggers spontaneous spawning in mature females. A female breeder of 50-80 mm
shell length can spawn from 100,000 to 1.0 million eggs at one spawning time.
o Spawning may occur between one and three o’clock in the morning. During spawning, water in the
spawning tank turns cloudy due to milt released by males.
o Methods of induced spawning:
▪ Gamete stripping – involves the sacrifice of the adults
▪ Dessication – unreliable, needs to be used with UV method to increase reliability
▪ Thermal shock – unreliable, needs to be used with UV method to increase reliability
▪ Chemical induction using hydrogen peroxide
● Never use with the UV method
● When Hydrogen Peroxide or H2O2 is added to water (H2O) the hydroperoxy free radical,
HOO- or the peroxy diradical, -OO-, are produced. The presence of these free radicals in
the water is believed to be responsible for the induction of spawning.
● Reagent grade (30%) is recommended as weaker solutions are unstable and give
unreliable results. Abalone to be spawned are sexed and placed in spawning vessels.
The pH of the water is first increased to 9.1 using tris - (hydroxymethylamino) methane.
● Tris is generally left with the abalone in the spawning vessels for 15 minutes. The
reagent grade hydrogen peroxide is diluted down to a 6% working solution and added 3
mL/ L in the spawning container.
● Usually the abalone are left in this solution mix for 2.5 hours. It is also advisable to carry
out this procedure up to 30 minutes later on the males than on the females as generally
the former spawn earlier and more readily than the latter
● After 2.5 hours the solution is decanted from the containers and the abalone are
thoroughly washed in isothermal water to remove any traces of the chemicals. This is
essential as the chemicals will destroy the released gametes
▪ Ultraviolet light irradiated sea water
● Low-pressure mercury type UV lamps are most commonly used and these generate a
spectral wavelength of 254 nanometers that is very close to the recognised peak
germicidal effectiveness of 265nm
● An advantage of using UV for induction of spawning is that it is completely harmless to
the gametes. As a result water changes during the spawning process are not necessary.

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 ● It is considered that the ideal UV strength for spawning is 800 milliwatt hours per litre
for Haliotis discus hannai and this has resulted in male gamete release after ca. 3 hours
15 minutes and female gamete release after 3 hours 45 minutes.
o The time interval between two successive spawning can vary from 13 to 37 days. Younger female
breeders may spawn more frequently and have higher fecundity than the older females.
o The shells should be free of heavy fouling and in particular they should be free of Polydora infestation.
Polydora is a mudworm which bores into the shell of the abalone. It causes pitting and blistering on the
inside of the shell surface. Heavy infestation stresses the abalone, affecting their reproductive output
and often killing them.
Hatchery
● Stocking
o Buckets with developing embryos are left in the hatchery overnight and in complete darkness. Twenty
four hours after fertilization, this hatch should be complete.
o Spontaneously spawned eggs are collected early in the morning between 6 and 7 o’clock. At this time
the eggs are either at late trochophore or early veliger stage. After fertilization, the trochophore larva
hatches out from the egg case. This stage is characterized by a band of cilia referred to as a protrochal
gridle.
o The top 70-80% of the hatching trocophore larvae should be siphoned into buckets containing fresh
filtered UV treated seawater. The lower portion is then discarded. Stocking density (5-10/ mL) is not an
issue since the larvae are lecithotrophic which means they have their own yolk sac which supplies them
with the nourishment needed to reach settlement and through metamorphosis.
o Aeration can be for left off for the first 24 hours. If it is turned on it should be very gentle. This is due to
the fact that the shell on the veliger is still developing and the agitation caused by aeration will lead to
shell abnormalities.
o The larva develops into the veliger which is characterized by a heavily ciliated swimming band called the
velum. Veligers are free swimming, positively phototactic and non-feeding planktonic larvae.
o After 4-5 days, the benthic veliger will be established and larvae can be seen making exploratory
creeping movements associated with settlement. Settlement is the process of the veligers seeking out a
suitable substrate and thereafter changing from the swimming larva into a benthic juvenile and
undergoing the associated process of metamorphosis.
o A veliger can settle on a substrate for a period and swim off again if the substrate is unsuitable. The
process only becomes irreversible when the larva casts off the 24 cilia cells of the velum and
metamorphosis begins. During metamorphosis there is further development on the cephalic tentacles,
shell growth, radula formation, mouth and digestive tract development. Thus, the free swimming veliger
larva develops into a grazing benthic juvenile. There is no feeding during this period and the entire
process relies on energy from the yolk sac.
o Stimulants that can induce settlement and subsequent metamorphosis:
▪ Diatoms - Benthic diatoms are the principal source of food for newly settled juvenile abalone. It
is believed while newly settled juveniles may in fact not be able to digest some diatom species
they are capable of digesting extracellular mucus secreted by diatoms
▪ Mucus - secreted by the foot of juvenile and adult abalone. It remains attached to the substrata
which they crawl across and is thought to be relatively insoluble. Larvae have been observed to
settle in high densities on mucous trails in nursery tanks.
▪ GABA - crustose red algae including Lithophyllum spp. and Lithothamnion spp. are associated
with settlement of juvenile abalone. While they can induce settlement they are of little dietary
value to the juveniles due to their calcerous nature. Macromolecular substance present in these
algae stimulated settlement and metamorphosis. They believed that this substance was closely
related to GABA (neurotransmitter) or γ - aminobutyric acid.
o They are stocked at 250-300 larvae per liter in settlement tanks.
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 ● Food
o Benthic diatoms are crucial in the culture of abalone. They are the food source for newly
metamorphosed larvae and without them the juveniles will starve. Yolk reserves carry the larvae
through settlement and metamorphosis but thereafter small digestible diatoms are required.
o Settlement tanks are prepared a week before stocking to allow the culture of epiphytic diatoms on the
plate substrates. Corrugated white PVC roofing sheets cut into 30 x 45 cm are vertically suspended
inside the rearing tanks to serve as settlement substrates. A 1-ton oval rearing tank can hold 50-60
pieces of vertically suspended plates. Tanks are filled with 10-micron cartridge filtered-seawater to a
depth of 40- 50 cm. Seawater shall flow continuously until the plate surfaces turn pale greenish-brown
after a week of culture indicating growth of diatoms. Diatom culture is enhanced by continuous
illumination. Tanks are held under ambient light during the day providing a light intensity of 2500-3000
lx. The micro-algal communities may consist of the most common genera such as Navicula, Cocconeis,
Amphora, Achnanthes, Cylindrotheca, Nitzschia, among others.
Nursery (Primary)
● Place of culture
o A static water condition is maintained in the rearing tanks within the first 8-10 days from stocking to
allow settlement of postlarvae. A mild aeration is provided on the 5th day of stocking.
o At daytime, tanks are exposed to ambient light. At night, however, artificial lights using 40-watt
fluorescent lamps installed at about 50 cm above the tanks provide illumination. On the 10th day
filtered seawater is admitted continuously to refresh rearing water.
● Food
o Fresh seaweed Gracilariopsis bailinae is placed sparingly in between plates to initiate feeding, thus
weaning the juveniles from diatoms.
● Days of culture
o The newly-settled postlarvae are reared over 60 days or until they reach the early juvenile size ranging
from 5 to 10 mm in shell length at which size the juveniles are ready to feed on macro-algae.
● Stocking Density
o Abalone larvae exhibit creeping behavior indicating the need for substrates for attachment. Creeping
larvae are stocked at 150,000 to 300,000 per one-ton tank.
● Harvest
o Juveniles are then harvested and stocked in the secondary nursery tanks or perforated plastic baskets
suspended in flow-through tanks and fed fresh seaweed G. bailinae to satiation.
Nursery (Secondary)
● Food
o Artificial feeding with commercially prepared or formulated diets has been successfully tested.
Formulated feeds containing 27% crude protein, 5% lipid and 40% carbohydrates are found to be
adequate as basal feed for abalone juveniles of 15-mm shell length.
● Days of culture
o Juveniles are reared for 70-80 days or until they reach a shell length of 30 mm, the stocking size for
growout.
● Stocking Density
o Early juveniles are stocked from 600-1000 per m2 of inside surface area of perforated plastic mesh
baskets suspended in flow-through tanks.
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Culture of abalone from 30-mm size juveniles to marketable size of 55-60mm shell length is carried out
either in flow-through tanks or in sea cages within 8- 10 months.

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 o Land based culture (tank, raceways, concrete ponds) involves a continuous inflow of sand-filtered
seawater with vigorous aeration. For ease of feeding and maintenance, abalones are held in perforated
plastic buckets or in PVC framed mesh cages suspended in tanks.
o For sea cage culture, cages are suspended from a floating bamboo platform that is securely anchored by
bamboo stakes or concrete blocks.
● Stocking density
o Stocking density ranges from 60-100 per m2 surface area of shelter provided inside each cage.
● Culture Systems
o Modular system – regular reduction in densities; more space for growing abalones (growth is density
dependent)
o Continuous culture – fixed density of 100 abalones per square meter until harvest
● Food
o Abalones are fed fresh seaweeds ad libitum given at weekly intervals.
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 32-35 ppt
● Temperature
● pH: 8.0
● Dissolved Oxygen: 5 mg/L
● They are poor osmoregulators and culture tanks should be shielded from excessive rainfall. Very sensitive to
hydrogen sulphide.
● Carbon Dioxide: < 9 mg/L

Commodity: Pearl
Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ Almost all species of molluscs are capable of producing pearl-like objects, technically termed “calcareous
concretions”. However, those of value and interest as gemstones are limited to those produced by
species capable of secreting nacre or mother of pearl (MOP) shell. Two different groups of MOP shell are
widely used for pearl cultivation: (1) marine pearl oysters of the family Pteriidae; and (2) freshwater
pearl mussels of the families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum: Mollusca
○ Class: Bivalvia
○ Order: Ostreida
○ Family: Pteriidae
● History
○ China was the first country to culture pearls and people in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) already
knew how to grow blister pearls on the inner shell surfaces of freshwater mussels. In the late thirteenth
century (Ming Dynasty) this primitive technique continued to be used to produce pearl Buddhas that
were sold in temple markets. Modern round pearl cultivation owes its founding and status to
development of the Mise-Nishikawa-method in Japan in the early 1900s. Commercial production of
cultured marine pearls using this method was pioneered by Kokichi Mikimoto. Considered a national
hero in Japan, and the ‘father’ of modern cultured pearl production, Mikimoto opened a new era for
pearl cultivation.
○ Hikari SSP Corporation founded in 1992 is one of such Filipino pearl culture farms which benefitted from
the technological knowledge passed on from its Japanese mentors. The company itself still employs a
great number of well-trained Japanese pearl technicians who work and train with their Filipino
counterparts. Basically, the company is the local arm of the Japanese company Calamian Pearl Company,
which produces and exports high quality Golden South Sea Pearls.
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 ● Top producers
○ The major cultured pearl producing countries now include China, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, French
Polynesia, Cook Islands, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Mexico.
○ Pearl farms in the country are found in Palawan, Surigao, Samar, Sulu, TawiTawi, Sorsogon, and Cebu. It
can be a major livelihood generation program in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) and the Autonomous
Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which have the natural resources to grow this industry.
● Species and variants
○ Marine Pearl Oysters
■ Akoya pearl oyster – Pinctada fucata/ martensii
● Most commonly used for commercial pearl production
■ Black-Lip pearl oyster –Pinctada margaritifera
● Pearls produced by Black-Lip pearl oysters are known as “black pearls” or “Tahitian black
pearls”
■ Pinctada maxima –silver or gold lip pearl oyster
● Pinctada maxima is the largest species of the genus Pinctada and called the “Silver or
Gold lip pearl oyster” due to the white color of the valve edge and silver/gold color from
the pearl that they have produced. It is used for production in Indonesia, Australia,
Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar.
● Individuals of Pinctada maxima live in rocky, gravel or sandy bottoms and reef
environments.
■ Pteria penguin – winged pearl oysters or penguin wing’s oyster
● Japanese name is “mabe gai” and is traditionally used for half pearl or mabe production.
○ Freshwater Pearl Mussels
■ Triangle sail mussel (Hygriopsis cumingii)
Pearl formation
● Age at maturity
o After young pearl oysters have reached about 2 years of age, they are ready for grafting, which starts
the development of a cultured pearl.
● Days of culture
o After an inspection 40 days after grafting to evaluate the results, the pearl oysters are kept on the farm
for a further 12-24 months. The pearls are then harvested, and the pearl oysters that produce good
quality pearls are grafted a second time
● Pearl formation (Cultured)
o A pearl is formed when the mantle tissue is injured by a parasite, an attack of a fish or another event
that damages the external fragile rim of the shell of a mollusk shell bivalve or gastropod.
o In response, the mantle tissue of the mollusk secretes nacre into the pearl sac, a cyst that forms during
the healing process. Chemically speaking, this is calcium carbonate and a fibrous protein called
conchiolin.
o As the nacre builds up in layers of minute aragonite tablets, it fills the growing pearl sac and eventually
forms a pearl. It is a myth that a grain of sand or grit can cause a pearl to form, as nacre does not adhere
to inorganic substances
o Cultured pearl production typically includes five stages: oyster selection, nucleus implanting, nurturing,
harvesting and pearl processing, in which nucleus implantation is the key step
▪ Oyster selection
● Two sources of mollusk stock for pearl production:
o Collection from the wild: oysters are collected as adults or as juveniles and
grown to a size suitable for pearl production
o Produce seed/spat (juveniles) through artificial propagation in a dedicated
facility or from spat collection programs. Relies on the deployment of substrates
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 to the water column, at an appropriate time, to provide substrates for larval
recruitment. Juveniles are then grown to a size suitable for pearl production. At
least a year and a half is needed for pearl oyster larvae to grow to a size
appropriate for pearl production.
▪ Nucleus implanting
● This is the key step in cultured pearl production. In order to grow marine pearls, a tiny
piece of mantle tissue (called a graft, or ‘saibo’ in Japanese), approximately 3 × 3 mm in
size, is removed from a suitable donor oyster and implanted with a spherical polished
shell-bead or nucleus into the gonad of a recipient or host oyster. For freshwater pearls
to grow, a piece of mantle graft alone serves the same purpose, so a nucleus is not a
pre-requisite for pearl production. There are still some technical difficulties associated
with growing beaded pearls within the visceral mass of freshwater mussels because of
their physiological structure. A period of ‘conditioning’ or pre-operative treatment is
often needed to prepare oysters/mussels for implantation, and appropriate post-
operative husbandry reduces stress and helps maximise nucleus/graft tissue retention
after implantation.
▪ Nurturing
● After the nucleus is inserted, implanted oysters/mussels need to be carefully nurtured in
a resting zone for at least 2 weeks, a critical period for mortality and nucleus rejection,
then returned to the ocean in an area of calm water at a depth of 2–3 m. Appropriate
water temperature is critical for survival of implanted oysters and optimal nacre
secretion rate in P. maxima occurs at 25–30 °C, when nacre is first secreted onto the
nucleus from around 45 days after operation. Nucleated oysters are generally cultured
for a further 1–2 years before resulting marine pearls are harvested. A culture period of
1–5 years is usually required for freshwater pearl production depending on culture
method and species.
▪ Harvesting
● In winter or when water temperature is relatively low, the nacre secretion rate slows,
resulting in a more detailed, smooth, and lustrous pearl surface. Thus colder conditions
are the best time to harvest pearls. Akoya and South Sea pearls are grown within the
gonad tissue of host oysters. They are grown one pearl at a time which limits the
number of pearls at harvest.
▪ Pearl processing
● Due to variations in colour and the degree of surface defects, more than 90% of cultured
pearls cannot be used directly to produce jewelry or other products. However, raw
pearls may have to be processed to improve their quality to meet the standards of gem-
quality merchandise, and pearl enhancement is routinely used for Akoya pearls and
freshwater pearls. Pearl processing techniques may include screening, degreasing,
decontamination, bleaching, whitening, colouring etc. Pearl appearance and value can
be greatly improved by these technical procedures, which enhance colour and surface
texture. While fine-quality cultured pearls (marine and freshwater) are selected to make
jewelry, small non-beaded cultured pearls, which have little value, may be processed
into drugs and cosmetics
● Pearl formation (Natural)
o presence of a nucleus
o It can be of organic or inorganic origin, such as parasites adults or larvae, molluscan eggs, decaying parts
of plants, sand grains, epithelium or blood cells of the same animal, etc. These foreign bodies may
become embedded between the shell and mantle.

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 o In response to this stimulus, the foreign body is invaginated by the outer epithelium of the mantle and a
pearl-sac is formed around it. Pearls are not produced without the formation of the pearl-sac. The pearl-
sac is derived from the internal or external layer of the epithelium of the mantle or of the gill plates.
o Natural pearls form within oysters and mussels when nacre-secreting epithelial cells are transferred into
the viscera by ‘accidental’ means, and their continued secretion of nacre forms a pearl over time.
o Natural pearls can be distinguished from cultured pearls by X-ray that will reveal no nucleus or curved
cavity structures in the centre of the pearl, and a uniform, onion-like structure
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Raft culture
▪ Suitable farming methods in sheltered bays.
▪ Rafts are moored with anchors at opposite sides with tested quality chains and their direction is
decided according to the prevalent wind direction at the specific site
o On-bottom culture
▪ Sea bottoms with a granite or coral stones composition can be used for on-bottom culture.
▪ However, it has been noted that the growth of the mother oyster is slower in on-bottom culture
compared to the growth of oysters cultured in raft.
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: tolerate 24-50 ppt for short duration of 2-3 days. Salinities of 14 and 55 ppt may cause 100% mortality
● Temperature: 20-25 C (optimal) < 13 C (hibernation, deposition of calsium stops) < 6 C (death) > 28 C (oysters
show exhaustion). The thickness of the pearl layers are affected by the minute changes in water temperature
during the day and also vary considerably according to the season of the year
● Dissolved Oxygen
● Bottom: Gravelly bottoms are suitable for pearl oyster farming, while sandy or muddy bottoms should be
avoided. Pearl oysters generally prefer clear waters as high turbidity levels will affect their filtration efficiency.
● Depth: Around 15 m. At greater depths, even if the rate of nacre deposition is slower, pearls of high quality with
a pinkish coloration are obtained.

Commodity: Silver or snub nose Pompano

Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ Readily adapt in the culture environment;
○ Acceptance of formulated feeds; and
○ Rapid and uniform growth rates compared to other farmed fish
○ Exhibit a strong schooling behavior and high tolerance to a wide range of salinity. The species is pelagic,
very active and is able to acclimatize to lower salinities showing growth even at 10 ppt salinity.
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum Chordata
○ Class: Actinopterygii
○ Order: Perciformes
○ Family Carangidae
○ Trachinotus blochii
○ Common names: Asian Pompano, Silver Pompano, Snub-nosed Pompano, Pompano, Buck-nosed
Trevally, Dart Golden O, Golden Permit, Ladyfish, Long Dorsal Fin Pompano, Moonfish, Ovate Pompano,
Palometa, Permit, Pompio, Round Pompano, Snub-nosed Dart, Snub-nose Swallowtail, Spinous Dory,
Tropical Permit, Tropical Pompano
● Top producers
○ Mariculture of snubnose pompano is conducted in open sea cages, brackishwater cages and ponds in
China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Methods for open sea cage farming
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 has been well established in Vietnam and commercial farming is being undertaken by small farmers and
private companies.
● Species and variants
○ Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)
Life History
● Adults
○ Feed primarily on sand mollusks and other hard-shelled invertebrates.
○ Selective grazer feeding primarily along the bottom. Large and well-developed pharyngeal plates
indicate specialization to feed on hardshell organisms such as clams or crabs.
○ The stomach is well-defined and sac shaped, indicating omnivorous food habits.
● Juvenile
○ Inhabit sandy shorelines and shallow sandy or muddy bays near river mouths, while adults move out in
schools to clear seaward reefs. Found near coral and rock reefs. Juveniles are in small schools, while
adults are usually solitary.

Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o 3 to 4 years to mature as broodstock. Wild collected snubnose pompano broodstock above one kilogram
can be conditioned through photo-thermal regulation to accelerate the maturity of the gonads. Once
the intra-ovarian eggs attain 450–500 µm (micron) size, fish can be induced to spawn by using hormones
including gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) or human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG).
● Place of culture
● Sex Determination
o Gonadal maturation can be determined through cannulation biopsy of intra-ovarian eggs.
● Spawning
o Spawning can be done either by natural or inducing with hormonal treatment. Induced breeding is
commonly practiced in most commercial hatcheries. The hormonal treatment is intended to trigger the
last phases in egg maturation, i.e. a strong egg hydration followed by their release. However, if eggs
have not reached the late-vitellogenic (or post-vitellogenic) stage, the treatment does not work; hence
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 ovarian biopsy is essential for assessing the ovarian development. The human chorionic gonadotropin
(HCG) is used at a dosage of 350 IU per kg body weight is used for male and female. This dosage can be
administered as a single dose on the dorsal muscles. The HCG can be successfully replaced by an
analogue of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone [LH-RHa des-Gly10 (D-Ala6) LH-RH ethylamide,
acetate salt]. It is a small molecule with 10 peptides and acts on the pituitary gland to induce the release
of gonadotropins which, in turn, act on the gonads. Almost 100 percent of injected fish spawn eggs
whose quality matches that of natural spawning.
o Spawning will occur generally within 36–48 hours after hormone injection. The spawning takes place
normally between late night and early morning hours. To minimise the presence of poor quality eggs,
which usually float deeper in the water, it is recommended to collect only the eggs found at the water
surface.
o Once gonads are matured, eggs can be produced either by natural spawning (voluntary) or by manual
stripping. Manual stripping is the preferred method as it provides a predictable spawning event and
timing. Eggs and milt are stripped in batches into bowls. Once fertilized, eggs are buoyant and
transparent.
Hatchery
● Hatching
o Incubation of eggs can be carried out in incubation tanks of 3–5 tonne capacity. Stocking density can be
maintained at a level of 200 to 500 eggs per litre. After hatching, the fish larvae have to be moved to the
larval rearing tanks filled with filtered seawater. The hatching of eggs takes place from 18 to 24 hours
after fertilization.
● Place of culture: fiberglass reinforced plastic
● Stocking density
o The larvae hatched in the incubation tanks or larval rearing tanks need to be distributed in larviculture
tanks to have stocking density of 20–30 larvae per litre.
Nursery
● Place of culture: Floating cages or hapa nets (4 x 4 x 3 m)
● Stocking density
o Rearing is initiated at 25-30 dph. 30-50 pcs/m3 0.5 to 1.0 inch fingerlings
● Days of culture
o Around a month until fingerlings reach juvenile size (12.0 to 15 g)
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Floating net cages (4 x 4 x 3 m) in calm waters particularly in protected areas such as coves, sheltered
lagoons, and bays. Cage frame should be High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes which is resistant to
big waves and strong currents. These pipes are buoyant and can serve as floaters of the cage. Net cages
are made of knotless black nets (Super G no. 14)
o After 3 months, the nets are replaced with bigger sized mesh nets (40 cm) to ensure good water
exchange
● Stocking density
o Supply of fingerlings (0.5 to 1.5 inches) comes mainly from hatcheries. 30 pcs/ m3
● Day of culture: four to seven months
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: 30-35 ppt
● Temperature: 27-30 C
● Dissolved Oxygen: 6.0-7.6 mg/L
● Depth (for mariculture): 5-7.5 m

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Commodity: Sea Cucumber
Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ Holothurians have been harvested commercially for at least a thousand years, occasionally for the raw
body wall or viscera, but mostly in order to be processed into a dry product called bêche-de-mer,
trepang, or hai-san, which is considered a delicacy and a medicinal food by Chinese and other Asian
peoples.
● Taxonomy
○ Among the commercial coastal holothurians, the Aspidochirotida are predominant in the tropics, while
the Dendrochirotida are more common in temperate regions
○ Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Holothuroidea
Order: Aspidochirotida
Family: Holothuriidae
● History
○ The Philippines was once a top producer of dried sea cucumbers (also known as beche-de-mer or
trepang) in the 1980s. With its decreasing annual production of less than 900 tons, the country ranks as
the world’s eighth sea cucumber producer (FAO, 2015).
● Species and variants
○ Teatfish (Holothuria fuscogilva)
○ Golden sandfish (Holothuria lessoni)
○ Sandfish (Holothuria scabra)
○ Ball sea cucumber (Phyllophorus proteus)
○ Chalkfish (Bohadschia marmorata)
Life History
● Adults
○ The adult stages are benthic (living on the sea bottom); some species live on hard substrates, rocks,
coral reefs, or as epizoites on plants or invertebrates. Most of the species inhabit soft bottoms, on the
sediment surface or buried in the sediment
● Eggs and larvae
○ Sea cucumbers within the order Aspidochirotida have planktotrophic larvae (auricularia stage), i.e. that
feed on microalgae in the water column during the dispersive larval phase. Within the order
Dendrochirotida, the larvae of sea cucumbers are lecithotrophic, i.e. the dispersive larvae feed on a lipid
yolk rather than on microalgae in the water column. They then shrink to 400 to 500 um and
metamorphose to the doliolaria stage. Doliolaria larvae quickly (~1 day) metamorphose into pentactula
larvae and are ready to settle on the substratum.

Broodstock
● From the wild
o Natural seed is collected in the spawning season using PE bags packed with oyster shells and/or scallop
shells and artificial screens made of PE as settlement materials. These are suspended from ropes in the
sea.
● Spawning
o Broodstock for hatchery use are obtained from natural stocks. Fully matured broodstock in the
spawning season can be used for gamete collection immediately. To induce maturation, broodstock are
reared for several months at a density of 25-10/m3 and fed with powdered brown algae. Maturation is
judged by the egg diameter (>150 um) and sperm formation in the gonads.
o Gametes are obtained by thermal stimulation in Japan. The broodstock are set individually in 15 litre
containers and/or 20-30 broodstock are placed in 100 litre tanks filled with sea water and the
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 temperature is raised to 5 °C higher than the normal rearing temperature. The released eggs are
fertilized within two hours.
Hatchery and nursery
● Stocking density
o The fertilized eggs are washed to remove excess sperm and left to hatch out for about 18 hours without
aeration. The hatched blastulae swim to the surface and are transferred to larval rearing tanks at a
density of 1-2/ml and fed microalgae.
 Place of culture
o Nursery is done in mesh enclosures in earthen ponds. Early technology comprised two steps: small
juveniles (3–5 mm long) are firstly grown in fine-mesh ‘hapas’ (400–700 μm) then, at 1 g, they are
moved to larger-mesh (e.g. 1 mm) ‘bag nets’
● Food
o For larval food, Dunaliella sp. and some diatoms are used.
● Days of culture
o Full developed metamorphosing larvae are collected on corrugated PVC plates and/or frame fitted
screens made of PE or PP. Juveniles attach to these collectors and are fed natural diatoms. In China,
juveniles are regularly transferred to new settling plates, to overcome the mortality that occurs through
high density levels, and are sorted by size because they grow at different rates.
o Juveniles that have attained 2-3 cm in body length are transferred to ponds or for pen culture or are
used for sea ranching in China. In Japan, the juveniles produced are then transferred to an intermediate
culture stage or are released directly onto the fishery grounds. The intermediate culture continues in the
hatchery or in 1-2 mm mesh lantern nets suspended in the sea until they reach ~30 mm.
Grow-out
● Stocking density
o In ponds located near the sea shore, the sea cucumbers are stocked at 30-100/m2.
o In pen rearing, cages are hung under wooden rafts or placed directly on the sea floor and the sea
cucumbers are fed with brown seaweeds (Sargassum sp.) and other macroalgae.
● Day of culture
o Juveniles of about 6 cm (10 g) that are released in March to May grow to ~150 g by October to
November of the same year.

Commodity: Sea Horse

Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ Group mane: Herd
○ Have no teeth and no stomach. Food passes through their digestive systems so quickly that they must
eat constantly to stay alive
○ The body of sea horses is the main quality indicator, and therefore rearing bigger species is more
profitable than growing small ones.
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum: Chordata
○ Class: Actinopterygii
○ Order: Sygnathiformes
○ Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
○ Species: H. kuda
H. japonicus
H. trimacutus
H. coronatus
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 H. histrix
H. kelleggi
● History
○ Seahorses are under threat worldwide because of the global demand for them and products arising
from them. It is claimed that nearly 80 nations trade 24 millions seahorses annually. Currently the
largest threat to seahorses is their use in traditional Chinese medicines. Dead seahorses are milled and
used as cures or remedies for human skin ailments, high cholesterol levels, excess throat phlegm,
goitres, heart disease, lymph node disorders, incontinence and impotence. As seahorses retain their
shape after being dried many are also sold as souvenirs. The largest markets for these products are
North America, Europe, Japan and Taiwan Province of China. Many are also taken for home aquaria but,
being difficult to rear, most are lost. The tiger tail seahorse Hippocampus comes is listed in Appendix II
of CITES, effective May 2004. This species is particularly targeted by fishers for medicinal and aquarium
purposes; it is also incidentally caught by trawlers. In the Philippines the population of this species has
been reported to have decreased by up to 70 percent over the decade 1985-1995.
○ Culturing seahorses is one of the measures being taken to sustainably recruit this species and also to
meet the demand for Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) and the aquarium trade. In Viet Nam, for
conservation reasons, F1 broodstock are kept in cages where they produce a lot of fry daily for release
into the sea.
● Top producers
○ Although many countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand and the United
States of America are reported to culture seahorses, primarily for the aquarium trade, the tiger tail
seahorse is currently cultured only in Viet Nam.
● Species and variants
○ Vulnerable species
■ Great seahorse (Hippocampus kelloggi)
■ Hedgehog seahorse (Hippocampus spinosissimus)
■ Three-spot seahorse (Hippocamus trimaculatus)
■ Spotted seahorse (Hippocampus kuda)
■ Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus)
■ Japanese seahorse (Hippocampus mohnikei)
■ Giant seahorse (Hippocampus ingens)
■ Barbour’s seahorse (Hippocampus barbouri)
■ Patagonian seahorse (Hippocampus patagonicus)
■ Thorny seahorse (Hippocampus histrix)
■ Tiger tail seahorse (Hippocampus comes)
■ West African seahorse (Hippocampus algiricus)
○ Endangered species
■ White’s seahorse (Hippocampus whitei)
■ Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis)
Life History
● Infants: birth to 6 weeks
○ Food: brine shrimp
○ Growth rate: very rapid growth, the baby seahorse quadruples in size.
○ Mortality: eaten by predators or being swept into ocean currents (since they are pelagic)
● Juveniles: 6 weeks to 4 months
○ Growth rate: rapid growth, first indications of pouch development, the young seahorse grows from 11
to 13 inches.
○ Mortality: outer bone (has a nasty taste, dropping the risk of it being eaten by predators) develops, the
risk of death drops sharply
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 ○ Prefer to live amongst Sargassum and move to corals and sponges when they become older.
● Sub adults: 4 to 6 months
○ Growth rate: growth is slow, the male seahorse’s pouch development is complete, allowing sub adult
seahorses to begin mating.
○ Mortality: from exhaustion and stress during heavy storms
● Adults: from 6 months onward
○ Growth rate: growth stops at this stage, the adults have reached their maximum size and are now very
mature.
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o The age of sexual maturation varies among species, as well as being influenced by seawater
temperature, nutrition and other environmental conditions. When sea-horses are cultured under
optimal conditions, they attain sexual maturity in 100 days.
o As water temperature increases to 26–28 °C, they enter the peak period of reproduction
● Place of culture
o Broodstock are obtained by divers from the wild or from F1 generation animals maintained in captivity.
The broodstock animals are kept in cages (2 x 2 x 4 m), located in calm sea in a bay or in indoor tanks (2
x 2 x 1.5 m)
● Sex Determination
o Dioecious animals
● Spawning
o Spawns throughout the year but peak spawning lasts from August to November in Vietnam and
September to December in the Philippines.
o Females produce the eggs, which are deposited in the male’s pouch, who becomes pregnant and gives
birth to the offspring. The reproduction season is closely related to water temperature (suitable
temperature for reproduction is 20–28 °C).
o A seahorse’s pregnancy lasts for two to four weeks.
o When the baby seahorse is ready to be born, male undergoes muscular contractions to expel them from
his pouch. He usually gives birth at night and is ready for the next batch of eggs by morning when his
mate returns.
o Seahorses do not care for their young once they are born.
o The fecundity of sea-horse cultured under controlled conditions is higher than that of wild specimens.
o Over 70% of the broodstock have reproductive capabilities, and a mature specimen can reproduce 10–
12 times in one year.
o During each spawn one female can lay several hundred eggs.
o As the animals grow older the fecundity gradually decreases.
Hatchery
● Place of culture
o Small hatchery tanks are required for intensive stocking of broodstock and larvae. The tank bottom area
should be about 2 m2 with a depth of 0.6–1.0 meter. The bottom and walls of the tank must be painted
black. The two ends of the tank should be fitted with an inlet and an outlet, respectively.
● Stocking density
o One day after spawning, the fry are transferred, using a 1 mm mesh net, to 0.5 m3 plastic indoor tanks
supplied with a biofilter, combined with UV and ozone treatment. The fry are stocked at 1-2/litre.
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Nursery tanks are especially used to culture 7–15 day-old juveniles. They should have an area of 2–6 m2
with a depth of 0.8–1.0 meter. Tanks built outdoors must be fitted with some sort of cover in order to
prevent strong sunshine from directly radiating the culture water.
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Grow-out
● Area for culture
o The grow-out tanks are usually quite large with an area ranging between 5–20 m2 and a depth of 0.8–1.0
meter.
o After 40 days of fry rearing the seahorses are transferred by net for rearing to commercial size in larger
indoor tanks (2-4 m3) or outdoor cages placed in calm bay waters with high transparency. Initially the
stocking rate is 500/m3 but is decreased as the fry grow to 200/m3 by the end of the rearing period.
● Day of culture
o Harvesting is usually carried out after one year. After harvesting, sea horses are soaked in freshwater for
several hours, washed and then dried under the sun.
o Tiger tail seahorses grow rapidly, reaching commercial size for aquaria (6-8 cm) in three months. It takes
10-12 months to rear them to their maximum size (12-16 cm).
● Food
o The favourite food items of sea-horses are small crustaceans and their larvae, such as Paracalanus sp.,
Sckmakeria sp., Acartia sp., Oithona sp., Neomysis sp., Palaemone sp., Periclimenes sp., etc. Thus,
farming of sea-horse should include the artificial culture of these or similar food organisms. In case of
shortage of live diet, other feed stuff such as dried shrimp or fresh fish meat can be used as a
supplementary diet. Experiments have shown that dried or salted shrimp meat give better results than
fish meat.
Optimum Parameters
● Salinity: Euryhaline. They can live in seawater with salinities ranging between 9–37 ppt, however adaptation to
salinity is closely related to the stage of maturity. The lowest salinity the juveniles can survive in is 15 ppt, while
adult specimens can tolerate a salinity of 6 ppt or even lower.
● Temperature: They are euryhermal. Optimum temperature for most species is around 28 °C. When the seawater
temperature increases to 20 °C the sexual activity of the broodstocks tends to increase considerably.
● pH: 6.5 to 8.0
● Dissolved Oxygen: Although sea-horses are slow moving organisms, their oxygen requirement is relatively high,
particularly during the hatching period. The DO in a culture tank should always be above 3 mg/L.
● Light intensity: A certain light intensity is required for normal growth and development of sea-horses. The
optimal light intensity ranges from 1,000–10,000 Lux. In a culture environment where the light intensity is either
too strong or too dim, diseases and other abnormalities often occur. For example, sea-horses cultured in a dark
pond become blind after several days.

Commodity: Sea Urchin

Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ Are an overfished resource and that total daily harvest is on the down trend.
○ Exported mainly to countries like Japan, (known as uni), Taiwan, Hongkong and Korea, the roe is
obtained mainly.
○ The gonads are not only the source of eggs or sperm, which are referred to as roe, but also serve as the
main nutrient storage organ. Gonads tend to be bright orange in colour in females and light yellow in
males.
● Taxonomy
○ Phylum Echinodermata
○ Class Echinoidea
○ Order Camarodonta
○ Family Toxopneustidae
○ Tripneustes gratilla
○ Substitute species for export (less preferred): Diadema setosum and Echinothrix diadema
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 ● History
○ The industry started as an export-oriented activity
● Top producers
○ Sea urchin juveniles have been produced on a commercial or semi-commercial scale by hatcheries in
Japan, South Korea, Ireland, Norway, Scotland and Canada.
● Species and variants
○ Kina (Evechinus chloroticus) – endemic to New Zealand where its distribution is strongly associated with
kelp beds
○ Purple sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogamma)
○ Erizo or Chilean red sea urchin (Loxechinus albus)
Life History
● Adults
○ They have separate sexes and are broadcast spawners. During the breeding season, the matured
individuals shed their gametes in the seawater column where fertilization occurs.
● Eggs and larvae
○ The fertilized eggs develop to form pluteus larvae, which after a period of planktonic development,
feeding on a microalgae, settle to a suitable substratum and undergo metamorphosis to form tiny
juvenile sea urchins. Larval life cycle is almost around 1 month at 26-28C, including the feeding or four-
armed stage, the six to eight-armed stages and settling competent stage.
○ Sea urchin larvae and all developmental stages are pelagic (planktonic) up to the settlement stage or
metamorphosis (pluteus).
○ Settlement and metamorphosis are the most critical stages in the development and culture of sea urchin
larvae. High survival is dependent on the larvae being competent to metamorphose and then
responding to settlement cues. Induction of metamorphosis in small-scale culture has recently been
performed on coralline red algal extracts + Chaetoceros diatom (50:50) in petri dishes (9.0 x 3.0 cm)
containing FSW. Majority of the competent larvae are metamorphosed to young juvenile within 1 day
postsettlement. They were then cultured on coralline algal stones in aerated aquaria for three months
by which time they attained appropriate juvenile sizes
● Juveniles
○ The juveniles grow on microalgae and the estimated time for these young urchins to reach marketable
size is commonly in the range of 1-3 years, but varying according to species.

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Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Sexual maturity at a size of 6 cm or roughly after 15 months
● Sex Determination
o Sexes are separate in sea urchin but it is not possible to distinguish between males and females from
their external appearance unless they are running ripe. If this is the case, then sex may be determined
by colour as the females’ spawn is usually bright orange and the males’ semen light yellow
● Spawning
o Peak spawning in December to January although the release of gametes occur year-round.
o Brood stocks of sea urchin are usually collected from the wild when they attain appropriate sexual
maturity. Gametes from both female and male urchins are obtained by injecting 0.5 M KCl into the
coelomic cavity. Eggs are collected by inverting female urchins over a glass beaker filled with filtered sea
water (FSW), while sperms in the most concentrated form are pipetted off the genital pores
o Fertilization is usually done at limited sperm concentration and the resulting embryos are reared.
Hatchery
● Hatching
o The fertilized eggs hatch in approximately 10–15 h, depending on the species, to develop to a ciliated
blastula.
● Place of culture
o Sea urchin culture has been accomplished on a large scale in Japan for many decades. Millions of
juvenile urchins are produced in their hatcheries, for release to managed areas of seafloor on the
intertidal areas. The nationally co-ordinated reseeding program has developed to the extent that over
66 million juveniles were released on the reefs within which, over 80% were Strongylocentrotus

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 intermedius. There are also much smaller-scale reseeding programs operating in South Korea and on
Luzon Island in the Philippines.
o For the large scale culture in Japan, partial water exchange systems and continuous flow-through
systems are used
● Stocking density
o When the larvae attain feeding stage (four-armed pluteus), they are cultured in glass bottles on a
rotating roller with a larval density of 1-2 individual/ml.
● Food
o Larvae are supplemented with a cultured phytoplankton (Chaetoceros calcitrans, Isochrysis galbana) at
concentrations of 4000, 6,000 and 8,000 cells per ml of medium daily at four-, six- and eight-armed
pluteus stages, respectively, until attaining metamorphic competence within 1 month after fertilization
o Most culturists use biofilm or a specially seeded diatom substrate created from species isolated locally
and grown on a PVC wave plate.
● Days of culture
o Hatchery-reared juveniles are robust enough to survive, transfer to sea cages or other grow-out systems
from a small size (5 mm test diameter). At this point, they are weaned onto other diets, soft macroalgae
or artificial diets, depending on the grow-out protocols.
Nursery and grow-out
● Indoor small-scale aquaria rearing
o 1 day old juveniles are reared in small aquaria (25 x 20 x 10 cm) with aerated filtered seawater and
pieces of dead coral with coralline red algae as food. This is continued for up to three months, by which
time the juveniles attain 9-10 mm in test diameter. The three-month-old juveniles are then transferred
to glass aquaria (46 x 30 x 30). Stocking density is at 20 juveniles per aquarium of the specified size. After
the culture period of one year, the urchins attain sexual maturity.
● Hatchery-reared juveniles have been grown in suspended culture in closed recirculation systems and in dammed
rock pools in southern Ireland
● A sea-cage cultivation system of stacking baskets suspended from a ladder-like structure over which a work
barge or raft can operate is being developed by Norwegian researchers.
● The time taken for juveniles to reach market size is 1-3 years.

Commodity: Sea Bass

Basic Info
● Characteristics
○ It is a species with catadromous habits within its areas of distribution (grows to maturity in fresh or
brackish waters and spawns in the sea).
○ It is a relatively hardy species that tolerates crowding and has wide physiological tolerances.
○ The high fecundity of female fish provides plenty of material for hatchery production of seed.
○ Hatchery production of seed is relatively simple.
○ Barramundi feed well on pelleted diets, and juveniles are easy to wean to pellets.
○ Barramundi grow rapidly, reaching a harvestable size (350 g – 3 kg) in six months to two years.
● Taxonomy
○ Local term: Barramundi (Australia and PNG), apahap, bulgan, kakap, salongsong
○ Common name: silver sea perch, giant perch, white seabass
○ Phylum Chordata
○ Class Actinopterygii
Order Perciformes
Family Latidae
○ Lates calcarifer
● History
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 ○ It is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Arabian Gulf to China, Taiwan Province
of China, Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. Aquaculture of this species commenced in the
1970s in Thailand, and rapidly spread throughout much of Southeast Asia.
Life History
● Adults
○ Voracious carnivore. Fish spend most of their life in a lagoon which connects to the sea. They spend two
to three more years in estuarine areas until they mature, then migrate to the sea water around the
mouth of a river or lagoon for spawning. . Spawners live in coastal rocky shores but some migrate to a
freshwater body after the spawning is over.
● Eggs and embryo
○ Eggs are spawned and fertilized in the sea. Fertilized eggs need 12 to 15 hours in 29.5–31 degrees
Celsius seawater for hatching. The spherical eggs range from 0.74 to 0.80 cm in diameter with a single
oil globule from 0.20–0.28 mm in diameter.
● Larvae
○ Larvae enter brackishwater swamps and mangrove areas. Feed almost exclusively on microcrustacea
(copepods, rotifers, Artemia).
● Juvenile
○ The fish migrate to freshwater when they grow bigger. Also inhabit estuaries, rivers and lakes and return
to marine waters to spawn. They are omnivorous at this stage.
Broodstock
● Age at maturity
o Protandrous hermaphrodites: they first mature as males then become females on their sixth year or
when they are over 3 kg in size. Should egg production decrease as a result of having more female
broodstock, the operator must cull and acquire younger or male broodstock.
o Wild spawners may be used, or breeders raised in cages, tanks or ponds. Seabass are injected with
LHRHa and left to spawn for 2-3 consecutive days.
● Place of culture: floating cages or in concrete or fiberglass tanks
● Sex Determination
o Sexing is difficult except during spawning season (April to September)
o A milky white substance of medium-thick consistency extruded out of the urogenital opening indicates
the presence of milt among sexually ripe male spawners
o When no milt is extruded after repeated massage of the abdomen, the tapered end of a polyethylene
cannula is gently inserted 10 cm into the urogenital opening of the fish. The other end of the cannula is
then gently aspirated by mouth as the insulated end is carefully withdrawn from the fish.
o Inspect the contents of the cannula. A milky substance indicates milt, whereas tiny spherical bodies are
eggs and the spawner is female
o Blow out eggs into a small vial containing 50% buffered formalin solution as fixative
o Transfer a few eggs onto a glass slide and measure the diameter of 30 eggs with a calibrated
microscope. Calculate the average egg diameter. A female of at least 0.40 mm is sexually ripe.
● Spawning
o Asian barramundi have been induced to spawn by manipulation of environmental parameters (salinity
and temperature) to simulate the migration to the lower estuary, and the tidal regime there at the time
of natural spawning. Breeding ratio is 1 female to 2 males. The same techniques have proven
unsuccessful with Australian populations of barramundi, which generally require hormonal induction to
spawn. Barramundi have been successfully spawned using a range of hormones at various doses, which
were administered by techniques including injection, slow-release cholesterol pellets and osmotic
pumps. Induced spawning of barramundi is now generally carried out using the leuteinising hormone-
releasing hormone analogues (LHRHa) (Des-Gly10)D-Ala6,Pro9-LH-RH ethylamide and (Des-Gly10)D-
Trp6, Pro9-LH-RH ethylamide.
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 o Breeding season: coincides with the monsoon months from late June to late October
o Pre-spawning behaviour involves the male fish pairing with a female and rubbing its dorsal surface
against the area of the female's genital papilla, erecting its fins and 'shivering'. In the absence of such
displays, egg release may occur but they are not fertilised. Spawning occurs 34–38 hours after injection,
usually around dusk, and may be accompanied by violent splashing at the water surface. Barramundi will
often spawn for up to five consecutive nights.
o At spawning, the sperm and eggs are released into the water column and fertilisation occurs externally.
Barramundi eggs are 0.74–0.80 mm in diameter with a single oil droplet of 0.23–0.26 mm diameter. The
eggs are collected from spawning tanks using fine mesh (around 300 µm) egg collection nets through
which tank water is diverted. If barramundi are spawned in cages, the cages are lined with a fine mesh
'hapa' net that retains the eggs inside the cage, enabling their later removal to the hatchery.
o Fertilised eggs undergo rapid development and hatching occurs 12–17 hours after fertilisation at 27–30
°C. Newly hatched larvae have a large yolk that is absorbed rapidly over the first 24 hours after hatching,
and is largely exhausted by 50 hours after hatching. The oil globule is absorbed more slowly and persists
for about 140 hours after hatching. The mouth and gut develop the day after hatching (day two) and
larvae commence feeding from 45–50 hours after hatching.
Hatchery
● Stocking density
o Collect and incubate eggs at 1,200 eggs per liter. These hatch in about 14 hours. Stock 30 seabass larvae
per liter but reduce density to 15 per li on day 10 then 6 per li on day 21.
● Food
o The larvae that hatched from the eggs are fed mostly live food, Brachionus and Artemia. Because the
latter is quite expensive, SEAFDEC had found alternatives in cladocerans (or fleas); the freshwater
species is Moina and the estuarine species is Diaphanosoma and both can be collected and raised
cheaply like Brachionus. The thing to watch out for in seabass hatchery, in addition to the routine
activities, is regular sorting and size-grading of fry to prevent cannibalism. A three-layed sorter box can
be easily and cheaply made.
o It is best to introduce live food before the seabass larvae begin feeding 50 hours after hatching.
● Place of culture
o Barramundi are generally reared using 'green water' intensive techniques, in circular or rectangular
concrete tanks or in circular canvas tanks
o Barramundi fingerlings are also produced using extensive (pond-based) rearing procedures. Pond areas
used for the extensive larval rearing of barramundi range from 0.05 to 1 ha and may be earthen or
plastic lined.
● Days of culture
o Harvest after 26 days of rearing.
Nursery
● Place of culture
o Barramundi juveniles (1.0–2.5 cm TL) may be stocked in floating or fixed nursery cages (3 x 2 x 1.3 m) in
rivers, coastal areas or ponds, or directly into freshwater or brackishwater nursery ponds or tanks.
o
 Stocking density
o Stock 600-900 pieces of fry (1.0 to 2.5 cm)
● Food
o The fish are fed on minced trash fish (4–6 mm) or on small pellets. Vitamin premix may be added to the
minced fish at a rate of 2 percent.
o Cannibalism can be a major cause of mortalities during the nursery phase and during early grow-out
because barramundi will cannibalise fish of up to 61–67 percent of their own length. Cannibalism may
start during the later stages of larval rearing and is most pronounced in fish less than about 150 mm TL;
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 in larger fish, it is responsible for relatively few losses. Cannibalism is reduced by grading the fish at
regular intervals (usually at least every seven–ten days) to ensure that the fish in each cage are similar in
size.
● Days of culture
o This nursery phase lasts for 30 to 45 days; once the fingerlings have reached 5–10 cm TL they can be
transferred to grow-out ponds.
Grow-out
● Area for culture
o Cages (4 x 4 x 3 m) or brackishwater ponds in an estuary. A 1 ha pond may be subdivided into six
compartments so that there is space to raise different batches of sorted and size-graded fish.
● Stocking density
o 40-50 pcs/ m2
● Place of culture
o Most barramundi culture is undertaken in net cages. Both floating and fixed cages are used; these range
in size from 3×3 m up to 10×10 m, and 2–3 m depth.
● Day of culture
o 3-4 months
● Food
o Biggest expense is feeds, as the fish is carnivorous and must be fed trash fish.

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Culture of commodities:
Milkfish - oldest, most important food fish being cultured in the Phil. Prefer to produce eggs when it is hot.
● Philippine Bangus Development Program - established to ensure the sustainable supply of fry nationwide
(360 M shortage of fry annually). In 2002, 358 M fry imported from Taiwan and Indonesia.
○ Central Bangus Hatcheries (CBH) - produces good quality eggs (40% sold, 60% hatched by CBH) and
sold (P10,000 for 1 million eggs or D1 larvae) to satellite hatcheries (gov’t, academe and private)
which perform hatching and larval rearing (18-21 days)
○ CBH expected to produce 6.4 million milkfish fry annually.
○ Will utilize existing Regional Outreach Stations of BFAR.
○ Second half of the program: Satellite Central Bangus Hatcheries (SCBH) - training on hatchery
techniques as long as they are willing to sell 40% of eggs and D1 larvae to backyard hatcheries
○ Program strategies: 1. expansion of breeding facilities (3 CBH, 10 MSH), 2. environmental monitoring
of aquaculture area, 3. extensive education and outreach program for Bangus hatchery cooperators
and fish farmers.
○ Central Hatcheries: 1. BFAR, Tiwi, Albay 2. BFAR, Calape, Bohol 3. BFAR, Sta. Lucia, Palawan 4. BFAR,
Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, 5. Hipolito-Damortis, Sto Tomas, La Union, 6. Hautea- Dumangas, Iloilo, 7.
Ibabao-Kalibo, Aklan, 8. Rivera-Cabangan, Zambales
○ Satellite Hatcheries: 1. BFAR-UNP, Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur 2. BFAR, Argao Cebu 3. BFAR Bais City,
Negros Oriental 4. BFAR-LGU, Claveria, Cagayan 5. BFAR, Bongabon, Oriental Mindoro 6. BFAR-LGU
San Felipe, Zambales 7. Young- Bolinao, Pangasinan (Private)
● Pangasinan - country’s top producer of milkfish cultured in marine fish cage (83.9%) and marine fish pen
(91.8%) in 2000 → Dagupan - top producers of milkfish in the province. 60% of milkfish come from
Pangasinan. Two kinds of milkfish being cultured: 1. Bonuan Bangus - more preferred kind because of its
savory taste and palatability - short arched/ bulging belly, fat, with fine and white tailed (bit yellowish
because the fish are raised in BW) and has small head. Its lower fin is shorter than upper one). It is also soft-
fleshed and juicy. It feeds on lablab, diatoms and planktons and grown only in fishponds along inland waters
of Dagupan City (almost 2.5 M kilos harvested per year) and since it is dependent on natural food, it cannot
weigh heavier than 250 grams; 2. Raised only in fish pens/ cages, feeds on formulated feeds, long arched
belly and long tail
● Good project location and proper engineering - ensure effective and efficient operation of the hatchery.
Facilities include: electricity, aeration, water supply, drainage.
● Cost is influenced by site location and simplicity of the design. It must allow expansion of facilities and easy
access to consumers.
● Types of Milkfish Hatchery:
○ Complete - egg production
○ Satellite - larval rearing
● Water system - requires water pumps (electric or diesel-run) for continuous water supply for the hatchery
operation. Pump house is provided to protect the pumps from corrosion, for 100 breeders - 2 water pumps
with water pipes of 4 inch diameter needed running 24 hours. Satellite Hatchery - 1 pump (diesel run:
Kubota/ Yanmar) is enough
○ In Central Luzon, particularly in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, water sources for freshwater fishponds are
deep wells and communal irrigation canals; in Bataan, free-flowing wells and springs; in Tarlac,
rivers, deep wells and rainwater; and, in Zambales, deep wells and streams. Precautionary measures
should be employed when using water from rivers, streams, and communal irrigation systems. A
simple biossay can be done by using two simple techniques: two or three fish are placed in a pail full
of water from the source to be tested and observed for at least one-half day; or, a hapa or scoop net
with three to five fish situated 25 to 50 meters upstream of the water source. The water is safe for
use when the fish remain alive after the test period. Ocular inspection or nasal testing to determine
the presence of toxic substances is generally ineffective.

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 ● Filtration system - remove silt, debris and egg and larvae of competitors
● Aeration system - Roots blowers are most common air blowers for hatchery pond. Allocate extra unit as
alternate/ back-up. Install in area where it will not intake contaminated air. This is noisy so it must be
situated far from breeder-spawning tanks and working area.
● Electrical system- powerhouse: for gen set and control system. Lights - when blinking excites breeders and
cause them to ump
● Drainage system ~60% of water in larval tanks is changed daily. In spawning tanks, 200-300% in 24 hours. In
complete hatchery, drainage of spawning tanks can be integrated to the broodstock or nursery ponds.
● Spawning tanks - concrete, circular 150 T capacity, 10 m dia, 2.6 m depth, sturdey net to prevent breeders
from jumping + 4 inch dia water inlet and strong aeration. Place 1x1x1 , egg collection box with fine-meshed
net at the outlet pipe.
● Natural food: 1 larval RT: 1 rotifer: 3 Chlorella tank
○ Phytoplankton tanks - Chlorella vulgaris, Nannochloropsis, 5 m dia, 1 m depth = 16 T, roofing not
required, stand pipe
○ Zooplankton - rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis) are fed with Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis batan,
Isochrysis galbana- usually rectangular >1m deep, spacious drainage for convenient harvest, roofed
with plastic or GI sheets, must not be contaminated to algal tanks
● Phycology laboratory - keeps primary stock, 40W fluorescent lamp, 24 h sunlight
● Larval rearing tanks - square, concrete 3x3 m, 1.2 m depth = 10 T, coat with marine epoxy paint: yellow for
easy visual monitoring of feed
● Bangus weighing 500 grams each in five months - using plant-based feeds (United Soybean Board-floating
extruded feed) that reduced fishmeal use by 40%.
● “Sayap” is used to collect wild Bangus fry in Badoc, Ilocos Norte. It takes four persons to use the Sayap.
Fishermen collect 2,000 to 10,000 Bangus fry per day. They need buyers of wild fry.
● A typical Bangus “sudsod” in Roxas, Palawan is made of bamboo or light wood. Collection of fry is seasonal:
March to June and October to Nov. A typical catch is 5 thou in 2 days in 3 to 4 hrs of work. Best catch is
during full-moon and new-moon. Collection is done very early at sunrise or sometimes, at night.
● DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines — Three out of four “bangus” (milkfish) raised in ponds and cages in the country
were bred abroad, according to local producers. The Philippines’ requirement for bangus fry is close to four
billion yearly, but hatcheries can produce only 800 million fry a year at most because of insufficient
broodstock to produce the fry, said Alex Soriano, chair of the Philippine Milkfish Industry Group. As much as
75 percent of the country’s bangus fry requirement is imported from Indonesia. As a result of the shortage,
the price of fry from Indonesia has risen from 10 centavos apiece last year to 30 centavos.
Natural Food production - preferred over artificial feed
● 3 managerial stages
○ maintenance of primary stocks
○ production of secondary cultures
○ mass production of algae and zooplankton
● Physico-chemical requirements of natural food
○ Nutrients - 15 to 20 macro & micro needed
○ Light - 1000 lux at least 18 h/ day but not direct sunlight, shaded in earlier stages but can tolerate full
sunlight if dense already
○ pH: 7-8 optimum
○ Temperature: High temp, high growth rate 18-25 C is optimum, <10: slow growth, > 35 lethal
○ Aeration
○ Salinity phytoplankton 14-30 ppt rotifer 1-35 ppt
● Primary stocks (inoculum) - transported in agar plates, 5 ml test tubes, 50 ml screw caps, Temp 21-23C,
conditioned 2-3 days in air-con room then added with Conway media (1 mL CM/ 1 L inoculum)

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● Secondary stocks - packed in plastic bottles or bags - packed in styro boxes 21-23 C, condition in air-con,
transfer to 30 liter fiberglass tanks → mass productionL 30 L tanks to 16 Tons capacity tank - requires
commercial fertilizers
○ 7 liters algae + 23 L filtered SW + 0.9 g urea, 0.9 g 21-0-0, 0.9 g 14-14-14 wet in FW and mixed by
kitchen blender → after 3 days 90 L → 180 L → 500 L → 1 Ton → 16 T → feed
○ Every scale-up add ferts (0.09 g/L)
● Rotifer - transported (<24 h) in 4 L empty mineral plastic bottles → 1 liter rotifer (70-100 ind/mL) + 3 L
Nannochloropsis (20-25 x 10^6/ mL) → transport in styroboxes with ice wrapped in used newspaper → after
arriving transfer in bigger container 30 L rotifer + 8 L algae → placed in shaded area, algae for daily feed
must be 2x rotifer until 500 L rotifer volume is reached
○ Mass production 500 L rotifer + 3 T algae → 24 hours → add 3 more tons of algae if insufficient →
+6T algae (3rd day) → harvest (50%) at 4th day for feed using 65 um filter bag connected to siphon
hose → the remaining 50% add 3.5 T algae after 1-2 days harvest 50% again then other 50% add 3.5
T → total harvest on 6th/7th day
● Broodstock management >5 years preferred 1:1 or 1:2 M:F
● Determining the sex: half-fill with SW (PREFERS SW) (15 ppt + 200-250 ppm phenoxyethanol) - caught using
fine- meshed or knotless net. Males: oozing with milt. Female- PE cannula (0.85 mm) - easier during
spawning months: March to October
● Transporting milkfish broodstock
○ Land: 1 ton hauling box with SW (15-20 ppt, 20-25C by adding blocks of ice) → 4 20-25 kg breeders
○ Plane: styropor 48.5 x 86 x 54 cm and 98.5 x 178.5 plastic bag with SW (15-20 ppt, 20 C) - 2 breeders
per box
● Factors affecting survival after transport
○ Cages and pens: breeders are easier to source than earthen ponds. Ponds require conditioning tanks
before transport.
○ Older breeders - long and big, difficult to find plastic for them + get stressed easily
○ Time of transport
● Stocking broodstock: 1 fish/ 2 tons of water
○ Salinity - 20 ppt (Low salinity, less buoyant) so fish sink = minimized stress from direct exposure to
sunlight → will eat after 5 days → salinity gradually increased by flow-through. Greater flow at night
conditions breeders to spawn
● Broodstock nutrition and care: 3 months before the expected spawn: high protein with Vit C, E, fish oil - 3 to
4% fish biomass 2x daily - siphon excess feeds 2x a week - ½ water changed during nights
● Spawning period: last week of Feb to first week of November (peak egg prod: first half of the year) so prep
hatchery Nov to Jan. set egg collector at 7:00 PM with 300% water change
● Egg collection: Milkfish start to spawn at 1:00 AM. Collect eggs at 4:00-5:00 AM until 9:00 AM. Stir water to
accumulate debris and bad eggs at the center. Small eggs - 680 eggs/mL. Large eggs = 520 eggs/ mL
● TNE = total vol of collected eggs (mL)/Average eggs/ mL
● BE = Vol of bad eggs (mL)/Average egg/mL. GE = TNE - BE. Stock eggs at 20-30 eggs/liter which will hatch 24
to 26 hours after spawning.
● Larval rearing tanks: 0.70 cm space between air stones to cause effective water circulation in the tank.
● Feeding
○ Day 2 until end: natural food Nannochloropsis (500 individuals/mL)
○ Day 3-10: rotifers 5-10 ind/mL
○ Day 10-21: Rotifers 10-20 ind/mL at 9:00 AM daily
○ Day 8: artificial diet - cooked brown flour (2x a day), prawn feed (5x a day)
○ 3 days before harvest - macerated boiled egg yolk
○ On day of harvest - no food
● Water management

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 ○ Day 3 until end - daily siphoning tank bottom
○ 3-5: 10% water change, 5-10: 20-30%, 10-15: >50%, 15-harvest: 70-100%
● Harvesting and counting: 18-21 days, if eggs stocked at 20 eggs/mL (18 days only)
○ Reduce water level to 15 cm. Use fine meshed seine net to collect fry → scooped using plastic bowl
→ transfer to basin with aeration
○ Fry counting: individually or visual comparison (standard basin - 5,000 count)

Dojo “weather loach” Misgurnus anguillicaudatus “kaling”

● FW, cold regions of Cordillera, brought by Japanese as food during war
● Aquarium fish in Europe and US, health food in Japan, Korea, China
● Known food in Mt. Province, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao P220/k. Bottleneck: seed supply
● can spawn but number of sperm is very low. Solution: artificial breeding by stripping
● Breeders: Male- smaller than female, 8-10 cm, pointed mouth, fins pointed and sharp end used for mating,
pelvic fin is long, papillae has 1 hole. Female - larger than male, pelvic fin is short, papillae has 2 holes
● In Basin: 50-100L FW, 20-30 cm deep + aerator → mix male and female → feed 10% ABW with feeds,
phytoplankton, zooplankton, small snails → 25-30 C → check for egg bearing females after 2-3 weeks
○ 5- 10 females: inject with HCG peritoneally, 50 IU/ g 6:00-7:00 PM. After 12 hours strip female in a
dry saucer. In another saucer place 5 mL saline solution → to remove blood from testes (white,
~1cm). Another saucer 1-2 mL saline solution where sperm will be extracted and minced. Screen
testes tissues to separate it from spermatozoan solution → add eggs, wash fertilized eggs → hatch
after 27-34 hours
● Larvae: Day 2- Chlorella, Day 6- Artemia or hard-boiled egg yolk 2x a day, Day 15- Commercial feeds 2x a day.
Change water (70-80%) 2x daily

Koi
● Mature within a year. Has six types of color cells in their skin that have different depths in skin.
● Peak months: May to October
● 200,000 - 300,000 eggs/kg. Hatching and survival rate 20-86%
● Male: milt upon light pressure on the urogenital pore. Female: spot, round, bulging abdomen and swollen
pinkish genital pore
● Breeders must be free from deformities, head triangular in shape. 250-300 grams with sharp colors and good
finnage, females with bulging stomach (gravid), Total weight of males must be 2x female weight. 1:1 or 1:2
F:M. Spawn at 1 to 4 am, eggs hatch after 36 hours
● Most expensive pet fish in the world: one sold for $1.8 M. Three varieties are particularly attractive: Kohaku,
Sanke, Showa from 120 varieties.

Climbing Perch/ Climbing Gourami/ Thai Koi (Anabas testudineus)

● Native species in SE Asia and Africa, can climb out of the water (with Mudskippers, Lungfish and walking
catfish) 🡪 live in muddy FW, can breathe air due to the presence of breathing accessory: labyrinth organ
(lamella plate with thin bones that can absorb oxygen into the blood)
● Believed to possess mystical power preventing black magic from entering the house
● Axolotl – tetrapods that walk using four limbs vs climbing perch: use pectoral fins plus force from tail plus
spiny protrusions in gill plates to push them forward
● High commercial value for food and pets – carnivores
● Considered invasive in Australia as they could eliminate native fishes plus choking hazard (spiny gill cover)
for native fish and birds

Giant freshwater spawn - Macrobrachium (means big arm) rosenbergii “Hipon ni Gloria”
● indigenous species in the Philippines. It is known locally as ulang, udang, kising-kising and pahe. There are
about 15 species reported to be present in the country, 100 species in the world

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● Amphidromous - spends part of life cycles in both fresh and seatwer without relation to spawning reasons.
Eggs wash downstream to the sea, then metamorphose to juveniles (needs brine to survive beyond five
days-discovered in 1961 by FAO expert Shao Wen Ling) then crawl as far as 100 km upstream to breed and
repeat the cycle.
● Top producer is China (57%) with Assia supplying 98% of global trade.
● Nocturnal - spending days half-buried in mud and detritus. At night, they forage and hunt for worms,
crustaceans, mollusc etc
● Three are reported to be used for aquaculture like M. americanum, M.carcinus and M. rosenbergii. The most
popular species for culture is M. rosenbergii because of its impressive growth performance and ability to
survive and grow in turbid water conditions
● Males are divided into three morphotypes: small males (SM) have short translucent claws; mid-sized orange
claws (OC) have large yellow-orange claws as long as their bodies; while large blue claws (BC) have bright
blue claws twice as long as their bodies.
● Sorting should be done from the fifth to the 11th month to catch and sell the larger blue-clawed males.
When these are removed, the less-dominant orange-clawed males in turn develop to become BC males.
Without removing the dominant BC caste, males never fully metamorphose into the latter, larger stages and
the batch suffers from cannibalism.
● Breeding - after 4 months, female can spawn 1000 eggs/ g. In 200 L breeding tank (12 ppt, 1M:2F) 3-5 million
eggs can be produced. It takes 32 to 35 days to produce PL. Feed breeders 5% ABW everyday (8 am, 4pm).
Clean breeding tank before feeding. Change 50% water everyday → transfer breeders to spawning tank.
Gray eggs will hatch in 3-5 days. After spawning, remove breeders to prevent cannibalism. Change SW (60%)
and siphon everyday. Gradually lower salinity 2 ppt/ day. Feed larvae 3 Artemia/ larvae, 2x a day. 50% of PL
(swim upright and forward) start feeding with ground milkfish feeds
● Grow out - Site selection and engineering:
○ Soil: > clay - can hold water longer thus pumping < expensive plus construction and maintenance of
dikes are easier
○ Water: Surface water - communal irrigation canals, rivers, creeks, underground or shallow wells
● The quantity of water from open sources is plentiful and usually economical to use. However, these are also
the sources of unwanted and usually destructive fish species, such as mudfish, catfish, goby and wild tilapia.
The use of screen devices is necessary to prevent entry of such species and to prevent the prawn from being
consumed by predatory species during moulting
● Salinity 5-8 ppt, Hardness (when this is high, growth rate is lower) < 150 ppm preferred, Temp 29-31 C
● Design: best shape is rectangle fishpond - ample shoreline for feeding. Depth: 0.5 to 1.0 m. Freeboard for
dike = 30%. Steep dikes to prevent escape. Bottom of the pond must be gently sloping towards the catching
area. Must have outlet/spillway to prevent outflow during heavy rains
● Pond preparation:
○ Draining - for old ponds make sure that all are harvested and competitors eradicated.
■ Sundry the bottom of the pond. The pond is ready for flooding when a person can already
walk on top of the pond bottom without sinking. To eradicate unwanted species, use legally
sold pesticides such as Lorsban and Decis. Check the pond water three days to one week
after the first application of pesticide. Repeat the procedure if mosquito fish are still present
and too numerous since these livebearers are able to maintain their youngs inside the
stomach and later lay the fry even when the mother is dead. Small and bony carp species
called talandi has higher tolerance to pesticides. In such a case, Bayluscide can be used.
Change the water of the pond three days after the application.
■ Alternate to chemicals: teaseed cake (100 kg/ha)
○ Clear and repair dikes
○ Fabrication and installation of shelters

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 ■ Shelters are fabricated from bamboo or tamarind twigs (patalbog). The twigs which are
about one meter long are bound together (waist-size) by GI wire or plastic cord. Sufficient
weights like stones or metals are provided to keep them submerged and stay fixed. Can also
be bamboo stakes → refuge during molting
○ Flooding: 0.5 - 1.0 m.
○ Transporting fry: 2-3 Liter FW = 1,000-2,000 fry
○ Install hapa net - 2x2x1 , - 2,000 PL or 4x4x1 m 10,000 PL (1 ha fishpond 20,000-50,000 fry) + 2 to 4
coconut fronds for shade. Place hapa away from dikes.
● Culture management:
○ Fertilization
■ 10,000 PL-40,000 PL/ ha - nat food is limited so add supplment
■ 50,000 PL/ ha - solely depend on artificial feed
■ Inorganic: Basal - 100 kg/ha. Regular - 25 kg/ha/week
■ Organic: Basal - 38 kg/ha. Regular - 20 kg/ha/week
○ Water management - growth is greater in deeper water + discourages growth of pond weeds
○ Feeding - 3x a day, 5% ABW in feeding tray (1x1 m). 1st month - fry mash, 2nd month - fry crumble,
3rd to 4th - sinking pellet
○ Monitoring: at night and aided by a flashlight, look and observe the prawns near the flowing water
or around the periphery of the pond. They are easy to spot because their eyes glow in the dark when
hit by a flashlight
○ Harvesting
■ Selective - seine net (mesh size 12) with catch bag (2x2x0.5 m)
■ Total - best option in ulang harvest - seine 2 to 3x then total drain
■ 40-50 g after 4-5 months, 90 g in 6-7 months
■ With feeds containing 30-35% protein, an FCR of 3:1 or 2:1 is possible
■ A key step after harvesting is proper handling as processed GRPs can become a bit “mushy”
when their internal organs are crushed by improper harvesting, transport and storage. GRPs
cannot be piled or stacked like other shrimp as their internal organs are prone to damage,
greatly lowering meat quality. The FAO recommends icing and washing GRPs in chlorinated
water immediately upon harvest, right by the pond’s edge.
○ A big challenge is that males are aggressive and not only fight, but cannibalise each other. Solution:
1. Sorting should be done from the fifth to the 11th month to catch and sell the larger blue-clawed
males. When these are removed, the less-dominant orange-clawed males in turn develop to become
BC males. Without removing the dominant BC caste, males never fully metamorphose into the latter,
larger stages and the batch suffers from cannibalism. 2. Monosex GRPs: all-female performs better
than mixed sex batches to prevent issues of complex and cannibalistic caste society of GRP males 3.
The advantage of all-male batches is that males spend much less time fighting and trying to
dominate each other because there are no females to impress and mate with. Most of the animals
spend their time feeding instead of fighting – shortening production time while improving
productivity.”
● Rice-prawn- fish (carps) culture in Bangladesh. These canals are filled and stocked with prawn PLs (babies)
after rice is harvested. The canals act as nursery ponds for the shrimp. When the rains come and fill the
pond, the shrimp move out of the canals and into the big pond. Fish can also be added into the pond.
● Schistosomiasis or Bilharzia is caused by blood fluke species (S. japonicum) – zoonotic transmission possible
making control measure more complicated. The first case of schistosomiasis in the Philippines was reported
in 1906. Intermediate host – Oncomelania hupensis quadrasi.
○ The major foci of schistosomiasis were in the islands of Leyte, Samar, and Mindanao, which cover 24
provinces of eight regions of the country, and this situation remains today. In 20013, new foci of

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 infection were found in the provinces of Negros Occidental
and Cagayan. These endemic regions have no distinct dry
season.
○ Use of non-migrating, all-male populations of freshwater
prawns that efficiently prey on these snail

Penaeus vannamei (extensive system)

• FAO 225 - lifted the import ban of P.vannamei
● Clean the bottom of an earthen pond. Remove muck from the bottom.
● Fill the cleaned bottom with 100 cm brackishwater - 17 to 25 ppt
● Eradicate pests
● Fertilize the pond area using Rice Bran (D1): 250-300 kg/ha and urea: 10 kg/ha
● Lime the pond to maintain alkalinity of the bottom of the pond - hydrated lime: 300 kg/ha
● Fill the pond with brackishwater to full depth (100-120 cm) - additional 30 kilos per hectare teaseed powder
may be applied to eradicate fish pests
● Allow phytoplankton bloom in the pond for 7 days
● Stock healthy PL shrimps in the pond in a hapa net for one day. Acclimate first for 45 minutes before being
released in the hapa then released to the pond water (6-10 PL per sq m)
● Provide feed in feeding trays (1x1 m, submerged in the pond at 10 cm) for the first month of operations (4
times a day at 6 hour interval). P vannamei is a bottom to midwater swimmer, as characterized by its extra
wide swimming appendages on its legs.
● Broadcast feeds evenly from Day 31-120 and determine feed requirement - more feeds are broadcast during
the evenings when shrimp appetites increase
● Perform partial water change. For the first month, water replacement is done at the end of the month, every
15 days for the third and every 7 days for the 4th
● Monitor shrimp mortalities and water quality and reduce the biomass of the pond by harvesting large shrimp
on a partial or full basis.

Tilapia
● 7 rules in rearing:
○ Eradicate other species such as catfish, mudfish, gobies, perch, shrimp, old tilapia - by drying pond
until it cracks

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○ Fertilize pond to increase natural food - ½ meter water + 30 sacks chicken manure/ ha → after 7
days + water until >1 m. 15 days after manure → release fry
○ Follow correct stocking density: (for tilapia). It must be pointed out that the most economical
stocking rate is not necessarily that which results in the highest growth rate per fish per day, but
rather that which results in the highest yield per unit area.
■ Extensive 10,000-20,000 fing/ha
■ Semi-extensive 30,000-40,000 fing/ha
■ Intensive >50,000 fing/ha
○ Remove weeds (kangkong, water lily, lotus hydrilla). Don’t plant big trees in the dikes = shade :(
○ Apply fertilizer weekly to maintain turbidity and prevent muddy flavor of fish. Do not release water
immediately after fertilization.
■ Tilapia responds better with the application of animal manure than with artificial feeds. The
nutrients and organic matter content of manure increase the water-holding capacity of soil,
decrease the rate of evaporation and increase enzymic activity, all of which increase fertility
and crop yield. Animal manures contain the major inorganic nutrient components: nitrogen
(N), 72 to 79 percent; phosphorus (P), 87 percent; and potassium (K), 82 to 92 percent, in
addition to such trace elements as calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg).
Urine which comprises about 40 percent by weight of the total daily excreta has higher
nitrogen and potassium levels than feces. Phosphorus comes mainly from feces except from
pigs which have more nitrogen and potassium. Animals fed with roughage ration excrete
more potassium than those fed with high concentrate rations.
■ Proper manure application is essential for maximum fish yields. An even distribution of
manure over the pond area is desirable. Over fertilization may result in the accumulation of
manure at the pond bottom. Accumulation of more than a few millimeters of manure at any
portion of the pond will result in anaerobic digestion which will produce an interstitial pH of
about 6.5. Ammonia concentration will increase while microbial production will decrease.
High microbial activity and production will only be found within the initial one-or two-
millimeter layer of the sediments. There seems to be a maximum amount of organic matter
that a pond can digest per unit of time. A fertilization rate of 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms per
hectare per month of chicken manure applied weekly. A study of the FFH-ETC using five
different manuring rates showed that a total production of 35.91 kilograms per hectare per
day of tilapia can be attained by applying 5,000 kilograms of chicken manure per hectare per
month. Schroeder (1980) reported that fish yields of 20 to 32.5 kilograms per hectare per
day over 120 days were attained with swine manure in polyculture systems.
■ Fertilizers are more effective in supporting higher fish population when they are applied in
short and regular intervals, i.e., daily or weekly application.

○ Follow correct feeding management. feed everyday- same time, same place, do not feed excessively,
do not throw feed against the wind, do not feed near the gates

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 ○ Harvest after 4-5 months. Selective harvesting: must not exceed 5 months (they will become sexually
mature). Total harvest - lessen water up to knee length and use nets to gather fish. Time harvest to
market conditions.
● Harvesting methods:
○ Thinning- Partial harvest can begin in the later part of the growing season. Wild spawning normally
occurs in this part of the culture period when the fish reach sexual maturity. The population should
be thinned out to allow further growth of the remaining fish. Either fingerlings or marketable size
fish are partially removed. The principle of thinning or selective harvesting should not be abused. In
tilapia culture thinning is effective only if done once. Total harvest of tilapia must be done one to
two months after.
○ Seining Although seining is often recommended in harvesting fish in the pond, it is not an effective
method to insure total harvesting of the stock. Tilapia often burrow themselves into the mud to
escape from the net.
○ Draining Although seining, which is the fastest method of harvesting, the pond should be drained so
as to eliminate all the predatory species and competitors and the fish which may have escaped from
the net. If needed, the pond should be poisoned to insure the total elimination of any species left in
the pond. Draining is necessary as exposure of the pond bottom to sunlight will increase its fertility
● EXCEL Tilapia - shorter culture period, at least 4 cropping per year compared to 3 presently being done in
most Tilapia farms
○ new strain is 38% better than the existing Tilapia strain, progeny of GIFT strain and 3 others
● Evaluation of Nile Tilapia Strains for Aquaculture in the Philippines - led by WorldFish in partnership with
FAC-CLSU and BFAR NFFTDC - will identify the best performing strain of O. niloticus
● Tilapiang Gloria “Molmol” - processed as fish protein concentrate to fight malnutrition - “moles”- black spots
on the snout of the fish, small and grow up to 10 centimeters only
○ Black chin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron)
○ Bait/ Lures: Masa (dough bait), algae, worms
○ Can tolerate high salinity. Found in Manila Bay and Bataan.
● Tilapia-Shrimp polyculture – lessen vibrio, contro EMS
○ After 15 days of stocking shrimp, stock Tilapia. With each 100,000 shrimp, stock 100 tilapia (50
grams/fish). Farm tilapia (monosex) in netted cages in the middle of shrimp ponds. After 3 months,
harvest.
● Brazil has outperformed Philippines and Thaliand, becoming the foursth largest Tilapia producing country
after China, Indonesia and Egypt
● Lake Volta (in Ghana) Tilapia – suffering from ISKN – Infectious Spleen and Kidney Necrosis virus due to
operations of a Chinese farm, China Fujian
● Black soldier fry (Hermetia illucens) is an environmentally friendly and economical form of protein
production. At Cycle Farms Ghana (CFG), the larvae are fed with a range of locally-sourced fruit and
vegetable waste. The company then uses its internally-produced insects and several other ingredients to
produce fish feed with a protein content ranging 33 to 56 percent, depending on the life stage of the tilapia.

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Developing Saline Tilapia Molobicus “Tilapiang Tabsing”
● Dr. Pierre Morriosens - Father of the Molobicus Project in the Philippines
● O. mossambicus - most salt tolerant (32-40 ppt)
○ It can spawn 300-3,000 eggs every 20 days up to one month
● This will benefit intensive prawn farming since integration of Tilapia can prevent disease problems. Tilapia
can control Hydrilla sp (Digman) - a major pest. Salinity at early stages improve subsequent growth
performance, suppress territorial aggression in Tilapia with less off-flavor and lower bacterial count.
● 2 projects on developing Saline Tilapia: BFAR + FAC: Molobicus - BFAR NIFTDC, PCAMRD, CIRAD
● Hybridization: NiMo - F Ni x M Mo, MoNi - F Mo x M Ni
● PHASE I : Creation of an artificial pool of gene inside an interspecific hybrid population which can tolerate
high levels of salinity.
○ O. niloticus (fast growth) x O. mossambicus (salinity resistance) - cross breed and back cross = 4
hybrids: H2NiMo, H2MoNi, H3NiMo and H3MoNi.
○ F1 hybrids can grow at 15-25 ppt
○ evaluation using short and long-term salinity tests - growth of hybrids better than GET or GIFT in
high saline environment
● PHASE II : Selection of the fast growing character from the interspecific hybrid population.
○ Using fecundity tests to improve growth
● Broodstock Management
○ Prepare hapa (1.3x5x1m) 1 roll net = 5 hapa → stock 10K-20K eggs/hapa for 10-20 days. Use ipil-ipil,
bamboo or metal for stakes.
○ Breeders: O.niloticus (MALE) - also called GET, GIFT, pla-pla, giant. Males (50 grams) → transfer in
conditioning hapa (5 days) → one day before transport stop feeding → transport in plastic (20x30
cm) + 4 L FW: can contain 5-10 breeders + oxygen → cover with garbage bag to lessen stress and
prevent pinholes during transport
■ O. mossambicus (FEMALE) - same conditioning and transport procedures for niloticus above
→ release in tank or hapa → gradually lower salinity (1-3 ppt/day)
○ Breeding in FW: 1.3 x 5x1 m hapa = 40 breeders: 30 F Moss x 10 M Nilot preferrably same sizes → 3%
ABW feed only → do not fatten, fat fish will not spawn and sexual attraction decreases if unequal
sizes between niloticus and mossambicus. Separate breeders using scoop net after spawning.
○ Separate sac fry (place in incubator until swimming) and fry (concrete tanks)
● Harvesting fry
○ Rainy season = poor harvest
○ 1st harvest: Day 15-20, next harvests: every 10-15 days
○ Done in the morning before feeding. Use 1.5 meter bamboo and concentrate fry in one corner of
hapa.
● Conditioning fingerlings prior to transport
○ Molobicus fingerlings harvested from production ponds → conditioned in aerated concrete tanks
(3x3 m) at least 7 days prior to disposal → after 3 days: water salinity is adjusted to 5 ppt and
maintained at this salinity up to day of transport . Only on the day of transport is the fish not fed.
○ Plastic bags = 20 x 30 inches x 0.003 gauge plastic bags = ¼ water and ¾ oxygen. Maintain temp at
28-30 C. If > 30, place cracked ice wrapped in newspaper on top of plastic bags.
Size of fingerlings Quantity
22 800 pcs/ bag
17 600 pcs/ bag
14 400 pcs/bag
12 200 pcs/bag

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 ○ A period of 3-5 days of conditioning is required for stocks to recover from travel stress. During
salinity increase, water is adjusted from previous salinity (5 ppt) to the desired level at not more
than 5 ppt per day.
● Tilapia sex reversal
○ Done in concrete tanks. 1.5 m dia, ½ m depth = 5,000-10,000 fry or 5 fry/ liter
○ Commercial feeds (35% crude protein) → grind → screen using screen mesh to remove coarse grains
→ using glass containers: 0.06 g 17aMT/ 500 mL EtOH in 1 kg feeds using sprayer → dry alcohol in
feeds by air in the shade, set mixture with thickness of 3-5 cm → mix 2 to 3x → feeds are already dry
is alcohol cannot be detected by smell → refrigerate. 1 kg hormone treated feeds = enough for 3,000
fry for 21 days
○ use B-net (#38) to remove bigger fry → use only fry of 9-11 mm → counting fryin white basin (use as
standard for counting)
○ Feeding: 3-5x daily. Length (<15 mm): 15-20% ABW, >15 mm: 10% ABW
○ Harvest: after 21 days but better to lengthen treatment until 25-28 days, use B net (#38) and remove
those passing through (usually female)
○ Usual weight after treatment = 0.1 to 0.3 grams → grow until 1 gram until selling

Silver Perch (Bidyanus bidyanus) - Family Terapontidae, potentially threatened “Giant Ayungin”
● Endemic and native to the temperate waters of Murray-Darling River system of Australia. It is considered as
the third most important native freshwater fish in the country
● Its FishBase name is Bidyan perch. They are also called bream, freshwater bream, silver bream, black bream
and grunter in inland regions of Australia
● The temperature tolerance of silver perch ranges from 2 - 35 C. Optimum growth rates occur at 23-28 C.
Growth is negligible at 12 C. Natural habitats range from static lakes and reservoirs to fast flowing rivers. In
their native habitat, they spawn during summer floods when water temperature is above 20 C. Females may
produce up to 125,000 eggs per kg of body weight
● Minimum legal size - 25 cm and possession limit of 5
● There were introductions of silver perch specifically in Western Australia since 1950 for the purpose of
stocking inland farm dams. Minor stockings were done in Southern Australia where they are used as
sportsfish. However, the species gained the reputation for “disappearing” after a few years. It was believed
that the cause of the problem could be the change of diet experienced by larger silver perch.
● Sexual maturity is attained in 2-3 years. They exhibit long migration upstream in spring in areas behind peaks
of floods. Spawning takes place in flooded backwaters of low gradient streams. There is little or no spawning
in years with no floods.
● Flesh suited for smoking, high meat recovery (40%)
● It is considered to have high potential for aquaculture due to its rapid growth rate under a variety of
conditions. It can grow to 2.5 – 8 kg in weight. It also has high survival during culture because it is hardy fish
that can be held in captivity at high densities.
● Silver perch are omnivores, consuming zooplankton, small crustaceans, aquatic insects, mollusks, algae and
plant material. They are noncannibalistic. When young, they feed on crustaceans and zooplankton. As the
age increases, algae and plant material occupies a greater proportion of their diet. Fingerlings and adults
readily accept artificial diets. The optimum dietary protein level is 32 to 36%. Food conversion ratios are 1.5-
2.0 kilograms of food to produce 1.0 kg of fish
● Potential of silver perch culture in the Philippines
○ The foremost factor that delimits fish production in lakes, dams and reservoirs is low water
temperature
○ FW species such as Tilapia exhibit poor growth, high mortality, low hatchery production in cold
months (Nov-Jan)
○ Silver perch: sleeping giant of world aquaculture → low trophic-level + not cannibalistic → white
meat = less bones
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 ○ 2000: NIFTDC started breeding - initially cultures in concrete tanks → 300 g: transferred to concrete
tanks
○ 2001: spawning trials by hormone injection → no hatching
○ 2002: hatching and larval rearing successful
○ Breeding periods in Dagupan: 7 months from August to February
■ Year-round in cold areas: Mt. Province, Benguet
■ Can tolerate salinity up to 16 ppt

Mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis) “itar or kataba” “million fish” “tuyong”

● Short sexual maturity of 27 days only. Although it can survive in low DO, it eventually dies if an area is full of
water lilies or duck weeds (Pistia stratiotes). They have a lifespan of about 1 year and grow up to 7
centimeters only. Females can grow up to 7 cm with males up to four centimeters (smaller and thinner than
females – has gonopodium, an organ for sperm transfer.
● Viable sperm can be stored by females for several months and the stored sperm in any female is likely
derived from multiple matings with a variety of males. Gestation period: 24 days 🡪 young are born live
● Mosquito fish are small, dull grey, with a large abdomen and have rounded dorsal and caudal fins, and a
mouth upturned towards the surface. Has small dark bar below the eye that aids in ID with characteristic
diamond or net pattern on the body. Is in the livebearer family (Poecilidae, Order Cyprinodontiformes) along
with guppies, mollies and swordtail. Like in the US, there is a protocol in distributing mosquito fish, you don’t
stock it in communal water. Not invasive since it is small and can be eaten by dalag or apahap.
● Biological approaches are also being considered as alternatives to control mosquito populations. For
example, predatory crustaceans called copepods and many varieties of fish, including mosquitofish and
goldfish, eat mosquito larvae. When these organisms are placed in container habitats, decorative ponds, and
pools, they prey on mosquito larvae, effectively preventing mosquito development. The addition of
copepods into large water-storage tanks was successful in limiting dengue transmission in Vietnam. Other
live predators — such as dragonflies, small aquatic turtles, and beetle larvae — have also been shown to be
effective in killing Aedes aegypti.
● Historically, mosquito fish was spread by the Americans in the 1920s to address the malaria outbreak. It was
then introduced into the ecosystems of other countries to lower mosquito populations.
● 3,000 different species of mosquitoes 🡪 Dengue: transmitted through the bite of an infected female Aedes
(also carry Yellow fever and encephalitis) mosquito. A total of 131,827 dengue cases were reported last 2017
and there were 732 deaths, highest among 5-9 years old age group. Anopheles – malaria, filariasis. Culex –
west nile virus. Mosquitoes use two tubes when biting to tke skin: one to inject an enzyme that inhibits
blood clotting; the other to suck blood
● The ‘talangka’ or river crab (Varuna litterata) is a small crab belonging to the family Grapsidae. It is related to
the bigger and more familiar mud crab or “alimango” (Scylla serrata) and the swimming crab or ‘alimasag’
(Portunus pelagicus), which belong to the same family. While the bigger crabs are relished for their claw
meat and fat (‘aligue’) by seafood lovers, ‘burong talangka’ (fermented crabs) or ‘taba ng talangka’ (cooked
crab fat) are much sought after by connoisseurs. Aside from the Philippines, the “talangka” is also found in
the estuaries of India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Protected by FAO 233: Aquatic Wildlife.
○ The talangka lives along the banks of the Bicol River that traverses Camarines Sur. It is a euryhaline
(able to adapt to a wide range of salinities) species capable of moving out to spawn in the sea where its
young develop and then move into the river until they become mature. The crab is said to be a
scavenger feeding on decaying organic matter in the water and can grow to a weight of 65 grams each.
The mature crabs move out to the sea (Ragay Gulf) from the Bicol River in the rainy season (July to
December). In Camarines Sur, fishers catch the talangka using a gear known as “biokos,” which is a
round, cone-shaped net. Fishing for the crab at night is done twice a month during the two highest tides
of the rainy season. In the peak months of August to September, as much as 2 to 3 metric tons of the
crab are caught by each fisher per month. The live crab is sold to fish vendors or processors by the

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 fishers at R50 per kilo. The estimated production of talangka from the Bicol River in the province is 150
to 225 metric tons (mt) per year.
○ In Gaimza, Camarines Sur, we met Teodora Aquino, president of the Cagbunga Crab Paste Producers
Association of Gaimza (CCPPAG) with 18 members. She told us that they started producing semi-
processed (uncooked) crab fat in 1994 to supply a buyer from Pampanga where the talangka fishery
was devastated by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. They were then paid only P100 for a kilo of the
semi-processed product. It takes about 100 kilos of live crabs to produce 25 kilos of the product. At
present, a kilo of semi-processed crab fat is worth P320.
○ With financial assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the local
government of Gaimza, and a non-government organization in 2011, the CCPPAG was able to put up a
processing facility for the production of processed (cooked and ready to eat) crab fat in bottles. DOST-
Region V also provided technical assistance to the group in the form of freezers for the semiprocessed
product, a machine for de-fatting the crabs, and laboratory tests for product quality assurance.
○ The nutrition facts of CCPPAG’s crab paste product on a 100-gram basis are: 15 grams (g) total fat, 8 g
total carbohydrates, 8 g total protein, 940 milligrams (mg) of sodium, 140 mg of potassium, and 190
calories.
○ Today, CCPPAG produces three boxes with 24 bottles each of processed crab fat every week for delivery
to market outlets in the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong through public transport. The group is able
to produce their product throughout the year by stocking up on semiprocessed crab fat during the
crabfishing season. Cooking is done with vegetable oil, vinegar, garlic, and seasoning. The cost for
producing a bottle of crab paste (230-gram net weight) is R60 while its factory price is P100. Last year,
CCPPAG had gross sales amounting to 310,000 pesos.

Sea Urchin
● Ranching or gathering these sea creatures and place 1,000 small ones in a 1 meter by 1.5 meter by 1 foot
deep cage in the water, fed with seaweeds regularly → grown → half transferred to another cages so they
have space.
Sea Cucumber
● Ideal tonic food - as they provide more protein and less fat than most foods
● In the Philippines, they are found in burrows, seagrass beds or sandy areas with large amount of coral
rubbles. They feed in detritus in the sea bottom. They are cleaners. They can be alternately cultured with
shrimps so they can feed on wastes. In shrimp farms, the culture period is shorter because of abundance of
organic matters. Some are found in waters up to 20 m deep. In US price is pegged at $180 - $250 per
kilogram.
● The Philippines is home to 100 species of sea cucumbers , of which 31 are commercially important. Export
market: Hong Kong, China, Korea, Japan. Major sources of sea cucumber: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea,
Philippines. Japanese spiky sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) most expensive. Number of exporting
countries increased from 35 in 1996 to 85 in 2011.
● Has fucosylated gycosaminoglycan in the skin – for joint problems and cancers and blood clots
● A good material for sea ranching because based on its behavior, it can travel just 1 to 2 meters a day and
about 1 kilometer per year. The mortality rate of culture juveniles is high (P5/ piece). But once they weigh 20
grams and placed in seafloor or in ponds (>20 ppt), the survival rate is 100 percent. It takes 6 months to
reach market size (250 grams). 1 ha of fishpond can accommodate 10,000 sea cucumbers → dried form to
10% of their live weight
● Low-cost nursery systems: Floating hapas are used for mass rearing of post settled juveniles to release size.
The bottom-set hapa cages and bottom-set trays are being developed to address the seasonal constraints in
the use of the floating hapa system. These are established near the sea floor making it less susceptible to
salinity and temperature fluctuations and mechanical stress brought about by strong wave and wind action
at the water surface.

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● It is now prohibited to gather, catch or trade fresh sea cucumbers that are below 320 grams or if in dried
form less than two inches. Aside from sandfish, the culture of other high value species i.e. Holothuria
fuscogilva (white teat fish) and Phyllophorus proteus (ball sea cucumber) and Bohadschia marmorata
(chalkfish) is being developed.
● Dr. Georgina Robinso - 1.2 million euro fellowship on sea cucumbers → excess nitrogen in the form of
animal waste from industries like agriculture and aquaculture will be recycled to feed sea cucumbers as a
high-protein food source for humans and livestock and may be even used to generate electricity. This system
introduces carbon and removes oxygen from the process to encourage uptake of nitrogen within deposit
feeders, which work with bacteria naturally present in their gut and the surrounding soil or sediment to
convert the waste into high value protein. The energy generated by the micro-organisms breaking down the
waste is harnessed as a sustainable source of electricity, while the addition of carbon sources and deposit
feeding invertebrates will enhance the overall energy generation potential of the system.
● UPLB Package of technology: (a) Slitting and degutting of Holothuria scabra; (b) boiling; (d) boiled sea
cucumbers soaked in papaya leaves; (e) cleaning using mechanical cleaner; and (f) drying using firewood as
source of heat
● Sea Cucumber Kills >80% of Breast Cancer & Lung Cancer Cells: An extract of sea cucumber known as
Frondoside A was observed to kill multiple lines of human cancer cells in vitro including ER+ and ER- breast
cancers (95% - 90% kill rate, respectively), liver cancer (90%) and three lines of lung cancer (all 80%)
including non-small cell lung cancer. Frondoside A has already been shown to possess potent anti-cancer
effects for multiple other cancers, which is why two clinical trials are now being run to test the natural
extract against multiple myeloma and myeloma. Additionally:
○ 1. Arginine found in sea cucumber help regulate hormones in the human body. It can help with
impotence and boost the efficiency of the kidney. It can also aid in regulating women’s endocrine
system and promote menstrual health.
○ 2. Enhance physical fitness and boosts immunity. Sea cucumbers are full of amino acids which are
essential for the human immune system. They have the ability to prevent numerous diseases and
infections.
○ 3. Delay signs of aging. Sea cucumbers have high levels of collagen protein, arginine, chondroitin
sulfate, phosphorus, selenium, niacin, bismuth, etc. These elements promote longevity, lighten signs
of fatigue and increases skin elasticity.
○ 4. Help improve sleep and memory. The arginine in sea cucumber has a special effect on
neurasthenia and regulating sleep. Elements such as niacin, calcium, taurine and lysine in sea
cucumber decrease fatigue and strengthen the brains synapses.
○ 5. Decrease tiredness. The acid mucopolysaccharide and arginine in sea cucumber aids in regulating
bodily functions and have an anti-fatigue effect; niacin, taurine, potassium, nickel and other
nutrients help in reducing fatigue and regulating the nervous system.
○ 6. Regulate blood lipids. Polysaccharide in these creatures can prevent cardiovascular disease, lower
blood pressure, stimulate hematopoietic function, inhibit cholesterol synthesis, regulate blood lipids
and so on. The potassium, copper, niacin, and taurine in sea cucumber have the effect of preventing
fatty liver formation.
○ 7. Regulate blood sugar. The acid mucopolysaccharide in sea cucumbers have the effect of lowering
blood sugar activity in the body and inhibiting the occurrence of diabetes; potassium plays an
important role in the secretion of insulin in the body.
○ 8. Prevent tumor formation. Saponin and molybdenum in sea cucumbers can help in preventing
esophageal cancer, selenium compounds reduce risks of lung cancer, breast cancer and colon
cancer. Mucopolysaccharide has overall anti-cancer properties as it inhibits the multiplication of
cancer cells.
○ 9. Improve osteoporosis. Therich calcium, phosphorus, manganese, strontium, barium and other
elements in sea cucumber have special effects on preventing infantile rickets, adult osteoporosis,
bone abnormalities, deformed dentin and dysplasia.
○ 10. Promote overall growth and development. The rich arginine, lysine, taurine, calcium,
phosphorus, iodine, iron and zinc in sea cucumber can directly affect growth and development as
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 the help in immune regulation, wound healing, reproductive development and other physiological
aspects.
● A plan to establish a sea urchin and sea cucumber farm that is not dependent on human labour has been
announced by Fujitsu Ltd. In the 12-month trial, which started this month, water quality and temperature
data collected from sensors set up inside tanks, are sent to smartphones and other devices to enable remote
monitoring of the tanks, according to the Jiji Press.

Siganid (malaga)
○ Cross-breeding of Siganus guttatus (golden rabbitfish - small but heavy) and S. vermiculatus (maze
rabbitfish - fast growing and larger)= Siganus vergu
■ 1 week larvae = 5 millimeters long
■ 1F : 2M, larval density of 50,000 larvae
○ Done to solve the problems: 1.) Propagating siganid in hatcheries as two of its major problems is
long larval period of 60 days compared to bangus’ only 18-21 days; 2.) sensitive to water quality
which lead to low survival rate at the present
○ Natural food - filamentous algae or lumot and other vegetable materials (hydrilla, water hyacinth,
coconut leaves)
○ S. guttatus spawns during the first quarter of the lunar calendar, while S. vermiculatus spawns
during the last quarter (as the team later found out, the hybrids will only spawn during a new
moon).
○ The Philippines was still producing a paltry 303 tonnes of rabbitfish through aquaculture in 2018,
however this is almost 90 percent of global production, plus the figure is up 56 percent compared to
the 194 tonnes produced in the country in 2017.
Catfish
● 3 species:
o Native – Clarias macrocephalus: blunt occipital process - being developed, most expensive
o Taiwan or Thai catfish – Clarias batrachus: round occipital process – meat quality not good
o African catfish – Clarias gariepinus: pointed occipital process – used for culture – 15x bigger than
native, 4x smaller eggs so more eggs
● Second to Tilapia in popularity, grows even in shallow waters, does not need aeration or frequent water
exchange. Barrier to aquaculture: shortage of fry
● Eradicate predators using tea seed powder (50 kg/ha). Remove weeds in dikes to limit growth of palakang-
karag (Order Anura) that eats catfish fry. Install barriers (30 cm height) – could be old roofing, plastic, net,
wood or hollow blocks to prevent escape of catfish.
● 5-10 fry per square meter (> 3cm length) – higher survival if longer and if same sizes (prevents cannibalism).
Acclimatize by letting plastic bags float for 15 minutes before releasing fry at the deepest parts of the pond.
● Feed with commercial feeds (30% crude protein) – 15-20% ABW 3 to 4x a day
● Use floating feeds by the second month (5% ABW) – alternate feed: stale bread, boiled chicken entrails
● Selective harvest after 4 months, total harvest after 6 months.
● Sexual maturity: after a year 🡪 condition for 2-3 months 🡪 place in concrete tans (5 breeders per square
meter) 🡪 cover 50% of water surface with water lily for shade
● Feed breeders with commercial feeds (30-40% CP, 5% ABW, 2x a day – 8 am at 4 pm) – Tilapia floating feeds
can be used.
● During first rain, catch breeders to be used for breeding using fine or knotless nets. Mature female –
enlarged belly, urogenital pore is rounded and reddish. Males – pointed organ. 1:1 M:F ratio but 2 males can
be used if smaller than female. Separate container with covers.
● Native or Thai hito – plastic basin with 2 holes at each side. 1 basin per female and add hatching tray (6 x 12
inches) made out of mosquito net with stone as sinker.
● African hito – hatching trough made out of ¾ marine plywood with dimensions (80 x 234 x 24 cm) with outlet
at one end. Place hatching tray (75% of total area of trough)
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 ● Weigh females to know amount of hormone needed. 1 mL distilled water or 0.9% saline solution per bottle
of HCG (10,000 IU). Dosage 2 IU per gram of breeder.
● 12 hours after injection, strip female by pressing abdomen. Make sure no water or blood goes into the
collecting bowl to avoid bad eggs. After stripping, cover bowl to prevent dehydration.
● Collect male testes, wash in 0.9% saline solution and macerate in 3-5 mL 0.9% saline solution.
● Mix spermatozoan collected with eggs. Screen with mosquito net and mix using feather of turkey then
slowly add water.
● Spread fertilized eggs on top of hatching tray. Avoid clumping that will result to fungal growth. Slow water
flow through and aeration.
● Hatching happens 24 hours after fertilization and can last for 36 hours. Faster during high temperatures.
Remove hatching tray after 3 days, siphon debris and bad eggs.
● Feed with Chlorella at day 2. At Day 3, feed with boiled egg yolk 4x a day with ground commercial feed. For
faster growth Artemia can be fed 3x a day.
● Lessen stocking density at Day 15. At Day 30, fry will be darker in color and can be grown in fishponds or
sold. Upon stocking in ponds, separate shooters.
● Catfish-Tilapia culture: 2 Tilapia plus 1 catfish per square meter. The Afrcian catfish must be stocked in high
densities in order to obtain a complete reduction of Tilapia fingerlings.
● For catfish, optimal temp range is 26-32. At 16-26, growth rate drags tremendously

Seabass “Apahap”
● Earthen ponds or concrete tanks (500 sq m to 1 hectare). Rectangular in shape with pond depth at least one
meter for easy harvest plus double gate system, water pumps for good water exchange.
● Water source of brackish or seawater. Salinity 18-35 ppt. Temperature of 27-30 C. >3 ppm DO.
● Pond prep: Dry for 7 – 14 days until soil cracks 🡪 apply teaseed at 15-30 ppm to eradicate pests and
predators. Soak in water first before releasing to the fishpond. Other organic pesticides: tobacco and derris
root 🡪 organic fertilizer (1 ton per hectare) by broadcasting plus 16-20-0 at 50 kg/ ha by bag hanging.
● Stock O. mossambicus (5,000-10,000 pcs/ ha) then allow to reproduce for 20-30 days to utilize their
fingerlings as natural food prey. Stock seabass (20-50 g) at 5,000 juvenile/ hectare.
● Feed at 5% ABW. Change water at least once or twice a week depending on water quality. More frequent
changing as fish are nearing marketable size. Harvest at 400 to 600 grams (5 to 6 months). At 460 grams,
selective harvesting can be initiated.

Goldfish
● Male – longer body. Female – more pot-bellied. Natural spawning occurs from Feb to October and stops
during cold months. Spawning cycle every 15-20 days with 1,00 eggs laid per spawning. 90% hatching and
survival rate normally attained. Spawning can be natural or artificial. Courtship: male pursues female,
thugging at the female’s belly. Place tray and nylon rope where eggs will adhere.
● 1 F: 3-4 M per PE tank (100 liter capacity). Remove parents 2-3 hours after spawning. Gentle aeration to
ensure hatching. Feed with Daphnia or Artemia on Day 5 until 2 weeks, then artificial feeds afterwards.
● Let the set-up stand for 10 days, water change is necessary 🡪 transfer to grow-out tank or pond.
● Avoid overstocking so that even during power interruptions absence of aeration will not be critical.
● For lesions: antibiotic bath (1-3 grams antibiotic per 6 liters of water) for 2-4 hours or overnight.
● For parasites: Formalin bath (100-150 ppm) for 30 minutes for 3 consecutive days.
● Market price: Breeders (600 per pair), 45 days (P3), 60 days (P5), 90 days (P10)
Artemia hatching
● Wash cysts with tap water.
● Using a conical/funnel-shaped tank, incubate the cysts for 24-48 hours in natural seawater at a density of
not greater than 5 g/L of incubation medium.
● Keep temperature within the range of 25-30 C and the pH at 8-9.

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 ● Provide sufficient light at least during the first two hours of continuous illumination of about 2,000 lux
(attained by a 40-watt fluorescent light tube suspended about 20 cm above the hatching container.
● Maintain the dissolved oxygen level above 2 ppm with cysts kept in suspension by strong aeration
throughout the incubation period.
● When hatching has occurred (Indicated by the brownish orange coloration of the nauplii), stop aeration and
cover the upper part of the container with a black cloth or plastic sheet for about 5-10 minutes.
● Siphon staring at the very bottom of the container where the nauplii are crowding or use the bottom drain
when available.

Angelfish
● The dorsal and anal fins are elongated and point backwards
● The tail fin is lyre-shaped with extremely elongated angles and the rays of the pelvic fins show extreme
lengthening
● The silver grey body is traversed by dark bars, the most posterior of which extends into the dorsal and anal
fins
● The second is midway along the body while a third passes through the eye
● The base of the tail fin is also marked by a dark bar
● Four species:
○ Pterophyllum eimekei
○ Pterophyllum scalare
○ Pterophyllum altum
○ Pterophyllum leopoldi
● In choosing breeders avoid those with abnormal operculum/ gill covers. Buy a pair which already spawned
and produced fertile eggs, buy a number of angels and wait for them to pair off or attempt to select a pair
from a number of large angels, using own judgement in sexing them
● Male: usually big in size, head is partially bent, breeding tubes or genital papillae is smaller and carried at an
angle closer to vertical, the sides of mature males appear quite flat
● Female • smaller in size • smooth curve of head • vent is said to be more prominent • breeding tubes or
genital papillae is larger and projects slightly backwards • genital papillae is larger and more blunt • slight
abdominal bulge or thicker in body
● Maturation/Spawning Age • spawning is whole-year round • best age for pairing and spawning is when the
angels are a year old. • after 7-18 days of spawning, angelfish will eminently spawn again • 500-1,000 eggs
are laid per spawning • an 80% hatching and survival rate is normally attained
● Characteristics of Breeders About to Spawn: • Appearance of genital papillae • both male and female’s
papilla is in protruding condition • 2-3 days before spawning, the pair selects and clean the spawning site,
using their mouths until satisfied
● Set up 2 aquaria (15 gallons capacity) • Place the egg-collector (stripes of slates, clay, glass tubes) diagonally
to ensure sticking of the adhesive eggs. (egg-collectors must be long enough to reach the other side of
aquarium) • Place aeration (Aeration must be very gentle) Place a pair of breeders on the prepared
aquarium. (Angelfish are monogamous therefore proper identification of pair is a must to ensure optimum
reproduction. Remove the egg-collector after fertilization and place it on the other one. Observe proper
handling of eggs. Aeration of eggs must be very gentle to ensure hatching. Eggs are treated with hydrogen
peroxide. (two days after spawning). Feed the larvae with artemia starting on the fifth day after spawning
until two weeks. Feeding is once a day. Thereafter, artificial feeds will be introduced. Let the set-up stand for
3 weeks. After 3 weeks, transfer the fry to growout tank/hapa or pond MAY HARVEST 300- 500 FRY PER
SPAWNING POSSIBLE TO SPAWN WEEKLY.

Oysters
● Soft unsegmented body mollusc belonging to the Family Ostereidae which comprises 3 genera: Ostrea,
Crassostrea and Pycnodonta
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 ● 1931: Philippine Fisheries Commission started farming in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental. Farming was later
introduced in Cavite in 1935. There are 7 local species identified but only four are of commercial vale: C.
iridalei, Sacostrea malabonensis, S. palmipes, S. cucullata
● 1985 to 1991 - technology on oyster production in the Phil was improved by joint effort of JApan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and a special government project (Seafarming Research and
Development Department (SRDD) of the Philippines Human Resource and Development Center (PHRDC)
● SRDD identified spatfall season in major oyster grounds but dissolved in 1997 → renamed National
Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC) → activated 2 oyster farms in Dawel,
Dagupan City and Gayaman, Binmaley
● Spatfall forecasting: In Pangasinan collection occurs in May, October and November. If substrates are placed
too early, pests and other competitor (barnacles-taliptio, kampis/ tapis, sponges, tahong) may occupy them.
Delayed setting up on the other hand means that little to no spats will settle.
● 10 spats per oyster shell (collector) is a good number. Areas with seeded collectors may be retained in
seeding area or transferred to grow-out area. Growing to market size lasts 4 to 5 months (much shorter than
other countries where farming is done in two years) due ideal water temp in the country (26-32 C). The
typical size of an oyster ranges from 3 to 4 inches but can grow to 9 to 12 inches in 1 to 2 years.
● To avoid pests, the only solution is to avoid their settling in the collectors: Barnacles (May-June), Mussel and
Tubeworms (June-September), Kampis/Tapis (March-September), Oyster leech/ linta (March to May), Sea
squirt (May-September), Sponges (April to September)
● Site selection: with oyster growth, water flow (10-25 cm/s), plankton presence, 15-28 ppt
● Oyster raft (9 x 6 meter): 22 pieces Class A bamboo → chop to 9 m (7 pcs) and 6 m (15 pcs) → Tie together
using #10 wire + plastic drum buoy (tie with PE rope #20, with vulcaseal or silicon in cover top prevent water
entry to the drum) → can support 500 pairs of rubber strips or 1,000 collector (coconut husk and oyster
shells). Collector: Dried oyster shell or coconut husk (10 cm gap, 2 meter length) in PE rope #10 or wire #10.
Other collectors: Bamboo (stake method), rubber ring, Bamboo lattice (like in children’s party), tires, plastic
straps
● Place anchors (cement, stone or metal >75 kg) at 4 sides of the raft.
● Shellfish depuration is based on the knowledge that filter-feeding molluscs remove particles from the
surrounding, digest some and discharge some in the form of pseudofeces. The simplest and cheapest
depuration for oysters is to transfer them from contaminated to an uncontaminated area (pond) for 48
hours. Another form is to place the oysters in a holding tank through which pure or purified water is made to
flow. The most expensive method is to purify oysters with chlorine, ozone or UV light.
● Process oyster when it is fatty – summer months: April to June in Dagupan

Integrated Culture
Tala-Isdaan: shellfish (oysters) and fish (seabass, tilapia, rabbitfish) in pens or cages to mitigate the impacts of
aquaculture by limiting the nutrient inputs and maximize the use in their estuarine or marine environment.
● Milkfish FCR: 2.6:1 Tilapia 2.2:1
● EMMA 1 Project: impact on sediments are much less where there is a mix of shellfish and fish culture than
monoculture
● Engineering design: floating 10 meter diameter circular steel cage (2 inch dia GI pipe) + steel braces and
additional floats (200 l plastic drums) → mooring system (cement or stones) is improved in bamboos
because of additional drag caused by the surface area and weight of oysters
● Circular net 210/12 x 12k x 200, 5 meter depth. The cage is encircled by 50 bamboo poles (2.5 meters in
length) tied to the lower beams of the cage similar to sun rays (TALA) → seven oyster strings hung on each
bamboo pole → string = 2 meter rubber strips = 5 kg oysters in 4 months
● Circular cage designs: less drag effect, oysters provide protection to the cultured fish inside the cage against
strong water flow, feeding is efficient since escape of feeds is minimized and energy spent for swimming is

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 less, can be easily transferred, floating debris can easily be removed by rotating the cages (rotation will help
maintain uniform growth of oysters)
● Selecting fish for Tala-isdaan: culture period < 4 months (120 days), wide salinity range, low trophic level but
high value species is also okay, culture bigger fingerlings to gain best survival rate
● The seeded oyster strings are deployed first or installed into the cage prior to fish stocking. Stocking rate of
Tilapia in brackishwater cages (15 - 25 pcs/cm3)

Isda’t Gabi
● Fish culture in gabi or taro (Colocasia esculenta L) plots is an agro-aqua integrated farming technology.
Adapted initially in Central Luzon in mid-1980’s in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bulacan and Bataan.
● Results in increased soil fertility, reduction of weeding cost and optimization of soil use and farm space. Gabi
is less susceptible to pests and never require the use of pesticides.
● Gabi tuber weighed ½ kg (4 months) in rice-fish culture project vs 1.5 kg (5 months). 1982 in Bataan: daily
weight gain of Tilapia -0.89 g/fish/day and final weight of 121 g in 135 days - no commercial feeds - 50 heads
of ducks are raised in head pond where water passed through before reaching isda’t gabi pond
● Gabi - perennial, tropical plant grown primarily as a root vegetable for its edible corm and secondarily as a
leaf vegetable. Root is abundant in carbohydrates and rich in calcium. In its raw form, some plants are toxic
due to the presence of calcium oxalate, although the toxin is easily destroyed by cooking or can be removed
by steeping or soaking taro roots in cold water overnight. Gabi is a fast growing root crop grown everywhere
in many parts of the world. In other countries, it is called by other names, including dasheen, arrowroot or
cocoyam. It is an ancient crop or earliest cultivated plants grown for its edible corms, stalks and leaves. The
plant is widely used throughout the world, in Africa, Asia, the West Indies and South America. It is very
important staple food in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Solomon Islands, American Samoa, West Samoa, Fiji, Sri
Lanka, India, Nigeria, Indonesia, New Herbrides, Tonga, Niue, Papua, New Guinea, Egypt, Philippines, and
others. In the Southern United States, gabi or taro is used as a supplement to potatoes. Gabi is one of the
important root crops in the Philippines. It ranks third in popularity to root crop farmers. It is usually planted
at the backyards and even behind houses and does not require big areas to multiply.
● Gabi leaves are rich in vitamins and minerals and are good source of thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus,
and zinc. Gabi also contains greater amounts of Vitamin B-complex than whole milk. The cooked leaves have
the same nutritional value of spinach. The leaves are very good source of Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, niacin,
potassium, copper, and manganese. Gabi corms are very high in starch and are good source of dietary fiber.
● Gabi is considered a health food, good for the immune system, particularly as a deterrent against malaria,
yellow fever and dengue. It is also mashed-raw into a plaster to treat boils and inflammation. Roots can be
used for treating insect bites.
● Gabi is considered superior over other starchy staples. Its digestibility has been estimated to be 98.8
percent. The size of the taro starch grain is one-tenth that of potato and easier to be assimilated, so it can be
used by persons with digestive problems. Gabi flour and other products have been used extensively for
infant formulae in the US and have formed an important ingredient of proprietary canned baby foods. Taro
is especially useful to persons allergic to cereals and can be consumed by children who are sensitive to milk.
People eating taro are found to have excellent dental conditions like healthier teeth and gums. In Hawaii, it
reduced incidence of pneumonia, diarrhea, enteritis and beri-beri among babies born on Hawaiian
plantations.
● With regards to industrial use, taro has starch granules varying in size from 1 to 6.5 micrometers which can
be useful as additive to render plastics biodegradable.
● Varieties of Gabi In the Philippines, gabi plants are divided into two major varieties: upland and lowland
varieties. The upland varieties that can be grown both in lowland and upland areas are Gabing Tagalog,
Gabing Cebu, Purple Leaf, Karayo, Kabaloy, Negros Green Leaf, and Gabing Leyte. The lowland varieties
which thrive in wetlands or highly irrigated areas include Princesa, Quezon White, Quezon Green, Ilocos
Batek, Viscaya, Green Batek and Bikol Purple. Those varieties that can grow in wet areas are selected for
isda't gabi project.
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● Fish suitable for isda’t gabi
○ O. niloticus - omnivorous
○ African catfish - omnivorous. Growth at 5g/ day
○ Freshwater prawn
● Site selection - soil must have an excellent water holding capacity. Pollution free, abundant water supply and
abundant source of animal manure - chicken or duck. Integrated duck-raising in the system can be
recommended when chicken manure is unavailable → Ducks are fenced in one corner or one side of the
project area, allowing them to swim in a limited area. Covering the duck pen with rice hay is an effective way
to collect the wet duck manure. The hay (with manure) is then soaked or applied in strategic areas of the
Isda't gabi project.
● Farm layout - Gabi is ordinarily grown in paddy fields or ponds where water is supplied by rainfall or by
supplemental irrigation. Cool, flowing water yields the best crop. In the Philippines, few gabi farmers were
observed to have planting areas of more than 500m². If culture or farming in larger area is preferred, the
area can be divided in smaller area of 500 m² or smaller for manageability. Two designs:
○ Gabi planted in rows or plots - When irrigated rice paddies will be used for the project, gabi can be
planted in plots. One to three plants can be planted per m². A hectare without fish can have a
planting density of 10,000 to 45,000 plants/ha. With fish, the number of planting materials needed is
lower in density, to provide ample space for the fish. Spacing between gabi plants of approximately
90x60 cm is common. However, too wide spacing may result to luxuriant growth of weeds. The fish
will grow in canals, constructed in-between rows of gabi, which are deepened to accommodate
passage and growing of fish. The distance between rows (gabi plant) is about 1 m
○ Gabi planted along the peripheral dike - Constructed or old ponds can integrate gabi farming system
by planting along the periphery of the dike near the water edge. The distance of the plant is about
50 cm when many planting material are available. When the dike is newly constructed, the plants
will help prevent erosion of dikes. The plant may also absorb excess nutrients in the water produced
by excessive feeding and block sunlight and prevent overgrowth of weeds on the dike. Gabi can be
grown along the dikes of fishponds. They are planted in rows at the average water line with 45 to 70
centimeters spacing between hills. The fertilizer applied on the ponds may also support the growth
of the gabi. Nevertheless, side dressing with complete fertilizer (12-24-12) may be applied to
facilitate better production. The fertilizer is applied at two tablespoonfuls per plant. It is placed into
the holes dug about 10 centimeters from both sides of the plant. Afterwards, it is covered with fined
soil. Cultivation of gabi along the dikes of fishponds is profitable. However, adoption of the system is
discouraged in hatchery ponds. Gabi growing along the dikes hinder the monthly seining or
collection of fingerlings.
● The dikes of the paddies should be higher than the normal height used for rice paddies. Stronger to contain
and retain more water with minimal loss. A dike with a base of 0.75 to one meter and a height of 0.70 to
0.80 meter is satisfactory.
● Management: Good land preparation mixes organic material with soil and forms a hard layer (plow) which
reduces water effect leaching losses.Plow and harrow the field three to four times to soften the ground. Set
the distance between rows using stakes and string. Construct the rows of planting beds, initially using the
plow and then using spade. Make the canals between rows deep as possible. Connect the canals by
constructing deep canals across at the two ends of the rows.
● Small corms and suckers growing from the sides of mother plants are normally used as planting materials.
Mother plants may also be used by cutting all the leaves except unopened ones. Corms and suckers are
detached from the mother plant and their roots are cut to one half centimeter long. The planting materials
should be planted as soon as they are detached from the mother plant. If not at once, they must be kept
moist by covering them with a wet net, jute sack or old clothes to prevent dehydration. Planting gabi is very
similar to planting rice in irrigated fields. Gabi are planted 0.45 meter apart while rows are one meter away
from one another. Rows face east-west direction to expose the water to sunlight for a longer period of time.

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 ● Tilapia - 10,000 - 20,000 fingerlings per ha when the eaves of the planted gabi start to open, or when the
plant can withstand deeper water of about 10 centimeters. Animal manure is broadcasted before the first
plowing to thoroughly incorporate into the soil. Apply about 3,000 to 5,000 kilograms of manure per hectare
as basal fertilizer. To maintain the growth of plankton, manure of either chicken, duck or pig is applied at
3,000 kilograms per hectare per month. This quantity is divided into four and each portion is applied weekly.
● An unidentified pest was observed to damage the leaves of gabi in experimental plots conducted at NIFTDC,
Dagupan City. The pest begins as purple-brown water soaked lesions on and under the leaf. The pest can
spread from plant to plant by wind and splashing rain. It results in lowering the quality of leaves, leading to
reduced harvest. The spread of the pest can be controlled by cutting off and burning old, dried and affected
leaves; Adapting crop rotation practices; and planting the vigorous and healthy corms.
● Water level is kept at a depth of about three centimeters for one week after the gabi are planted. When
bigger gabi seedlings are used, the water depth is increased gradually to about 10 to 15 centimeters in seven
more days. The fish are stocked when this depth is attained.
● The fish are harvested after five months. The paddy is drained and the fish are either hand picked or caught
with a scoop net. The harvest of gabi can start after five months. Maturity of harvest is signalled by a
declined in the height of the plants and general yellowing of the leaves. Only big ones are harvested for the
market. Tubers are harvested with the use of the spade, a shovel or a spade fork. Harvesting is done
carefully to avoid damage to tubers. Total harvest of gabi and fish is recommended after a year to ensure
better harvest in the next cropping period
Integrated Chicken and fish farming
• Chicken raising for meat (broilers) or eggs (layers) can be integrated with fish culture to reduce costs on
fertilizers and feeds in fish culture and maximize benefits. Chicken can be raised over or adjacent to the
ponds and the poultry excreta recycled to fertilize the fishponds. Raising chickens over the pond has certain
advantages: it maximizes the use of space; saves labour in transporting manure to the ponds and the poultry
house is more hygienic. No significant differences have been observed on the chickens' growth or egg laying
when they are raised over the ponds or on land. In case of the former, the pond embankment could still be
utilized for raising vegetables.
• Fish culture - Stock fingerlings of Tilapia, catfish, indian etc carps, catla (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita),
mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) and Chinese carps, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp
(Ctenopharyngodon idella) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Species stocking rate could be 40 percent
surface feeders (catla and silver carp), 20 percent rohu, 30 percent bottom feeders (mrigal and common
carp) and 10 percent grass carp. No feeds need to be given, as the feed spilled by chicken (which could be as
much as 10 percent) fall into ponds. No fertilizer is needed, except for excreta of chicken falling into ponds.
When water becomes deep green due to plankton blooms, oxygen in the water may get depleted and fish
may die. In such cases, put mats or plastic sheets below the poultry house to catch the chicken excreta and
suspend nutrient inputs for 1 to 3 weeks. If possible, immediately irrigate the pond with freshwater.
• Chicken raising - For the first 14 days, chicks need to be raised separately in a brooder (not on pond), as they
need higher temperature. Each chick during this period needs a space of 7.5 x 7.5 cm (9 in²). To maintain the
required temperature range, surround the chicks in a bamboo fence (hang an electric or kerosene lamp
above them. A rice husk heater can also be used) or any secure poultry coop/pen.
• From experience with this technology in field trials, the poultry component was the problematic part. It
required a higher level of investment and managerial skill. Uneconomical scales of chicken farming
operations limited acceptance by farmers and caused the few adopters to terminate the activities.

Other technologies:
PREDATORS AND OTHER PESTS
● Fish production in ponds is commonly affected by some pests and predators. Predators are organisms which
prey on the fish being cultured and the animals that complete for food or space are called competitors.

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 ● Birds Herons, kingfishers and other birds should be discouraged from frequenting the ponds. They devour
fish and fingerlings. Birds are also carriers of parasites. They are kept away by shooting or trapping. Ponds
constructed without shallow areas are not attractive to birds.
● Snakes Snakes prey on small fish. Nevertheless, there are but a few to worry about. Banks and dikes must be
kept clean to prevent snakes from harboring in the ponds.
● Frogs Fry and fingerlings are eaten by frogs. Tadpoles also compete with the fish for space. Frogs are seldom
found in well-fertilized and well stocked ponds. Their presence can be controlled by removing their egg sacs
from the pond water.
WEEDS and other vegetation
● Submerged plants
○ Bushy Pond Weed (Najas sp.) The bushy pond weed is a very common submersed plant. It resembles
Bermuda grass but grows underwater. The leaves are narrow and ribbon-like and deep green to
purplish green in color. Control : Mechanical Prevention : Shading phytoplankton
● Floating plants
○ True Floating Plants
■ Duckweed (Lemna) The duckweed is a small, floating plant, green in color and about one
centimeter long across with two to four leaves. Extending beneath each leaf is a single, short
root. Duckweed floats freely and is moved by wind current. Control : Mechanical, by net,
rake or similar device Prevention: Avoid introduction
○ Rooted floating plants
■ Waterlily, spatterdock and water lotus
● Emerged plants
● Marginal plants
○ Cattails (Typha sp.) are marginal plants that grow 180 to 240 centimeters tall. The leaves are long
and narrow with sheathed stem. Cattails have thick branching rootstocks. Thousands of seeds are
produced in cylindrical spikes which are brown when mature. Control : Mechanical
Recommendation : Early removal
● Other methods of controlling weeds:
○ Biological method: introduce animals and plants that eat or compete with weeds
○ Chemical - Herbicides
○ Cultural - altering environment to prevent their growth

Aquarium construction and setting

● Characterization of an underwater world - therapeutic
● Planning - sketch: large aquaria are easier to maintain than smaller ones
● Size - 1 cm of fish:1 liter of water is allocated - at least 60 cm x 35 cm
● Types of Aquaria:
○ All-glass- silicon glue attach the glass panes together, shock proof, commonly used
○ Partly framed - aluminum or plastic frames at the top and bottom, fancy aquarium type
○ Completely framed - glass planes glued to a stable metal (usually aluminum)
○ Mould glass - inexpensive, but small water volume only (<20 liters-5.3 gal). The side panes are
uneven and cause optical distortions
● Cabinets - with large compartments are not cheap - needs to be stable, practical yet decorative
● Stand - if cabinet is unavailable, must be stable and even horizontally. Spirit level is used to level the stand. A
5 mm styrofoam panel must be placed between the aquarium and stand to offset any distortion from the
construction of the stand and to avoid tension that may cause cracks in the glass.
● Power supply - Filter, heater, lighting, etc. are required to be installed in the aquarium. If possible, the
power supply should be above the aquarium to avoid accidental spilling into the outlets during water change
or refilling

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● Cleaning and checking water leaks - Gaps between the silicon and the glass must be absent. If leak is absent
after 2-3 hours, the aquarium is considered leak proof
○ Clean (with hot water) to remove residues from production. Chemical glass cleaners should not be
used on the glass panes, including the lid and on the outside. By mistake, minute cleaning detergents
may contaminate the aquarium.
● Technical equipment
○ Aquarium heater - Some aquarium fish are accustomed to water temperatures of about 25C. A
thermostat heater in a glass has proven best and is most common. They are waterproof and
resistant to corrosion in saltwater.Do not hesitate to select a heater with a higher wattage. The
power consumption of both low and high wattage heater for producing the desired heat at a certain
temperature is the same. A heater with higher wattage has a higher power reserve during electrical
failure or brown-outs.
○ Lighting - Do not situate the aquarium near the window because exposure to sunlight will promote
algal growth. Also, fish tend to swim in a slanting way (mouth pointing up) towards the sunlight. In
freshwater aquarium, fluorescent or mercury vapour lamps are favourable. The latter are more
suitable for larger aquaria with water depths of more than 60 cm. A 12-hour lighting daily is ideal for
aquarium management. Rule: 1 watt per 2 liters of water
○ Filter system - The filter may be divided into prefilter and main filter. Prefilter materials are biofilter
fibers and/or filter wool. The filter medium cleans the water mechanically by removing dirt particles
from the water. In the main filter, useful bacteria break down the water pollutants such as fish
excrements biologically.
● Aquarium setting
○ Location - weight of 100 liter aquarium ~150 kg without cabinet. It stands out better in a dark corner
of the room also fish are not disturbed by frequent human traffic.
○ Stones containing lime or metallic-contained stones must be avoided. For freshwater aquaria,
granite and basalt are more desired than lime-containing stones. Ore stones and metal-contained
stones are attractive but less desire. Use silicon to adhere stone construction together at the
connecting points. Adhering the stones together prevents them from collapsing. The active
movements of the grubbing fish can easily topple the unsecured stone constructions, thus causing
injuries and destruction to the aquarium
○ Plant large or tall plants (hornwort and water weed) at the back pane of the aquarium so as not to
obstruct the view of the aquarium. Place the short growing, smaller and lawn-forming plants (<15
cm) at the foreground. Middle-ground plants include solitary plants (large space demand to the side)
and group or hunched plants (slender and best if planted in bunch). With bacteria in the gravel, the
plants form an effective filter system. Fast growing plants such as hornwort (Ceratophyllum
demersum) or waterweed (Elodea and Egeria species) consume nitrate and thus relieve the water
from excess nutrients. During photosynthesis, plants consume carbon dioxide and consequently
enrich the water with oxygen. Plants offer the fish hideaways and thus reduce stress. Young fish
need a dense planting of fine plants to hide them from hungry fish individuals.
Number of plants = (Length (cm) x depth (cm))/50
○ Bog wood or sinking driftwood, available in every pet shop is suitable for most freshwater aquaria.
Bog wood is decorative and durable. It comes from swamps conserved for over a long time and does
not float in water. Self-collected wood may easily rot and release pollutants in your aquarium.
○ Fill the aquarium up to 80% with moderately warm tap water. Place a deep plate or a bowl onto the
aquarium gravel and pour the water onto it. This prevents the gravel from whirling up. Tap water
may not always be suitable as aquarium water. Chlorine and other disinfectants, metal ions and
various dissolved salts harm fish, plants and microorganisms. Strongly aerate tap water over 24-
hour period before use. Most ornamental fish are comfortable with water temperatures of about
25-29o C and pH value of 6.5 to 7.5.

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 ○ Bottom gravel - offers plenty of setting space for useful bacteria that break down pollutants. Use
fine grain (2-4 mm) aquarium gravel or river sand (1.5 mm. Grain size) as a covering layer. Do not use
sharp-edged gravel like basalt chippings, fired ceramic chippings, etc. This type of gravel can easily
cause injury to grubbing fish like armoured catfish. The gravel should be dark-coloured. Avoid bright
or white gravel because they irritate the fish and cause stress. Also, dark coloured gravel enhances
the splendid colours of the ornamental fish.
○ For most aquarium fish, we recommend groups of at least 6 – 8 per species. It is always an
advantage to combine fish that stay at different water layers. For example: guppies, gouramis,
neon/cardinal tetras and armoured catfish, or platies, barbs, dwarf cichlids and armoured catfish.
Also, introduce some algae-eating fish. Small to medium size fish such as bristle-nose catfish
(Ancistrus dolichopterus) and midget sucker fish (Otocinclus affinis) are especially recommended.
These fish constantly scrape off algae on the side of the aquarium glass, stones, gravel and plant
leaves. Also, livebearing toothcarps such as guppies, platy, black mollies and swordtails, eat algae.
○ Saltwater aquarium - A difference is that there is no higher order of plants than various ornamental
algae in a saltwater aquarium. The animal stock does not only include fish but many species of
invertebrates as well, such as corals, anemones, starfish, crustaceans and clams. Marine animals are
more expensive than the freshwater fish. Maintenance costs, however, are not much higher than a
freshwater aquarium.

Cage Operation and management

● Cage was first used as a holding facility for fish. True cage culture was said to have started in 1243 in China.
The early culture species were snakeheads, gobies, catfishes and carps.
● Use of modern cage materials like synthetic nets, woods and metals started in early 1960’s. Norway and
Scotland used marine cages in the culture of Atlantic Salmon in 1960 and 1965 respectively.
● The Philippines started to adopt cage farming in the late 1970’s in freshwater lakes. The primary species
cultured was tilapia. In the 1990’s, cages were used in the culture of grouper and siganids.
● At present, milkfish in the province of Pangasinan are cultured intensively in seacages producing about 30 T
per cropping using a 20 m diameter cage.
● A variation of floating cages are rotating ones which discourage excessive fouling of the enclosure.
● Simple submerged cages were reported to be adopted in Indonesia and lakes in China. In he Philippines, the
design is adopted in Magat Dam and Taal Lake tilapia cages, where bamboo is used for framing and flotation
material. Another design has no frame and requires 20 liter plastic containers as float to maintain the shape
of the cages. Frameless or flexible cage is suited in shallow sites with less fluctuating water depth.
Submerged cages allow the use of site exposed to strong winds. Less materials are needed for framing and
flotation and may yield better per cubic meter. However, cage size is limited and working area is absent.
● Classification in terms of feed inputs:
○ Extensive - restricted to FW such as highly productive lakes and reservoirs (example: Laguna de Bay-
highly eutrophic
○ Semi-intensive - nat food plus artificial food - in tropical freshwaters for species that feed low in the
food chain. To a limited extent of culturing siganids, semi - intensive system is not practiced in
marine environment
○ Intensive - in FW and marine env’t. n the Philippines, tilapia culture in reservoirs, like Magat Dam in
Isabela is found to adopt the system . The constant changing and the inherent circulation of dam
water lessen the possibility of euthropication, due to waste loadings from the cages. A recent
development is the intensive culture of milkfish in floating sea cages. A stocking density of about 100
fish / m3 and intensive feeding of commercial feeds are employed . Fish are harvested after 5-6
months with a production capacity of about 24 k / m3 .
● Cage construction

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 ○ Shape - any for Tilapia, bighead carp and milkfish swim in a circular pattern so circular shape may be
more appropriate - higher construction cost than square but more stable during bad weather
conditions. Stocking densities of tilapia, which is a less active species, is about 20 to 40 pcs / m3 in
square or rectangular cages while milkfish can be stocked at 100/m3 or higher in circular seacages.
○ Size - increase bag size = lower cost per volume. Marine units are bigger than FW cages. Most
freshwater cages use bamboo for framing and flotation. The length of available bamboo may dictate
the size of the cages. Most sea cages use GI pipes and styropor or plastic drum for framing and
flotation, respectively. Very few who can afford to use PVC pipes for framing and flotation. GI sea
cages can have a dimension of 15 x 15 m or 10 m diameter surface area. Sea cages made of PVC are
about 20 m in diameter with depth of about 6 m. Large cages require more sophisticated technology
and equipment. Large cages are best suited for species that does not require regular grading or
sequential harvesting.
○ Cage bag - netting materials can be flexible or rigid. Flexible materials are natural or synthetic fibers
like cotton and nylon. Rigid or semi rigid materials are plastics and metals. Natural fibers are seldom
used because they are susceptible to rotting. Synthetic fibers are preferred which are manufactured
from coal or oil based raw materials. Nylon nets are of two types: knotless and knotted. Knotless
nets are usually used in cage culture of tilapia because it is cheaper and less abrasive. In sea cages, it
is used in rearing post fry to fingerlings. Sea cages usually prefer the bigger mesh knotted nets which
are easier to repair and more resistant to bending deformation. Knotted nylon nets are less affected
by fouling organisms. Removal of barnacles from knotless but weaved nets may adversely affect the
durability and maintenance requirements of the cage. Modern rigid mesh cages use plastics and
metals. They are usually square or diamond mesh
○ Cage collars - to support the bag securely in the water column and help maintain shape. They may
also serve as work platforms. Bamboos and GI pipes are the most common materials used as collars
in the Philippines. Bamboos are light and resistant to bending. However, it has short useful working
life. Especially when cut immature, they crack, susceptible to destruction by borrowing insects, rots
quickly and lose flotation properties early. According to IDRC/SEAFDEC (1979) bamboo tends to have
a useful working life of 18 - 24 months in freshwater and 12 - 18 months in seawater. GI pipes are
expensive but excellent materials for collars. Size of cages can be increased and designed to desired
shape. With empty plastic drums as flotation a sufficient work platform can be incorporated in the
design. This type of collar can last for 8 - 12 years and widely used in marine environment.
○ Groupings and linkages - Grouping of cages is influenced by the nature of the site, mooring
constrains, environmental considerations and disease prevention. Cage groupings must not impede
navigation. In tilapia culture, arranging the cage to face the prevailing wind results to a higher
harvest. The system takes advantage of plankton drift and better water circulation and aeration.
Cages can be linked together using rope, chain and used tires inbetween cages. The link should
provide enough spacing to facilitate water circulation between cages.
○ Mooring systems - consists of lines and anchors for the purpose of securing the cages in a desired
location. Chain, nylon ropes or combination can be used for mooring. The length of mooring in
marine waters should not be less than three times the water depth of the site. Embedding anchors
can be bought or fabricated. The cheapest, however, is the concrete block anchors with steel rods
for strengthening and eyebolt for mooring attachment. Once installed, block anchors are difficult to
recover
● Site selection:
○ Shelter - protected from strong winds and waves
○ Currents
○ Water quality - Turbidity brought by water run-off can affect 2 to 15 kilometer radius of a coastal
area from the mouth of the river and may last for 3 to 6 days.

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 ○ Water depth - should be 2 - 3 meters for freshwater. In marine environment, deeper sites are
preferred for sufficient water circulation and acceptable water quality.
● Cage Farm Management
○ Seeds - prior to transport, post fingerlings are pre-conditioned in hapas or tanks with sufficient
aeration and water drips for 1 or 2 days. For transport, plastic bags, one third filled with water and
remaining space with oxygen, is popular in tilapia and smaller milkfish. For mass transport of
milkfish, holds of big boats called “pituya” that pumps water continuously into the fingerlings for
aeration and water exchange during transport is in practice today. Water and air are changed every
6 hours for long transport.
○ Fish are fed after 3 to 4 hours when they have recovered after transfer. Floating feeds allow
observation of the stocks. Feeding of the fish can be checked thus avoiding excessive feed loss. For
sites with stronger winds, waves and current, sinking pellets are preferred.
○ Net bags are changed every two months to check growth of fouling organisms. Fouling organisms
are removed using high-pressure water and brush.

Solar salt
● Plastic - 30 sq.m = ½ sack salt per week. 6 units of plastic plots = Php500/day
● Steps: Find an empty, level space near the sea. Clean the land and using “nibel” level the land. Lay the plastic
and place support such as bamboo tree or piece of wood to accumulate water with a depth of 3 inches.
Place a plastic fence to prevent sand from entering the set up. Wash set-up twice top remove debris/ dirt.
Place seawater (3 inches), if water is turbid, filter using a mesh bag. Wait for 7 days then harvest. Pack in
sacks. Place seawater in plastic plots again.
● Coconut trees need 3 to 4 kilos of salt a year for 12 consecutive years, to have resistance against diseases.

Milkfish preservation
● Processing aims to inhibit the growth or cause the death of microbes through:
○ water removal - tuyo at daing/pindang
○ lowering temperature - chilled and frozen fish
○ high temperature - sardinas at tinapa
○ addition of salt - bagoong, buro at tuyo
○ addition of vinegar - marinated bangus
○ or combination of 2 or 3
● Deboning milkfish: backbone → rib bones → dorsal side → ventral side
● Angkak: Monasas purpuras

Binurong Darak (D1)

● Alternative feed to lower production costs
● Value- added product from palay production to produce rice - easily sourced
● 13% crude protein - P10/kilo. Digestibility is increased by the process of fermentation.
● 10 kg darak + 2 kg dried chicken manure → mix + 2.5 Liter water → place in clay pot (tapayan) or sack in a
cool and shaded area → wait for 10 days → grind clumped ingredients = STARTER
● Use this starter (2 kg) instead of 2 kg chicken manure during next production.
● Shelf life of product : 7 days only.
● Fermentation increases protein of raw material darak, enhances digestibility, results in an organic product
plus 50% profit from production (lesser feed cost)

Culture of Natural Food Organisms

• PHYTOPLANKTON Species : Nannochloropsis sp. Tetraselmis batan,Isochrysis galbana, Chaetocerous sp.,
Pavlova lutheri

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 • Physical and Chemical conditions The most important parameters regulating algal growth are nutrient
quantity and quality, light, pH, turbulence, salinity, and temperature.
o a. Culture Medium/Nutrients Like higher plants algae requires at least 15-20 elements for normal
growth and reproduction. They are the macronutrients and micronutrients.
o b. Light Light is the source of energy for photoautotrophic algae. The requirements of light vary with
the culture depth and the density of the algal culture. Light may be natural or supplied by
fluorescent lamp.
o c. pH The pH range for most cultured algal species is between 7 and 9, with 8.2-8.7 as optimum
range .
o d. Aeration/Mixing Mixing is necessary to prevent sedimentation of the algae. It is achieved by
stirring daily by hand for small volume, aerating for bigger volumes or using paddle wheels and jet
pumps for ponds.
o e. Temperature Phytoplankton increases their growth rate with increasing temperature up to an
optimum level after which growth rate declines, often abruptly. The optimal temperature for the
culture of phytoplankton is between 18-25 C.
• Sterilization - In culture systems employing gradually, culture volumes, the maintenance of axenic base or
stock cultures is required. It is not practical to sterilize all production levels. Usually only smaller volumes of
seawater are treated by autoclaving.In large volume cultures, use of oxidizing agent like chlorox applies.
• Algal Storage - algal cultures may be stored for extended periods in 2 forms: as a frozen concentrate or a
freeze-dried powder. The processing of algae for storage in a frozen form by adding cryoprotective agents in
known as cryopreservation.

• Zooplankton. The animal component of the plankton often referred to as herbivores or “grazers” feeding
heavily on the plant component is the zooplankton. It is a very important and indispensable food for marine
and freshwater fish larvae. With many species belonging to Class Rotifera, the most suitable for mass culture
is Brachionus plicatilis. The body of rotifer is divided into 3 portions: head, which carries a crown surrounded
by cilia; trunk; and foot. Rotifer’s size ranges from 100 to 400 um. B. plicatilis may undergo two types of
reproduction depending upon the culture condition. To increase the population density of the rotifers, it is
necessary to keep them in the asexual reproduction phase by excluding the factors, which induce sexual
reproduction of rotifers in mass cultures. B. plicatilis is a fastidious feeder, the most tested acceptable food
given are Chlorella sp.and Tetraselmis sp . with an addition of baker’s/marine yeast. In freshwater, B.
calyciflorus and B. rubens are the most common rotifers for mass culture. They are fed with Phytoplankton
Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp., as well as yeast and the artificial diet can also be applied.

Programs of NFRDI and NIFTDC

● Sec 82, RA 8550: establishment of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) -
priority R&D species:
○ Seaweeds - National Seaweeds Development Program
■ Lantay technology was perfected by the Marine Colloid Seaweed in the Philippines
Inc.(MCSPI) in Cebu which makes it possible to grow seaweeds in rough seas like those in
Ilocos coast, Pangasinan, La Union and the western and northern side of Luzon - first done in
Dasol Seaweed Mariculture Ecozone (180 ha) in western Pangasinan
■ The lantay method uses a square floating bed enclosed in a net where seaweed plantlets are
strewn freely to grow. The net keeps the plants inside even if the waves are strong
■ Codium “pukpoklo” – against metastasis in cancer cells
■ Indonesia – world’s largest tropical seaweed producer (75% of the world’s production)
○ Milkfish - seaweeds and milkfish are the top two commercially important species in aquaculture
○ Tilapia
○ Penaied shrimps and prawns - includes Gene Bank for Macrobrachium
○ Tuna - top export commodity
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 ■ QA of filtered/ tasteless smoke and cO gas-treated tuna meat products
○ Sea cucumber
○ Freshwater Ornamental Species
○ Ludong
○ Other related R&D activities
■ Trap Development Program - for the refinement and improvement of fishing gears for local
environment: floating trap gear, mid-water and surface trap nets, gear modification on
portable traps.
● Asian Fisheries Academy - training arm of NFRDI established through the Priority Development Assistance
Fund of Speaker Jose de Venecia. Project: Fisheries Grassroots Outreach (FishGro) was also provided by
National Agriculture and Food Council (NAFC) from Japan Grant Assistance for Underprivileged farmers.
○ Training programs: Trabaho Patrol - boneless/ smoked bangus training etc
○ Writing on research proposals and technical reports
○ Accredited by TESDA (NC2)
● BFAR, NOAA, USAID-supported Ecosystems Improved for Sustainable Fisheries (ECOFISH) Project -
conducted Essential Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) training in Dagupan City “Kitchen
of the North”
○ One Barangay, One Fish Project - aims to motivate traditional fish farmers to shift from bangus to
other high-values species in order to increase their earning potential. One family was selected per
village and given one medium-sized floating fish cage made from local materials and fingerlings of
talakitok, malaga, sea bass and lapu-lapu
● 110 Million Peso ($2.2 Million) Seafood Processing Facility - put by Korean government in Barangay Bonuan
Binloc - 1,500 square meters - most modern fish processing facility in the country
○ Funding came from Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)
○ The plant can stock 20 tons of raw material and more than 150 metric tons of processed fish. it has
quick freezing capacity of 4 tons/ day at a temperature of -40C
○ Ilocos region produces 112,000 metric tons of bangus annually (86% of which comes from
Pangasinan). Production of one cage is equal to 15 ha of fishpond
● Fish cemetery in Dagupan (Cemetery for Endangered Aquatic Animals)- 15 organisms: 3 whales, 12 dolphins,
1 sea turtle
○ Moby Dick - dolphin 3.2 m long and weighed 1.2 tons, confiscated in Malabon market
○ Roxanne - Minke whale (Balenoptera) - largest buried - 9.8 m long and weighed more than 5 tons
○ Butanding (Rhincodon typus) - 5.2 meters
● Cestraeus plicatilis (Ludong) conservation
○ Ludong is an indigenous fish found in the rivers of Caraballo, Cordillera and Sierra Madre mountains -
could only be bought only during the last week of October until early November of each year (P800-
2,800 per kilo).
○ Sizes and volume caught decreased annually from 2.4 kg in 1998 to 0.25 kg in 2001. In 2002 and
2003, there were no ludong caught in Aparri, cagayan during the migration of the species.
○ 1997: Trials on catching the ludong using gill nets were successful but collection was hampered by
the short period of migration run that only lasts to less than 10 days per year.
○ Herbivorous fish feeding on filamentous algae and catadromous - migrate downstream to the sea to
spawn from October to November after heavy rains and during flash floods. FAO 31 and 139 -
conservation of Ludong
○ Oplan Sagip Ludong
○ NIA must consult with representatives of Task Force Luding in planning and designing of dams →
install fish ladders which can be used by Ludong and other migratory fish to pass through dams
during migration

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● Azolla use - Azolla is a free-floating water fern that floats on the water which resembles algae and fixes
atmospheric nitrogen in association with nitrogen fixing cyanobacterium. The name Azolla is derived from
two Greek words azo means to dry and allyo means to kill. It is commonly found on stagnant water or
permanent pools, freshwater ponds, ditches and paddy fields from temperate and tropical regions. It can be
grown in concrete tanks or any water receptacles. Air, light, water and mineral nutrients are important
factors in affecting the growth and development of the fern. It doubles its population in seven days.
○ Azolla is rich in protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. It is the only plant used as biofertilizer in
agriculture or as a green manure for wetland rice in Northern Vietnam, and in Central to Southern
China because of its high nitrogen content. In early 1980's the use of Azolla in South Cotabato,
Philippines was widely published. Azolla plants have been described by the Chinese and Vietnamese
as being miniature nitrogen fertilizer factories.
○ Azolla is traditionally used throughout Asia and parts of Africa as feed for livestock, poultry and fish
(tilapia, red pacu, carps and other herbivorous and omnivorous species). As animal feed, Azolla
contains very high levels of protein (about 20-30% of dry weight. Some literatures suggest higher
protein level of 50-60%) and fat. At times Azolla is also used as human food.
○ It can be used against dengue (biocontrols with: tutubi, butiki) since it will easily cover the water
surface preventing egg laying.
○ Azolla has such a high level of atmospheric carbon sequestration that it caused an ice age. Azolla
captures 6 tons of atmospheric carbon per acre per year and could reduce CO2 levels, while
providing high protein livestock feed, or nitrogen rich fertilizer.
● Biofloc Technology – primary producing auto and heterotrophic bacteria multiply to attract an ever-growing
host of organisms – loosely bound by bacterial mucus, most of these floating clumps or “flocs” are
microscopic 🡪 converts ammonium into microbial proteins that can be consumed by filter feeders thus
saving up on feed costs – also called “nutritious pond” concept → focus on optimizing carbon-to-nitrogen
ratios to accelerate the mineralization of waste
● Step by step Biofloc Preparation:
○ Biofloc: Diatoms + Protozoans + Various plankton + Prebiotic and Probiotic + Algae + Fungi. Basic
requirements: Sunlight, carbohydrate source, plenty of aeration
○ Tank or pond set-up
■ HDPE-lined pond is better than traditional pond. Soil easily influence the parameters of the
pond which can affect the natural processes underlying the biofloc system
■ Indoor tanks or raceways can be used as well but without the presence of natural sunlight.
Algae won’t grow sufficiently or won’t grow at all creating biofloc system based solely on
bacteria “Brown Biofloc Systems”
■ If you use large ponds you should install bottom drains to occasionally remove excess
sludge. This is especially important when adding carbohydrates on a regular basis, which
adds considerably more sludge to the pond. A second option is to use biofloc reactors to
accelerate the conversion of pond sludge to bioflocs.
○ Aeration
■ All biofloc systems require constant motion to maintain both high oxygen levels and to keep
solids from settling. Areas without movement will rapidly lose oxygen and turn into
anaerobic zones which release large amounts of ammonia and methane.
■ Needs a well-planned layout of aerators. Ponds typically use paddlewheel aerators. Biofloc
systems require 6 mg of oxygen/l/hr. Recommended to start 30 HP of aerators per hectare.
Paddle wheels should be installed strategically to regularly move some of the aerators to
ensure that solid solid particles won’t settle in areas with little or no current
○ Pre-seeding beneficial microbes
■ To accelerate the development of your biofloc system and stabilize pond faster. It is
advisable to pre-seed the culture water. This can be done by adding a number of commercial

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 (INVE and VINNBIO provide starter cultures for various probiotic microbes) or homemade
recipes to the culture (250 liter water + 50 kg rice bran + 5 kg Sodium bicarbonate +
Probiotics + wheat flour → fermentation for 36-48 hours in closed drum
○ Species selection and stocking densities
■ Most species would benefit of biofloc systems. Select species that eat protein-rich foods.
These species are wholly or partially filter feeders. Both shrimp and Tilapia are best for
Biofloc. Shrimp: 150-250/ sq.m. Tilapia: 200-300/cubic m. It is however important to avoid
species which dislike murky waters with a high solid content, like some catfish and barbs.
These species simply won’t perform as well.
○ Balancing carbon source input
■ To prevent ammonia peaks, jump start the development of biofloc by ensuring sufficient
availability of Carbohydrate (instead of N). The carbon in these carbohydrates enables
heterotrophic bacteria to multiply and synthesize ammonia, thus maintaining good water
quality. Select feed with C/N ratio above 10 because heterotrophic bacteria will grow first
■ Since most fish and shrimp feeds have a C/N ratio of 9:1 or 10:1, additional inputs are
needed to raise this ratio between 12:1 and 15:1. Any material that contains simple sugars
and breaks down quickly can be used such as molasses, cassava, hay, sugarcane or starch or
reduce the protein content of the used feeds. This step should be repeated at later stages of
the production process, esp when high SD is used with high feeds
○ Biofloc growth
■ Stage 1: floc found but cannot be measured
■ 2: Floc found in small quantities <1 ml/liter
■ 3: 1-5 ml/liter
■ 4: 5.1-10 ml/liter
■ 5: >10 ml/liter
■ With plenty of aeration, natural light (in most systems) and a readily available source of
carbon, biofloc numbers should start to multiply quickly. Depending on a variety of factors,
including water temperature, available nutrients and sunlight, floc will increase within a few
weeks. Over 2000 species present in floc.
■ Monitoring the growth of these flocs can be done by using a cone-shaped beaker to collect
several water samples at a depth of 15cm to 25cm, preferably in the late morning. The solid
particles should be left to settle for 20 minutes. They will stick to the sides of the cone-
shaped beaker, making it easy to count them.
○ Monitoring and control of biofloc development
■ Water samples must be regularly taken to monitor the pond water for floc development
activities. Outdoor bioflocs consist of green algae and brown bacteria. The algae mainly
utilize sunlight for their growth, while the bacteria mostly consume leftover feeds, their
byproducts and associated wastes.
■ Since algae initially tend to multiply faster, this means that a pond looks green at first
turning brown over the following weeks as bacterial colonies start to dominate. This brown
color is more quickly reached with Tilapia as they are fed with more feeds while it takes a bit
longer with shrimp.
○ Monitoring and control of water parameters and associated farm infrastructure
■ Once the biofloc system has turned brown, aeration must be significantly increased to
sustain the high respiration rate. Any power failure at this stage can quickly result in total
crop failure due to a lack of oxygen
○ Monitoring and control of farm stock
■ Main goal of a biofloc system is to improve growth rates and feeding efficiencies, thereby
improving the profitability and sustainability of farming operations. To check how the farm is

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 doing, regular monitoring of the performance of the farm stock, calculating and recording
growth rates, overall appearance, FCR and stock survival is required. It has been estimated
that for every unit of growth in your stock from feed, an additional 0.25 to 0.5 units of
growth can come from the biofloc in your system.
○ Harvest and clean
● First National Summit on Modernization in Aquaculture
○ Consideration of wind energy in aquaculture by driving water/ wind pumps, aerating fishpond and
tanks and generating electricity
■ The best wind resource is in the north and northeast of Luzon and the worst resource is in
the south and the southeast archipelago → Wind energy resources atlas of the Philippines
● Panatag Shoal, Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal – 124 nautical miles offshore from Pangasinan
occupied by China.
● Kakiputan Channel between Anda and Bolinao has turned reddish because of nutrient overload → excessive
fish pens in the area
○ Be wary of neap tide because all fish kills in Pangasinan happen during neap tide occurrences. During
neap tide, there can be no mechanical production of oxygen because there is no water flow and the
current is calm (called “tangok – oxygen deprivation. Neap tide occurs when the difference between
high and low tide is least. Neap tide comes twice a month, in the first and third quarters of the
moon.
○ Prevent fish kill by employing solar technology that boosts milkfish production 🡪 solar-powered
mechanical Aeration system for fishponds (produces micro bubbles) 🡪 Power Bank System Co., Ltd.,
supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (BFAR)
■ “Ukishima,” a floating aeration device consisting of a rust-free and light-weight solar panel
made of polycarbonate that can be used on the water for a long period of time, and a micro
bubble generator which is an ultra-fine air bubble generating device
● Hipon Mobile Clinic - to check for WSSV infection that affects both vannamei and tiger prawn species. Once
present, it can affect the entire farm population within 2 months. One of the main symptoms is reddening of
the shrimp shell, Once detected, forced harvesting is recommended within 3 to 5 days
○ Shrimp production can be increased using a mechanized farming system for better fish production
per unit area → aerator that creates micro-bubbles for faster transfer of oxygen from the air to the
water → not 24 hour use but rather depending on the DO levels in the day (3:00 to 6:00 pm - high
DO, declines 4:00-9 or 10 am - decline DO, then increases again) → using the machine the farmers
are able to produce 10 tons in a 2,500 square meter pond without running the aerator for 24 hours
○ EMS/AHPND describes the observed mortality occurring within the first 30 days of stocking shrimp
post larvae (PL) in ponds. The aquaculture species reported to be affected by EMS are Penaeus
monodon, P. vannamei and P. chinensis, of which P. monodon is the most susceptible. It is due to a
bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VPAHPND) that colonizes the shrimp stomach where it
produces the toxin responsible for the histopathological changes in the hepatopancreas. V.
parahaemolyticus is ubiquitous and ever-present in marine and brackishwater environments, and
thus can be present in the cultured shrimp, water, sediments, and associated organisms of the
culture pond. VPAHPND have transferable plasmid or jumping genes that carry the PirA/B toxins.
Disease symptoms: pale, hypertrophied hepatopancreas with empty stomach and midgut
● Bookworms/ Microworms (Panagrellus sp) - superb alternative fish food for fry in ponds, small free-living
nematode which does not need an intermediate host unlike parasites to breed
○ cheap, has similar amino acid content, easy to culture, has fast reproduction and can be propagated
at room temp or below 32 degrees farenheit
○ Per dipper cost (P13.50) vs Artemia (P2,500). Artemia requires special hatching jars that must be
well-aerated while microworms can be grown in plastic containers with lid that have pin-pricked

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 holes. Microworms can multiply by as many as 1.5 million in one tray in a week needing only
instant/commercial oatmeal, water, generic vitamins B12, B complex, plastic container with lids,
baker’s yeast and sprayer
● Shellfish Industry Development Project - aims to put shellfish production to an industrialized level - taking
root in Taytay (hosts the Malampaya Sound → protected inlet of the South China Sea on the NW coast of
Palawan, it is a geographic sound consisting of a complex of sheltered bays, coves, estuaries and islands
separated from the sea to the west by the Copoas Peninsula. The sound is an important feature for ecology
and economy of the province of Palawan. It is one of the finest natural harbors in the Phil and one of
Palawan’s richest fishing grounds)
○ In 2018, shellfish production in the Philippines increased by 30.9%.
○ Problem posed by red tide during hot weather conditions plus the fish cages which flush out an
overload of nutrients coming from fish feeds. It is the nutrients from the feeds that cause the
organism to bloom during hot weather and when the water is much salty. Caused by algal bloom,
first felt in Bolinao and Anda in 2001. For red tide to occur, organisms must first be introduced in the
area – for example through ship ballasts. In the Phil there are 25 sites where red tide has been
recorded.
○ Summer is the season of harmful algae blooms. They occur when water bodies become overloaded
with nitrogen and phosphorous from farms. Warm water and lots of nutrients promote rapid growth
of algae that can be toxic and potentially fatal to aquatic life and people. Eventually, the algae settle
to the bottom and decay, depleting DO, creating hypoxia - “dead zones”
○ In the export market (especially China), a kilo of dried green mussel costs P4,000 same as the kilo of
one kilo of dried sea cucumber
INFO on OTHER ORGANISMS
● Arms - lots of suckers vs Tentacles - suckers at the ends only. Nautilus: 90 tentacles, 0 arms; Squid and
Cuttlefish: 8 arms, 2 tentacles; Octopus: 8 arms, 0 tentacles
● Therapon cancellatus, Bulidaw - sold at Ilocos Sur at a price of P650 at 4-6 pieces per kilo: indigenous species
thriving in Abra river that straddles Santa and Cauayan towns of Ilocos Sur, belonging to migratory fishes
that spawn downstream in estuaries. The fish are caught near the mouth of the river between May and
September. Morphological characteristics are similar with pigek in Cotabato river.
● Asian moon scallop (Amusium pleuronectes) “Tipay” - in coastal waters of Samar and Leyte in Eastern
Visayas. Found in sandy-muddy bottoms of bays and straits at depths of 6-21 meters. They are
hermaphrodites with a shell height of 55-70 millimeters.
● Tawilis – Bombon sardine (Sardinella tawilis) – only freshwater sardine in the world - endemic in Taal Lake
(Taal Volcano Protected Landscape). Many females during February to April. Gravid females are long,
yellowish and has bulging abdomen. Spawning occurs during March and April. Tawilis fry are usually found in
Balete, Mataas na Kahoy, Pulang Bato ng San Nicolas and laot ng Cuenca → fake Tailis: salinyasi (saltwarer
fish). Tawilis is classified as endangered in Feb 2017 by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of
Nature)
● Alimusan are very big and tasty fish found mostly in the Bicol Region. According to a fisherman in Sorsogon,
this Eel tail catfish (Plotosus canius) are caught along the shoreline from January to May (peak season). A
two kg fish has a length of about a meter. It is possible to catch 4 to 5 kg sizes. Alimusan thrives best in
muddy areas (demersal) and can live in FW, BW and marine waters. They feed on crustaceans, mollusks and
fish. They are dusky brown, but females has lighter belly when gravid. The fish is said to be the most
venomous among catfishes. In Sorsogon, the price of alimusan is Php160 per kg.
● Goby fish (horny goby, biya, palo o tambagyoy) – Gobius criniger and two types of puffer fish (butete) –
Lagocephalus lunalris and L. lagocephalus – contains tetrodotoxin
● Rock oyster “Sisi” – in Samar regions caught using pangskuwat and pangtiktik
● Green Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) “Taungan” - largest parrotfish in the world
weighing over 40 kilos. It scrapes algae and bacteria thus allow healthy growth of corals

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 ● Agihis (Domax sp) - small bivalve used as a natural feed for cultured shrimp and crabs in Panguil Bay, mature
clams were abundant in the months of May to August and December to February
● Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) - effective immunostimulant for sea bass fingerlings against the pathogenic
bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida by supplementing the diet of fish with 30 and 40 grams of baker’s yeast
per kilo of the feed, mortality was reduced to 8.3%
● New mussel species in the country - Charru mussel (Mytella charruana) - First found in Manila Bay near an
international shipping port (northern area of Bacoor Bay is the location of the port facilities of Cavite City,
which includes the primary naval base for the Philippines and docking for numerous international seagoing
vessels. This suggests that ballast water discharges from vessels may have been a mechanism for the initial
introduction of this exotic mussel to Phil waters)
○ First found in 2015 in Dagupan City, believed to be introduced in Manila Bay through the ballast of
water ships coming from the Western Pacific Coast of South America where it is naturally found.
Compared to the green mussel (Mytilus smaragdinus) already being cultured in the country, the new
species can tolerate salinity at levels below 35 ppt which the green mussel cannot tolerate.
○ Salinity trials have shown that charru mussels may be best suited to Phil waters during and after the
monsoonal rainy seasons when salinities are routinely below 35 ppt and may be spread among
different estuaries via larval transport, thus this can complement Perna which thrives at higher
salinities
● Mussel becomes food for Cleaner fish such as ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and lumpsuckers → have
become an integral part of the farmed salmon industry, since their tentative introduction a decade or so ago.
By eating the sea lice that live on farmed fish, they prevent unnecessary chemicals from entering the
environment, and save fish farmers money.

BFAR interventions:
• Mariculture ParkLGU participation is needed in zoning a parcel of at least 100 ha of coastal municipal water
to be declared as a mariculture park. It will utilize modern floating cages that tolerate 2-3 m wave action
o Component of the park is an Executive Management Council (EMC) that governs the establishment
of a grid-type “community” storm mooring system and cluster of marine sea cages → provides
security for cages during seasonal rough weather, a standardized mooring facility is expected to help
prevent problems of uncontrolled growth and expansion, encroachment, entanglement. First park:
Samal Island Mariculture Park
• BFAR AC 255 - Closed season to catch or take any sardines from December 1, 2014 to March 1, 2015 in East
Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay. FAO 167 - sardines in Visayan Sea
• Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan o MMK: The National Search for Outstanding coastal communities. Mar 3 -
World Wildlife Day. March 22 - World Waters Day. May- Farmers and Fisherfolks month. June 5. International
day for fight against IUUF
• MMOV - Multi-Mission Offshore Vessel, VIIRS Night Light Boat Detection- Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer
Suite
• March 15, 2019 - Cuvier’s beaked whale - stranded along coastline of Brgy. Cadunan, Mabini, Compostela
Valley → ingestion of huge amount (88 pounds) of foreign objects mostly of plastics and cellophane
• Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s "Back to the Basics" approach in Philippine Agriculture:
o 1. Determine the kind of food items that the market needs and quantify the volume food that the
Filipino people would consume every year.
o 2. Identify which regions or provinces of the country would be suitable in the production of the
needed food items. This would entail a nation-wide study to produce an agriculture guide map which
would indicate soil suitability, climatic conditions and rainfall patterns so that farmers would know
what to plant or raise.
o 3. Once the key production areas are identified based on crop suitability, government will come in
with the needed interventions to support the farmers in their production.
o 4. Irrigation services must be considered a vital government obligation to support the growth of
Philippine economy, just like the network of roads being used for free. The country's rice farmers
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 should be supported by providing them free irrigation water and should be allowed to manage their
own irrigation systems for themselves without being obliged to pay for the irrigation fees.
o 5. Basic infrastructures to facilitate the transport of food and agricultural products from the key
production areas to the market will be given priority by the Duterte Presidency.
o 6. Food terminals complete with cold storage facilities will be established in key production areas to
serve as the delivery point for the farmers' produce. From there, the food items will be distributed to
other areas where these are needed in a concept called "Food Positioning."
o 7. The processing of food products at the local level would be given the needed support by the
Duterte Presidency to add more value to the farmers' produce and create jobs in the countryside.
o 8. The country's potential as a top producer of aqua and marine products given the fact that it is a
country which has the fifth longest coastline in the world would be given focus and support by the
Duterte Presidency.
o 9. Farmers in areas which could not grow food products will be supported by the Duterte Presidency
by introducing crops suited to the area with the needed technical and funding support.
o 10. Environmental protection and ecological balance will be given priority by the Duterte Presidency
to ensure the sustainable production of healthy food for the country
● AHON! Initiative Phase 1: Ahon! Sampung Libong Bangka para sa Dalawampung Libong Pamilya” → A six-
meter long fishing boat without a motor engine is estimated at P6, 000 and if equipped with a motor engine
would cost P15,000 → as of now: 15,069 units worth of boats → Phase II: provision of post-harvest
equipment such as chest freezers in Typhoon Yolanda-hit fishing communities. Depending on the size
freezers could produce 100-200 packs of ice everyday. If a fisher uses 5 to 10 packs of ice a day → 1 freezer
could support 20 to 40 fishers. Managed by the local barangay or fisher’s coop, it could easily be deployed in
fishing communities → while BFAR is yet to build ice plants and cold storages, chest freezer is a great
alternative as post-harvest equipment to preserve catch.
● TARGET: F/B Pagbabago, is a livelihood intervention of the DA-BFAR under its National Fisherfolk Program
dubbed as Targeted Actions to Reduce Poverty and Generate Economic Transformation or TARGET. F/B
Pagbabago aims to uplift the economic status of Filipino fisherfolk through the provision of disaster-resilient
fishing boats and resource-appropriate fishing gears, while at the same time empowering the fisherfolk and
their families to become responsible resource users. The program is anchored on a comprehensive approach
to fisheries development following the Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) to ensure the
sustainability of the resource and shall integrate the development of both production and marketing
channels to enable fisherfolk to optimize economic returns, and thus improve their economic plight.
● Full Utilization of Rice eels (Monopterus albus) - locally known as kiwet → non-indigenous fish species, which
grows 25 cm to 40 cm into adulthood, reportedly destroying rice paddies by burrowing themselves in the soil
● Fish-Yalan: Pangisdaan at Pasyalan All-In-One at the NIFTC (National Integrated Fisheries Technology Center)
at Tanay, Rizal
○ Came about following the passage of RA 10816: Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016
● Bantay Laot Program is an initiative of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (DA-BFAR) to deter illegal fishing activities and to protect threatened marine and aquatic species
in the municipal waters by capacitating subsistence fishers, particularly the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) as sea
guardians or sea watchers during closed season in nationally- declared Fishery Management Areas (FMAs).
This transects the Bureau’s program on F/B Pagbabago, coastal resource management and law enforcement
to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF).
● Fish Right is a partnership between the Government of the Philippines and the U.S. Agency for International
Development to improve marine biodiversity and the fisheries sector in three key ecological areas → works
with BFAR, DENR, and a consortium of local partners to address biodiversity threats and increase fish
biomass in select marine biodiversity areas in the Philippines.
○ Fish Right will foster substantial change in fisheries management and climate resilience in the
Philippines to achieve a ten-percent increase in fish biomass in Marine key biodiversity areas
(MKBA): Calamianes, Southern Negros, and Visayan Seas.
● The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has partnered with other US agencies, such
as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to develop and implement capacity-
building programs for managers of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
● RA 11398 - Philippine Fisheries Profession Act: Professional Regulatory Board of Fisheries will be under the
control of PRC. The board will be composed of a chairperson and four members
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● Endangered species under RA 10654 and or RA 9147:
Scientific name English Name Local name CITES App D/FAO
Dugong dugon Dugong Baboy Dagat 1 04-15
Rhincodon typus Whale shark Butanding/ Tuki 2 193
Cheilinus undulatus Napoleon wrasse Mameng 2
Chelonia mydas Green sea turtle Pawikan, Talisayon, 1 04-15
Bildog
Tridacna gigas Giant clam Taklobo 2 208
Tridacna squamosa Fluted/ scaly GC Hagdan-hagdan 2 208
Hippopus hippopus Horse hoof clam Kukong-kabayo 2 208
Helioporidae spp Blue corals 2 202
Corallium spp Red corals 3 202
Millepora spp Fire corals 2 202
Tubipora spp Organ Pipe corals 2 202
Manta spp Manta rays Pagi 2 193
Carcharinus Oceanic whitetip Pating 2
longimanus shark
Megaptera Humpback whale Balyena 1 208
novaeangliae
Hippocampus spp Seahorses Kaba-kabayo 2

● Guatemala is stopping trash entering the sea by using special plastic-catching barriers called biofences. They
capture trash fish floating on the surface of the river. They are made by attaching floating containers to a
mesh. Local people collect the trash everyday and take the waste to recycling centers
● Plastic liners allow culture of fish in dug-out ponds with sandy soil
● BLUE ECONOMY OF SEC WILLIAM D DAR - Most of them have boats and fishing gears unfit to venture
offshore. Magastos at matagal pa ang impact sa bulsa ng mangingisda. What is doable is to increase their
fishing yield in nearshore fishing areas. BFAR national and regional hatcheries must optimise production.
Fingerlings produced must be of different large species. Stock the fingerlings in rivers and estuaries regularly
(such as giant freshwater prawn, giant gourami, Molobicus saline tilapia, iExcel tilapia, seabass and
rabbitfishes in Pandan, Caoayan, Ilocos Sur and UNP Lagoon in Vigan). In less than half a year, fishing yield
will improve. We must do this many times in a year
○ Twin objectives: ani at kita (harvest and income) – Masaganang Kita or high productivity and Mataas
na Kita or Prosperous Income for all. Awarded Caraga provinces more than P40M fishery livelihood
assistance.
● Using mucus to determine sex through the presence if the protein called vitellogenin.
● Milkfish from fish kill for fish meal prod?
● Water lily in aquaculture recirculating system. Phytoremediation is considered as an efficient approach with
potential for removing aquatic contaminants. Much research has been conducted to identify plant species
capable of accumulating undesirable toxic compounds such as heavy metals, and numerous plants are
known to accumulate metals from their environment. Phytoremediation used in removing aquatic heavy
metals is a newly developed environmental-protective technique. Studies concerning freshwater resources
decontamination are extensive, and some freshwater plants have been found to have the capability of
accumulating heavy metals, among which water hyacinth is the most noteworthy
○ Water hyacinth or “water lily”, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) is a floating vascular plant which is
believed to have originated from South America. It is one of the world’s most prevalent invasive
aquatic plants. It is labeled as the ecosystem engineer or invasive habitat modifier. Water hyacinth is
comprised of approximately 90% water, making it very heavy to transport. It commonly forms
dense, interlocking mats due to its rapid reproductive rate and complex root structure, reproducing
both sexually and asexually. Its capacity to absorb nutrients makes it a potential biological
alternative to secondary and tertiary treatment for sewage and other contaminated water.

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 Furthermore, it is known to increase invertebrate abundance and diversity by providing habitat
within its complex root system. The dense and intricately connected root system also provides
refuge and nursery habitat for small and juvenile fish as well as zooplankton
○ Water hyacinth reduces biological diversity, impacts native submersed plants, alters immersed plant
communities by pushing away and crushing them, and also alter animal communities by blocking access
to the water and/or eliminating plants the animals depend on for shelter and nesting. To use: paper
and rope making, making baskets and matting for domestic use, charcoal briquetting, animal fodder.
Water hyacinth can also be used to aid the process of water purification either for drinking water or for
liquid effluent from sewage systems. In a drinking water treatment plant, water hyacinths have been
used as part of the pretreatment purification step. In sewage systems, the root structures of water
hyacinth (and other aquatic plants) provide a suitable environment for aerobic bacteria to function.
Aerobic bacteria feed on nutrients and produce inorganic compounds which in turn provide food for
the plants.
○ It is considered the most productive plant on earth as it yields more than 200 tons of dry matter per
hectare per year. On water containing high concentrations of sewage, it yields up to 657 tons of dry
matter per hectare.
● Palau – looking to expand their aquaculture (primarily rabbitfish and giant clam) but poor siting of
aquaculture installations has potential to damage reef ecosystems 🡪 develop spatial analyses that identify
suitable areas for aquaculture development from economic, social and environmental perspectives 🡪
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, alongside its sister agency the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is providing funding and technical support via its Research
Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) programme, which has the goal of utilising satellite
remote sensing to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals 🡪 develop images from NASA satellites to map
the best locations for aquaculture facilities off Palau.
● Invasive fish species: characteristics of invasive species: includes exotic or non-native micro and macro
species introduced, accidentally or deliberately, to a place that is not part of their natural habitat or
distribution rnage and have adverse ecological and economic impacts. they can survive a large variety of
habitats or environmental conditions. They outcompete native species for resources like food and water.
They often lack natural enemies (predators, competitors and parasites) in their new habitat. They grow and
reproduce rapidly.
○ Three species of invasive alien microalgae, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, Alexandrium minutum and
Chattonella marina, are known to be associated with harmful algal blooms in the coastal waters of
Palawan and Pangasinan.
○ Invasive aquatic animals:
○ Golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata). Originally introduced to increase the protein source of
Filipino diet, but now a major pest hindering the promotion and adoption of direct-seeded rice.
○ Janitor fish – This fish, particularly the Pterygoplicthus (pardalis) disjunctivus species, was introduced
by the aquarium trade industry, has reduced the fish catch of fisherfolk using fish corrals and gill nets
in Laguna de Bay and Agusan Marsh in Mindanao, resulting in huge economic losses. The burrowing
habit of the other janitor fish, P. pardalis, has also eroded the banks of Marikina River, a tributary of
Laguna de Bay.
○ Clown knife fish (Chitala ornata) – Believed to have escaped into Laguna de Bay after a flooding
caused by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, this fish is now wreaking havoc on the milkfish and tilapia
industries of the lake.
■ Originally found in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam
■ Usually an ornamental fish, may have spread due to flood
■ Eat fry of Tilapia and milkfish and endemic fish
■ Takibo: place nets then disturb fish in the surrounding to drive them to the net

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 ○ Giant snakehead (Channa micropeltes) – This fish is present in the Pantabangan reservoir in Nueva
Ecija although its invasiveness is not yet very serious, according to Guerrero.
○ Black-chin tilapia – This was first observed in Laguna de Bay but it eventually spread to the brackish
waters (mixed fresh and salt waters) of Bulacan. Its presence is not yet much of a concern.
○ Jaguar guapote (Parachromis managuensis) – This has been preying on and competing with native
fishes in Taal Lake in Batangas such as the white goby (G. giurus) and the theraponid (Therapon
plumbeus) as well as that of the introduced Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
○ Meanwhile, the red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri), peacock bass (Cichia occularis) and
araipama (Araipama gigas), which were introduced for ornamental purposes, have been deemed to
be potentially invasive and need close watching because of their predatory habits, capability of
spawning in tropical waters, and bio-invasive records in other countries, according to Guerrero.
○ Mudfish/Striped snakehead (Channa striata) - it preys on cultured species like tilapia (female > male,
potamodromous, monogamous, used for recovery post partum – high levels of AA and FA that
promote wound healing), Thai catfish (Clarias batrachus) – displaced indigenous catfish in Laguna de
Bay and other water bodies, rice paddy eel (Monopterus albus) – infest rice paddies in Cagayan
Valley by burrowing into dikes and causing water losses
● The plankton population in form of desirable bloom undertaken throughout the culture period as part of
best pond management practice. Phytoplankton is used as a food stock for the production of zooplankton
which are in turn used to feed cultured organisms.
○ Living dinoflagellates are one of the most important components in phytoplankton. Many
dinoflagellates are primary producers of food in the aquatic food webs. Dinoflagellates are an
integral part of the first link in the aquatic food chain: the initial transfer of light energy to chemical
energy (photosynthesis). The dinoflagellates along with other phytoplankton enter in to the
aquaculture pond through water intake from adjacent tide water. Due to applied nutrients and
water conditions, immediately the dinoflagellates proliferate its bloom in desire level or sometimes
in heavy blooms which is harmful to pond condition. These blooms appear in red-brown or red -
green water coloration.
○ Eukaryotic single-celled algae, Many have two flagella, which allow the cells to have limited mobility,
Cells are covered by a theca (sheath) that can be smooth or ornamented, Some species are able to
migrate vertically through the water column, seeking nutrients, prey, or protection from harmful UV
rays, Nearly half of known species are capable of photosynthesis and contain light-harvesting
pigments (autotrophs), Some species survive by other nutritional modes, and may absorb organic
matter or engulf prey (heterotrophs), Many species employ a combination of autotrophic and
heterotrophic behaviors
○ Of the 2000 known species, about 60 are able to produce complex toxins. Dinoflagellates are a very
successful group, at times to the detriment of the ecosystem. When conditions are favorable, a
population explosion or bloom may occur, sometimes resulting in contamination of fish and shellfish
and posing a threat to human and animal health.
○ The growth of dinoflagellates are regulated by several factors including water, temperature, solar
irradiation, turbidity, and nutrient concentrations. Acidic pond water is typically treated with
calcium-based compounds aiming to raise the pH and promotes the growth of phytoplankton.
Nutrients are supplied by the use of fertilizers and artificial feeds in which aquaculture ponds usually
meet the ideal conditions for phytoplankton growth.
○ Luminescence Effect of Dinoflagellate - These are tiny plants in plank tonic form live in sea water and
obtain source of energy from sunlight during day. In darkness the dinoflagagellates emit bright blue
light( luminescence) in response to movement within water. This mechanism is regulated by activity
of enzymes (luciferases) upon luminescent (luciferins) and requires oxygen. The dinoflagellates are
making flash light during dark time and light became brightest after several hours of darkness. The
glowing activities is reduced in early morning and there is no longer to luminescence upon shaking.

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 ○ Harmful Toxin Effects of Dinoflagellate
○ Dinoflagellate 'blooms' (cell population explosions) can cause discoloration of the water (known as
red tides) which can have harmful effects on the surrounding sea life and aquaculture. When toxic
species are in bloom conditions, the toxins can be quickly carried up the food chain and indirectly
passed into other consumers via fish and shellfish consumption, sometimes resulting in
gastrointestinal disorders, permanent neurological damage, or even death. Some dinoflagellates
species produce toxins that can kill both finfish and shrimp and indirectly to other consumers.
○ There are different types of harmful dinoflagellate blooms
■ Gonyaulax polygramma - Cause oxygen depletion
■ Dinophysis acuta sps - Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP)
■ Gambierdiscus toxicus, Ostreopsis mascarenensis - Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
■ Alexandrium acatenella sps - Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP)
■ Karenina breve sps - Neurotoxin Shellfish Poisoning (NSP);
■ Gymnodinium mikimotoi- Harmful to fish ,shrimp and marine invertebrates .The cells may
cause damage or clog the gills of these animals.
○ Harmful Effects of Dinoflagellate to Shrimp Health
■ Dinoflagellate 'blooms' can cause critically damages to cultured shrimps by toxin effects and
sudden fluctuation of water parameters of culture pond. Shrimps deaths occur because of
large numbers algal cells become trapped in the creatures' gills, causing respiratory failure,
hemorrhaging, or bacterial infection. Species of the diatom genus Chaetoceros, for example,
become lodged in the gills, where their spiny filaments destroy the hosts' tissue. Depletion
of dissolved oxygen level increases of ammonia content and toxic gasses in pond water.
Instability of pH and promote to inhabitant of pathogenic organisms in pond. Increase the
chance of diseases and microbial load in pond. Appearance of gill diseases, annetena rot etc,
less appetite, poor growth, bad molt, soft shell, low survival rate and chance of mass
mortality of shrimps.
○ Control Measures - Avoid the water intake to shrimp farms during red bloom phase (red tide) from
near water sources. Follow the best management practice to prevent the entry of bloom water in
shrimp pond. Do not exchange pond water if blooming phase occur near water sources. If no bloom
observed in adjacent intake water, exchange maximum water in possible period. In severity
condition, operate aerators for more period and stop the periodical nutrients to pond water. Strictly
follow the feed management practice.
○ Treatments - Treat the pond water with required doses of chlorine etc to during the pond
preparation. For best result use quality algaecide or de- dinoflgellate product to pond water during
culture period. In critical conditions, use oxygen developer and ammonia adsorbent products
immediately followed by application of zeolite product. Apply best soil & water probiotics products
to pond for better results in 2-3 weeks intervals. Also, application of soluble aluminum iron
compound have greater effectiveness for removing phosphorus from pond nutrition concentration
and controlling dinoflagellate growth. Use of required doses of Ferric chloride or ferrous sulfate has
the potential to reduce phosphorus concentration for lowering bloom density. Proper pond and
water quality management is essential to successful and quality shrimp production. Maintaining a
good culture environment through use of proper management practices will reduce the risk of
disease and increase production, shrimp quality, and marketability.
● Kuto or Isopod infestation in ponds is a big problem during hot days. They attack the fry/ fingerlings and
breeders of different species. Pre-disposing factor is high stocking density. Transmission is horizontal. Keep
pond water moving or apply/spray DecisS at noon time. Take note that Decis will decimate the kuto and
other shrimps/ other crustaceans but keeps Bangus and Tilapia safe.
● Microplastics often accumulate on the deep sea floor in the same place as diverse and dense marine life
communities. This is because the same submarine sediment flows that transfer the oxygen and nutrients

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 needed to sustain life, also transport microplastics from urban rivers to the deep-sea floor via pathways such
as submarine canyons.
○ 640,000 tons of ghost gear enter the world’s oceans every year. An average consumer of seafood
unwittingly eats 11,000 pieces of microplastic every year
○ PET or PE microplastics found in green mussels in Philippines
○ On plastics already floating worldwide: bury them in the soil (reclamation), use as building materials
(highways), use plastic garbage as fuel for electric power plants (with smoke arrester) → sea of
plastic in Caribbean (in Roatan shore, Honduras): 5 miles long
● Needed innovations in aquaculture
○ Disease prevention – sea lice: hydrogen peroxide stresses the salmon. Adding a lice-killing benzoate
to feed leaves toxic waste in the environment and lice are becoming resistant to the treatment,
requiring higher doses. Freshwater or heated water “dips” create added stress.
■ “cleaner fish” like Ballan wrasse to graze on sea lice in aquaculture pens, physical barriers or
“skirts” and feed supplements to boost natural defenses to infection
■ Probiotics, for instance, can help enhance shrimp health and improve immunity. RNA
interference (RNAi) is being evaluated by several established and emerging companies.
○ Oral delivery of treatments 🡪 microencapsulation where tiny particles or droplets are surrounded by
a coating to create small capsules, and bio-encapsulation, where medicines are incorporated into
living host organisms and then fed to fish
○ Fish meal replacement – plant based solutions, algae feed, insect based feed
○ Aquaculture sustainability 🡪 land based closed llop farming: recirculating aquaculture systems
● Fish transporter - works like a flexible vacuum so fish can get pass hydro plants and dams - developed by
Whoosh Innovations to reduce the impact of hydro plants on rivers. Dams and hydro plants create a barrier
for fish and make it impossible for them to get upstream to reproduce
● The power of aquaculture:
○ Restorative aquaculture - Aquaculture’s potential to provide social, economic and environmental
benefits 🡪 restorative aquaculture, which harnesses the potential of aquaculture to bring dead or
dying marine ecosystems back to life; and smart aquaculture, which is aimed at improving planning
that will reduce the environmental footprint of new projects.
○ Research to date has shown that nitrogen-removal potential (NRP) was similar for the tissues of
mussels and oysters on a per weight basis. But he noted that mussels have a higher percentage of
nitrogen in their shells than oysters. If individual oysters were harvested at an even greater biomass
than mussels, then the per-hectare NRP of oysters could potentially exceed that of mussels, he said.
Harvesting mussels grown via suspended mussel culture has the greatest NRP per hectare of farm
area, followed by suspended mussel and oyster mixed culture, suspended oyster culture, and
bottom oyster culture. Oysters are more thermally tolerant than mussels.
● Carrying capacity – maximum population that can be kept in an environment 🡪 consider 4 impt factors:
physical, production, ecological and social impacts 🡪 used as a tool to promote sustainable aquaculture
● Caudal fin – side to side movement and thrust propulsion
○ Lunate – Tuna, fast acceleration, least maneuvering
○ Round – Grouper, wait and hunt best for maneuvering
● Chromatophore subclasses
○ Erythrophores (red)
○ Xanthophores (yellow)
○ Leucophores (white)
○ Melanophores (Black/brown)
○ Cyanophores (Blue)
○ Iridiphores (Reflective)

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● Jurgenne H. Primavera, Ph.D., chief mangrove scientific advisor of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in
the Philippines, said planting the Rhizopora (bakaw) species for shoreline protection and to support the
National Greening Program (NGP) would only be wasting resources since they are not suitable in areas
exposed to strong waves. She said what is being done to support the NGP is wrong because the natural
species that should be planted in open areas are Sonneratia (pagatpat) and Avicennia marina (miape).
Primavera also cautioned planting mangroves in seagrass areas because they are displacing sea turtles,
seahorses, and even danggit (rabbit fish with white dots).
● Originating in the Tibetan highlands and running through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia,
and Vietnam, the Mekong and its tributaries provide water, food and income for 60 million people. The
longest river in Southeast Asia is home to the world’s largest inland fishery. It is estimated that 25 percent of
the global freshwater catch is harvested from this river.
○ Unchecked dam building along the Mekong and tributaries is predicted to cause: a reduction of 30 to
40% in fisheries, obstruction to migration patterns. The study also predicted a reduction of 97
percent sediment load reaching the Mekong Delta, which will colossally reduce soil fertility in the
lower Mekong basin, leading to a decrease in the region’s agricultural productivity, as well as
increased poverty and food insecurity.
● Jellyfish sting first aid: Remove tentacles with tweezers or protected fingers. Scrape off stingers with an ID or
credit cards. Rinse sting with vinegar for 30 seconds and apply a paste of baking soda and seawater. Apply
ice, take ibuprofen and apply calamine lotion or lidocaine. Do not rinse area with fresh water which may
activate stingers. Do not rub area with a towel and avoid getting sand on the wound. Do not use pressure
bandages.
● A spin-out from the University of Arizona, GenetiRate has developed a patented technology that allows users
to establish how well fish and shellfish are likely to grow while still at an embryonic stage. The technology
enables users to assess the metabolic rates of any fish ova or mollusc spat. Using metabolic rate as a sorting
variable, the researchers have shown that fish ova with a high metabolic rate grow faster, while mollusc spat
with a low metabolic rate grow more quickly.
● Philippine Minimata Initial Assessment (MIA) report identified at least 18 sites across the country
contaminated by mercury or “asoge”. Among the bodies of water suspected to have high concentrations of
mercury include Manila Bay in Metro Manila and Meycauayan River in Bulacan province. Also identified
were Mambulao Bay in Camarines Norte province and Lumanggang Creek and Naboc River, both in Davao
region.
● The Philippines has the 5th longest coastline in the world (36,289 km). 1,800 MPAs (2.1 M hectares), 2.75 M
hectares of seagrass beds, 139,700 hectares of mangrove forests, 2.5 M hectares of coral reefs, 50 species of
corals, 19 species of seagrasses, 42 species of mangrove, 2,500 species of reef fishes.
● As established, the turbidity caused by eutrophication and phytoplankton bloom in fish pond is a dangerous
incidence that may ultimately cause stress and even kill of stocked fish. Means for the control of the
plankton bloom varied through management practices or use of chemicals. The inserted picture shows the
application of chlorine dioxide in a fish pond in China. In this particular application, an amount of 500-g of
chlorine dioxide powder is mixed in the boat container with about 50 to 80 L of water. The solution is
broadcasted throughout the pond areas using a boat. The solution is sufficient for a pond area of about
3,000 to 4,000 m2. The use of chlorine dioxide for such purpose is based on the ability of the compound to
readily dissolve in water and so its effectiveness in the control of algae. In addition, the safety of using
chlorine dioxide has been endorsed by international organizations related to food and environmental safety
including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other organizations as well. Interestingly, the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted the use of chlorine dioxide as a food additive for human
consumption. While the primary use of the chlorine dioxide is for bleaching of wood pulp, it is also used for
the bleaching of cereal flours and for the disinfection of municipal drinking water. The product has been
registered for the use as a disinfectant and sanitiser in animal farms, food-processing and storage plants. Its
use as an antimicrobial agent has been adapted in the water of poultry processing as well as in water used to

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 wash fruits and vegetables, and for rinsing food processing equipment. A unique application of chlorine
dioxide occurred in 2001, when used to decontaminate a number of public buildings following the release of
anthrax spores in the United States. Precaution: A rule of thumb if any algicide is applied to a fish pond in the
existence of fish, aeration should be performed to pond water to prevent the risk of fish suffocation due to
the lowering of dissolved oxygen caused by algae kill. As expected, the risk of oxygen decline will be
influenced by the dense of plankton bloom and the level of algal kill. In situations, when the effective
aeration is not possible, it is advised to find out other means for controlling dense algae rather than using
chemical algaecide. On the other hand, in situations where algaecides is applied prior to fish stocking, all
what is needed is to monitor the level of dissolved oxygen and fish stocking takes place once oxygen is back
to normal after algicide treatment.
● Ecosystem services – the benefits people obtain from ecosystems
○ Provisioning services – products we gain directly from cultured bivalves, includes job creation and
local economic benefits
○ Supporting services – nutrient cycling and providing habitat for other species
○ Regulating services – include sediment movement and carbon storage
○ Cultural services – recreational fishing to spiritual and religious symbolism
● When carbon dioxide combines with dissolved calcium in the sea, it creates calcium carbonate – the main
ingredient used by shellfish in building their shells. Although the shell-building process does release carbon
dioxide, some becomes locked away in the carapace. The more bivalves there are, the theory goes, the more
carbon will be stored in their shells and thus removed from the atmosphere.
○ Billion Oyster Project in 2014 in New York Harbor: single oyster can clean 50 gallons of water per day
plus protect shores from storm surges
● 19.3 million people work in the primary sector in aquaculture: 96% Asia, 2% Latin America and Caribbean,
1.6% Africa, 0.4% rest of the world.

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Culture of live food
I. Rotifers – success as culture organism are due to their:
 planktonic nature
 tolerance to a wide range of environmental conditions
 high reproduction rate
 small size and slow swimming velocity make them a suitable prey for fish larvae that have just
resorbed their yolk sac but cannot yet ingest the larger Artemia nauplii
 can be reared at very high densities
 filter-feeding nature of the rotifers facilitiates the inclusion into their body tissues of specific
nutrients essential for the larval predators (i.e. through bioencapsulation)
Rotatoria (=Rotifera) belong to the smallest metazoa of which over 1000 species have been described, 90
% of which inhabit freshwater habitats. Males have reduced sizes and are less developed than females.
Females produce ten generations of offspring before they eventually die. The body of all species consists
of a constant number of cells, the different Brachionus species containing approximately 1000 cells which
should not be considered as single identities but as a plasma area. The growth of the animal is assured by
plasma increase and not by cell division. Two modes of reproduction;
 Female parthenogenesis - amictic females produce amictic (diploid, 2n chromosomes) eggs which
develop and hatch into amictic females
 Sexual reproduction - a more complicated sexual
reproduction resulting in mictic and amictic females.
Although both are not distinguishable
morphologically, the mictic females produce haploid
(n chromosomes) eggs. Larvae hatching out of these
unfertilized mictic eggs develop into haploid males.
These males are about one quarter of the size of the
female; they have no digestive tract and no bladder
but have an over-proportionated single testis which
is filled with sperm. Mictic eggs which will hatch into
males are significantly smaller in size, while the
mictic fertilized eggs are larger and have a thick,
faintly granulated outer layer. These are the resting
eggs that will only develop and hatch into amictic
females after exposure to specific environmental
conditions. These can be the result of changes in
environmental conditions eventually creating alternations in temperature or salinity or changing
food conditions. It should be emphasized that the rotifer density of the population also plays an
important role in the determination of the mode of reproduction. Although the mechanism is not
completely understood, it is generally believed that the production of resting eggs is a survival
strategy of the population through unfavourable environmental conditions such as drought or
cold.
Two different morphotypes based on lorica length and optimal growth temperature:
 Brachionus rotundiformis or small (S-type) rotifers (28-35 C)

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 o In tropical aquaculture the SS-type rotifers (Super small rotifers) are preferred for the
first feeding of fish larvae with small mouth openings (rabbitfish, groupers, and other fish
with mouth openings at start feeding of less than 100 μm). Those rotifers, however, are
genetically not isolated from S-strains, but are smaller than common S-strains.
 Brachionus plicatilis or large (L-type) rotifers (18-25 C)
 Rotifers fed on baker’s yeast are usually larger than those fed on live algae. Intensive production
is ususally performed in batch culture within indoor facilities.
Freshwater rotifers: Brachionus calyciflorus and Brachionus rubens are the most commonly cultured
rotifers in freshwater mass cultures

General culture conditions

 Salinity: B. plicatilis can withstand a wide salinity range from 1 to 97 ppt but optimal reproduction
can take place at salinites below 35 ppt.
 Temperature: Lowering or increasing culture temperatures can be used to obtain pure cultures
(since L strain are reared at lower temperatures than S-type).
 Dissolved Oxygen: Can survive as low as 2mg/l of dissolved oxygen. The aeration should not be
too strong to avoid physical damage of the population
 pH: best results at pH >7.5
 Ammonia: high levels are toxic for rotifers but rearing conditions <1 mg/l appear to be safe
 Bacteria
o Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter are common opportunistic bacteria which may be
important additional food sources for rotifers. Some Pseudomonas species, for instance,
synthesize vitamin B12 which can be a limiting factor under culture conditions
o A sampling campaign performed in various hatcheries showed that the dominant
bacterial flora in rotifer cultures was of Vibrio. The enrichment of the cultures generally
induces a shift in the bacterial composition from Cytophaga/Flavobacterium dominance
to Pseudomonas/ Alcaligenes dominance. This change is partly due to a bloom of fast
growing opportunistic bacteria, favoured by high substrate levels
 Ciliates
o Halotricha and Hypotricha ciliates, such as Uronema sp. and Euplotes sp., are not desired
in intensive cultures since they compete for feed with the rotifers. The appearance of
these ciliates is generally due to sub-optimal rearing conditions, leading to less
performing rotifers and increased chances for competition. Ciliates produce metabolic
wastes which increase the NO2--N level in the water and cause a decrease in pH.
However, they have a positive effect in clearing the culture tank from bacteria and
detritus. The addition of a low formalin concentration to the algal culture tank, 24 h
before rotifer inoculation can significantly reduce protozoan contamination
Culture procedures
 Stock culture
o Relying only on mass cultures of rotifers for reinoculating new tanks is too risky an
approach. In order to minimize this risk, small stock cultures are generally kept in closed
vials in an isolated room to prevent contamination with bacteria and/or ciliates
o The rotifers for stock cultures can be obtained from the wild, or from research institutes
or commercial hatcheries. However, before being used in the production cycle the

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 inoculum should first be disinfected. The most drastic disinfection consists of killing the
free-swimming rotifers but not the eggs with a cocktail of antibiotics or a disinfectant.
The eggs are then separated from the dead bodies on a 50 μm sieve and incubated for
hatching and the offspring used for starting the stock cultures
o Commercial availability of resting eggs could be an alternative to maintaining stock
cultures and reducing the chances for contamination with ciliates or pathogenetic
bacteria
 Starter culture: 500 ml erlenemeyers placed near fluorescent tubes
 Mass production
o On algae
 Marine microalgae are the best diet for rotifers and very high yields can be
obtained if sufficient algae are available and an appropriate management is
followed. Unfortunately in most places it is not possible to cope with the fast
filtration capacity of the rotifers which require continuous algal blooms. If the
infrastructure and labor is not limiting, a procedure of continuous (daily) harvest
and transfer to algal tanks can be considered. In most places, however, pure
algae are only given for starting up rotifer cultures or to enrich rotifers
 Batch cultivation is probably the most common method of rotifer production in
marine fish hatcheries. The culture strategy consists of either the maintenance of
a constant culture volume with an increasing rotifer density or the maintenance
of a constant rotifer density by increasing the culture volume
 Since algae have a high nutritional value, an excellent buoyancy and do not
pollute the water, they are used as much as possible, not only as a rotifer food,
but also as water conditioners and bacteriostatic agents
o On algae and yeast
 The mass production on algae and yeast is performed in a batch or semi-
continuous culture system.
 Batch culture – inoculate – harvest after 3 days – inoculate new tanks
 Semi-continuous - rotifers are kept in the same tank for five days. During the first
two days the culture volume is doubled each day to dilute the rotifer density in
half. During the next following days, half the tank volume is harvested and
refilled again to decrease the density by half. On the fifth day the tank is
harvested and the procedure started all over again (i.e. five-day semi-continuous
culture system)
o On yeast
 Baker's yeast has a small particle size (5-7 μm) and a high protein content and is
an acceptable diet for Brachionus but can result in collapse of cultures due to:
poor digestibility of the yeast, which requires the presence of bacteria for
digestion
 The yeast usually needs to be supplemented with essential fatty acids and
vitamins to suit the larval requirements of the predator organisms. Commercial
boosters, but also home-made emulsions (fish oils emulgated with commercial
emulgators or with egg yolk lecithin), may be added to the yeast or administered
directly to the rotifer tank

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 o On formulated diets
 The most frequently used formulated diet in rotifer culture in Europe is Culture
Selco (CS) available under a dry form. It has been formulated as a complete
substitute for live microalgae and at the same time guarantees the incorporation
of high levels of EFA and vitamins in the rotifers. The biochemical composition of
the artificial diet Culture Selco consists of 45% proteins, 30% carbohydrates, 15%
lipids (33% of which are (n-3) HUFA) and 7% ash. Its physical characteristics are
optimal for uptake by rotifers: the particle, having a 7 μm particle size, remaining
in suspension in the water column with a relatively strong aeration, and not
leaching. However, the diet needs to be suspended in water prior to feeding,
which facilitates on one hand the possibilities for automatic feeding but on the
other hand requires the use of aeration and cold storage
 Nutritional value
o Techniques for HUFA enrichment
 Algae
 The high content of the essential fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA
20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA 22:6n-3) in some microalgae
(e.g. 20:5n-3 in Nannochloropsis occulata and 22:6n-3 in Isochrysis
galbana) have made them excellent live food diets for boosting the fatty
acid content of the rotifers.
 But culture of microalgae as a sole diet for rotifer feeding is costly due to
the labour intensive character of microalgae production. Most of the
time the rotifers are boosted in oil emulsions and fed to the predators
which are kept in “green water” (Consist of Tetraselmis, Nannochloropsis
or Isochrysis)
 Formulated feeds
 Rotifers grown on the CS replacement diet have already an excellent
HUFA composition: which is significantly higher than for cultures grown
on algae/baker's yeast but comparable in case the latter cultures are
subjected to an additional enrichment treatment
 Complementary diets such as Protein Selco (PS) and DHA Culture Selco
(DHA-CS) have been developed in order to incorporate higher levels of
protein and DHA
 The advantage of direct (or long term) enrichment are multiple; in that.
the fatty acid profile obtained is stable and reproducible, the lipid
content is comparable to that obtained in wild zooplankton, rotifer losses
are lower and labour costs can be reduced.
 Oil emulsions: One of the cheapest ways to enrich rotifers is by using oil
emulsions:
 Home-made: The first emulsions were made from (n-3) HUFA rich fish
oils (i.e. cuttlefish oil, pollack liver oil, cod liver oil, menhaden oil, etc.)
and emulsified with egg yolk and seawater. Since the stability and
storage possibility of these products is relatively low they are usually
made on the spot and used immediately

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  Commercial: Very popular are the self-emulsifying concentrates (Selco®,
Inve Aquaculture NV, Belgium) which can boost the HUFA content of the
rotifers in a few hours. In this technique a rotifer suspension is immersed
in a diluted oil-emulsion for 6 h, harvested, rinsed and concentrated
before being fed to the predators.
o Techniques for Vitamin C enrichment
 Enrichment of rotifers with AA is carried out using ascorbyl palmitate (AP) as a
source of vitamin C to supplement the boosters. AP is converted by the rotifers
into active Ascorbic acid.
o Techniques for protein enrichment
 Protein Selco is the only enrichment diet especially designed for protein
enrichment in rotifers. The high levels of proteins allow the cultures to continue
to grow and to develop during the enrichment period. Normally it is used in the
same way as an oil emulsion (blended in a kitchen blender) and distributed in the
tank
 Harvesting/ concentration and cold storage of rotifers
o Harvesting of enriched rotifers should be carried out with extreme care in order to
prevent them sticking together in clumps. Especially when the enriched animals are
concentrated before the washing, aeration can easily result in clumping. Instead of
pouring enriched rotifers in a bucket it is therefore recommended to siphon them so as
to avoid the interference of the air bubbles
o Rotifers that cannot be fed immediately need to be stored at a cold temperature (4 C) in
order to prevent the reduction of their nutritional quality. During a starvation period of
one day at 25°C, rotifers can lose up to 26 % of their body weight as a result of metabolic
activity. These animals also start to empty their guts after 20-30 minutes.
 Production and use of resting eggs
o For the mass rearing of rotifers as larval food the amictic way of reproduction should be
favored. These resting eggs, also called cysts, are relatively large (their volume is almost
60% of that of a normal adult female), are ideal for storage and transport and can be
used as inocula for mass cultures.
o Resting egg production can be induced by limiting the food supply or changing the
temperature and/or salinity. Resting eggs will sink and need to be harvested from the
bottom. In case a lot of waste is trapped at the bottom it is advised to replace the water
by brine so that resting eggs will float and can be collected from the water surface
o There are several advantages of using rotifer cysts to initiate mass cultures. The use of
stock cultures is not required which considerably reduces labor cost and algal production
costs. Moreover, the upscaling from stock culture to production unit can be considerably
reduced by the use of larger numbers of cysts. The use of cysts is also highly
recommended to prevent contamination. Cysts can easily be treated before hatching in
order to ensure start cultures free from bacteria and ciliates. The resting eggs could be
disinfected with heavy doses of antibiotics, so that the emerging rotifers are essentially
bacteria free. The resting eggs can also resist short exposure to disinfectants such as
NaOCl or glutaraldehyde.

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II. Artemia
 Among the live diets used in the larviculture of fish and shellfish, nauplii of the brine shrimp
Artemia constitute the most widely used food item. The unique property of the small
branchiopod crustacean Artemia to form dormant embryos, so called 'cysts', may account to a
great extent to the designation of a convenient, suitable, or excellent larval food source that it
has been credited with. Those cysts are available year round in large quantities along the
shorelines of hypersaline lakes, coastal lagoons and solar saltworks scattered over the five
continents. After harvesting and processing, cysts are made available in cans as storable 'on
demand' live feed. Upon some 24-h incubation in seawater, these cysts release free-swimming
nauplii that can directly be fed as a nutritious live food source to the larvae of a variety of marine
as well as freshwater organisms, which makes them the most convenient, least labour-intensive
live food available for aquaculture.
 By bio-encapsulating specific amounts of particulate or emulsified products rich in highly
unsaturated fatty acids in the brine shrimp metanauplii, the nutritional quality of the Artemia can
be further tailored to suit the predators' requirements.
 Life cycle: Fertilized eggs normally develop into free-swimming nauplii (= ovoviviparous
reproduction) which are released by the mother. In extreme conditions (e.g. high salinity, low
oxygen levels) the embryos only develop up to the gastrula stage. At this moment they get
surrounded by a thick shell (secreted by the brown shell glands located in the uterus), enter a
state of metabolic standstill or dormancy (diapause) and are then released by the female (=
oviparous reproduction). In principle both oviparity and ovoviviparity are found in all Artemia
strains, and females can switch in-between two reproduction cycles from one mode of
reproduction to the other.
 The cysts usually float in the high salinity waters and are blown ashore where they accumulate
and dry. As a result of this dehydration process the diapause mechanism is generally inactivated.
Upon this interruption of diapause, cysts enter the stage of quiescence, meaning that metabolic
activity can be resumed at the moment they are brought in favourable hatching conditions (i.e.
hydration), eventually resulting in hatching. (Thus the goal is to terminate diapause, to enter the
stage of quiescence – done by removal of cyst water, freezing or incubation in hydrogen
peroxide)
 Upon immersion in seawater, the biconcave-shaped cysts hydrate, become spherical, and within
the shell the embryo resumes its interrupted metabolism. After about 20 h the outer membrane
of the cyst bursts (= "breaking") and the embryo appears, surrounded by the hatching
membrane. While the embryo hangs underneath the empty shell (= "umbrella" stage) the
development of the nauplius is completed and within a short period of time the hatching
membrane is ruptured (= "hatching") and the free-swimming nauplius is born.
 First larval stage (instar I) does not take up food as its digestive system is not functional yet; it
thrives completely on its yolk reserves. The larva grows and differentiates through about 15
molts.
 Cyst morphology: consists of three layers
o alveolar layer: a hard layer consisting of lipoproteins impregnated with chitin and
haematin; the haematin concentration determines the colour of the shell, i.e. from pale
to dark brown. Its main function is to provide protection for the embryo against

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 mechanical disruption and UV radiation. This layer can be completely removed
(dissolved) by oxidation treatment with hypochlorite (= cyst decapsulation).
o outer cuticular membrane: protects the embryo from penetration by molecules larger
than the CO2 molecule (= multilayer membrane with very special filter function; acts as a
permeability barrier).
o embryonic cuticle: a transparent and highly elastic layer separated from the embryo by
the inner cuticular membrane (develops into the hatching membrane during hatching
incubation).
o The embryo is an indifferentiated gastrula which is ametabolic at water levels below 10%
and which can be stored for long periods without losing its viability. The viability is
affected when cysts are stored at water levels higher than 10% (start of metabolic
activity) and when cysts are exposed to oxygen; i.e. in the presence of oxygen cosmic
radiation results in the formation of free radicals which destroy specific enzymatic
systems in the ametabolic Artemia cysts.
 Disinfection procedures: Vibrio sp. constitute the main bacterial flora in Artemia cyst hatching
solutions. Most Vibrio are opportunistic bacteria which can cause disease/mortality outbreaks in
larval rearing. If no commercially disinfected cysts are used, it is recommended to apply routinely
a disinfection procedure by using hypochlorite. This treatment, however, may not kill all germs
present in the alveolar and cortical layer of the outer shell. Complete sterilization can be achieved
through cyst decapsulation.
 Decapsulation: procedure that involves the hydration of the cysts (as complete removal of the
envelope can only be performed when the cysts are spherical), removal of the brown shell in a
hypochlorite solution, and washing and deactivation of the remaining hypochlorite.
o These decapsulated cysts can be directly hatched into nauplii, or dehydrated in saturated
brine and stored for later hatching or for direct feeding. They can be stored for a few
days in the refrigerator at 0-4°C without a decrease in hatching. If storage or prolonged
periods is needed (weeks or few months), the decapsulated cysts can be transferred into
a saturated brine solution.
o Advantages compared to non-decapsulated ones:
 Cyst shells are not introduced into the culture tanks. When hatching normal cysts, the
complete separation of Artemia nauplii from their shells is not always possible.
Unhatched cysts and empty shells can cause deleterious effects in the larval tanks when
they are ingested by the predator: they cannot be digested and may obstruct the gut.
 Nauplii that are hatched out of decapsulated cysts have a higher energy content and
individual weight than regular instar I nauplii, because they do not spend energy
necessary to break out of the shell
 Decapsulation results in a disinfection of the cyst material and illumination
requirements for hatching would be lower
 Decapsulated cysts can be used as a direct energy-rich food source for fish and shrimp
(much more limited type of feeding compared to hatching these cysts and feeding the
emerging nauplii)
 Advantage of directly feeding decapsulated cyst: daily production of nauplii is labour
intensive and requires additional facilities, The cysts have the appearance and the
practical advantages of a dry feed and, in contrast to Artemia nauplii, their small

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 particle size is more suitable for small predator stages. If they have been dried
before application, they have a high floating capacity, and sink only slowly to the
bottom of the culture tank. Leaching of nutritional components (for example, with
artificial diets) does not occur, since the outer cuticular membrane acts as a barrier
for larger molecules)
 Drawbacks: Immobility and thus low visual attractivity for the predator. Moreover,
decapsulated cysts dehydrated in brine sink rapidly to the bottom, thus reducing
their availability for fish larvae feeding in the water column. Extra aeration or drying
is therefore needed to keep these particles better in suspension. However, on the
contrary, older penaeid larvae are mainly bottom feeders and so do not encounter
this problem
 From a nutritional point of view: 1) the fatty acid spectrum of cysts and nauplii is
nearly identical, 2) the ratio of free amino acids (FAA) to protein content is generally
higher for instar I nauplii, compared to cysts 3) Vitamin C is found as ascorbic acid 2-
sulfate (AAS) in cysts of brine shrimp, a very stable form but with low bio-availability.
During the hatching process the AAS is hydrolyzed into free ascorbic acid, a more
unstable form, but directly available in the nauplii for the predator. Feeding
decapsulated cysts to larval fish for a prolonged time might lead to vitamin C
deficiency in the case that the predator is lacking the sulfatase enzyme needed to
break down AA, 4) carotenoids: In Artemia cysts the unusual cis configuration is
found, whereas in developing nauplii it is converted into the more stable trans-
canthaxanthin
 Hatching
o Best hatching results are achieved in containers with a conical bottom, aerated from the
bottom with air-lines. Cylindrical or square-bottomed tanks will have dead spots in which
Artemia cysts and nauplii accumulate and suffer from oxygen depletion. Transparent or
translucent containers will facilitate inspection of the hatching suspension, especially
when harvesting
o Aeration: >5 ppm
o Temperature: preferentially kept in the range of 25-28°C; below 25°C cysts hatch more
slowly and above 33°C the cyst metabolism is irreversibly stopped
o pH: above 8
o cyst density: must be optimal to minimize mechanical injury of the nauplii and to avoid
suboptimal water conditions
o Strong illumination is essential, at least during the first hours after complete hydration, in
order to trigger/start embryonic development.
 Hatching quality and evaluation

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 Use of nauplii and meta-nauplii
o Harvesting: Five to ten minutes after switching off the aeration, cyst shells will float and
can be removed from the surface, while nauplii and unhatched cysts will concentrate at
the bottom. Since nauplii are positively phototactic, their concentration can be improved
by shading the upper part of the hatching tank (use of cover) and focusing a light source
on the transparent conical part of the bottom. Nauplii should not be allowed to settle for
too long (i.e., maximum 5 to 10 min.) in the point of the conical container, to prevent
dying off due to oxygen depletion. Firstly, unhatched cysts and other debris that have
accumulated underneath the nauplii are siphoned or drained off when necessary (i.e.
when using cysts of a lower hatching quality). Then the nauplii are collected on a filter
using a fine mesh screen (< 150 μm), which should be submerged all the time so as to
prevent physical damage of the nauplii.

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 o Since instar I nauplii completely thrive on their energy reserves they should be harvested
and fed to the fish or crustacean larvae in their most energetic form, (i.e. as soon as
possible after hatching) since in their first stage, they cannot take up food and consume
their own energy reserve. It is important to feed first-instar nauplii to the predator rather
than starved second-instar meta-nauplii which have already consumed 25 to 30% of their
energy reserves within 24 h after hatching.
o Instar II Artemia are less visible as they are transparent, are larger and swim faster than
first instar larvae, and as a result consequently are less accessible as a prey. Also, they
contain lower amounts of free amino acids, and their lower individual organic dry weight
and energy content will reduce the energy uptake by the predator per hunting effort. All
this may be reflected in a reduced growth of the larvae, and an increased Artemia cyst
bill as about 20 to 30% more cysts will be needed to be hatched to feed the same weight
of starved meta-nauplii to the predator. On the other hand, instar II stages may be more
susceptible to digestive enzyme breakdown in the gut of the predator since these
enzymes can also penetrate the digestive tract of the Artemia through the opened mouth
or anus.
o Cold storage: molting of the Artemia nauplii to the second instar stage may be avoided
and their energy metabolism greatly reduced by storage of the freshly-hatched nauplii at
a temperature below 10 C. In this way nauplii can be stored for periods up to more than
24 h without significant mortalities and a reduction of energy of less than 5%.
o Nutritional quality: The nutritional effectiveness of a food organism is in the first place
determined by its ingestibility and, as a consequence by its size and form. Naupliar size,
varying greatly from one geographical source of Artemia to another, is often not critical
for crustacean larvae, which can capture and tear apart food particles with their feeding
appendages. For marine fish larvae that have a very small mouth and swallow their prey
in one bite the size of the nauplii is particularly critical. Fish that produce small eggs, such
as gilthead seabream, turbot and grouper must be fed rotifers as a first food because the
nauplii from any Artemia strain are too large.
 Artemia from different geographical sources varies in nutritional value in terms
of fatty acids. In contrast, the amino acid composition of Artemia nauplii seems
to be remarkably similar from strain to strain, suggesting that it is not
environmentally determined in the manner that the fatty acids are. The levels of
essential amino acids in Artemia are generally not a major problem in view of its
nutritional value, but sulphur amino acids, like methionine, are the first limiting
amino acids
 Enrichment with nutrients
o An important factor affecting the nutritional value of Artemia as a food source for marine
larval organisms is the content of essential fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA: 20:5n-
3) and even more importantly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA: 22:6n-3). In contrast to
freshwater species, most marine organisms do not have the capacity to biosynthesize
these EFA from lower chain unsaturated fatty acids, such as linolenic acid (18:3n-3).
o Since Artemia is deficient in fatty acids, research has been conducted to improve its lipid
composition by prefeeding with HUFA diets. It is fortunate in this respect that Artemia,
because of its primitive feeding characteristics, allows a very convenient way to

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 manipulate its biochemical composition. Thus, since Artemia on molting to the second
larval stage (i.e. about 8 h following hatching), is non-selective in taking up particulate
matter, simple methods have been developed to incorporate lipid products into the brine
shrimp nauplii prior to offering them as a prey to the predator larvae. This method of
bioencapsulation, also called Artemia enrichment or boosting, is widely applied at marine
fish and crustacean hatcheries all over the world for enhancing the nutritional value of
Artemia with essential fatty acids. Enrichment products include: unicellular algae, ω-yeast
and/or emulsified preparations, compound diets, micro-particulate diets or self-
emulsifying concentrates.
o The Selco diet is a self-dispersing complex of selected marine oil sources, vitamins and
carotenoids. Upon dilution in seawater, finely dispersed stable microglobules are formed
which are readily ingested by Artemia and which bring about EFA-enrichment levels
which largely surpass the values reported in the literature. In this technique, the enriched
nauplii are harvested after 24 h, thoroughly rinsed and then fed directly or stored at
below 10C so as to minimize the metabolism of HUFA prior to administration.
o Proper enrichment procedure: The nauplii being transferred or exposed to the
enrichment medium just before first feeding, and opening of the alimentary tract (instar
II stage).
o Apart from EFA, other nutrients such as vitamins and pigments can be incorporated in
Artemia. Fat soluble vitamins (especially vitamin A and vitamin E) were reported to
accumulate in Artemia.
o Enrichment for disease control: a direct treatment through the food chain (i.e. through
oral administration) using much smaller quantities has proven to be more effective and
safer for the environment. In this respect the possibility of bioencapsulation technique of
antibiotics is being looked at.
 Applications of Artemia for feeding different species
o Penaeid shrimp: Artemia is generally used for feeding the late larval and postlarval stages
of penaeids. Freshly-hatched nauplii are usually offered at the start of the first mysis
stage, and sometimes even earlier at the zoea-mysis molt with some authors even
recommending the introduction of Artemia during the second zoea stage
o Freshwater prawn: Artemia nauplii is the most successful diet employed for the larval
rearing of freshwater prawn larvae. In contrast to penaeid shrimp, Macrobrachium can
initially be fed with freshly hatched Artemia nauplii
o Marine fish: in contrast to crustacean larvae, marine fish larvae are usually cultured on
Artemia for a much longer period of time. The application of HUFA (particularly DHA)
enrichment of the Artemia diet has been found to have a significant effect in marine fish
larviculture, and has generally resulted in increased survival and reduced variability in fish
hatchery production.
o Freshwater fish: Freshwater fish larviculture is often carried out in ponds with natural
zooplankton as the larval food. The salmonids, perhaps the group cultured most widely
on an intensive basis, have a relatively well-developed digestive tract at first feeding and
are usually fed formulated diets from start-feeding. Nevertheless, many species of
freshwater fish are fed on Artemia. Whitefish larvae (family Coregonidae) are often fed
Artemia until they metamorphose and can be switched to a dry diet

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 o A major drawback in feeding Artemia to freshwater organisms is that the Artemia die
after 30 to 60 minutes in freshwater. As a consequence, they are not continuously
available to the predator as they would be within marine systems, and must therefore be
fed intermittently every 2 to 3 hours.

III. Zooplankton

 Zooplankton is made up of small water invertebrates feeding on phytoplankton. Even though

"plankton" means passively floating or drifting, some representatives of zooplankton may be
strong swimmers. The yearly plankton cycle consists of various phytoplankton species blooming
in response to a particular sequence of changes in temperature, salinity, photoperiod and light
intensity, nutrient availability, and a consequent bloom of zooplankton populations.
Phytoplankton and zooplankton populations are therefore intimately linked in a continuous cycle
of bloom and decline that has evolved and persisted throughout millions of years of evolution.
 Studies on the stomach contents of fish larvae caught in their natural environment clearly show
that almost no fish species can be regarded as strongly stenophagic (specialized in feeding on
only a few or just one zooplankton species), though some specialization may occur (i.e. due to
size limitations for ingestion).
 Advantages of using wild zooplankton as a live food source for the cultivation of the early larval
stages of shrimp or fish species:
o As it is the natural food source, it may be expected that its nutritional composition
maximally covers the nutritional requirements of the predator larvae, especially with
respect to essential fatty acids and free amino acids.
o The diversified composition of wild zooplankton in terms of species variety as well as
ontogenetic stages assures that optimal sizes of prey organisms will be available and
efficient uptake by the predator is possible at any time during the larval rearing.
o Depending on the harvesting potential nearby the hatchery facility, there might be a low
cost involved in the harvest of this live food compared to the infrastructure and
production costs of the live food items discussed earlier.
 Major drawbacks in the use of zooplankton, including: (1) irregular supply due to dependence on
natural (in lakes or oceans) or induced (in ponds) phytoplankton blooms; and (2) the introduction
of diseases and parasites in the fish culture tanks through infested wild zooplankton, (e.g., fishflea
Argulus foliaceus and Livoneca sp. etc.), parasitic copepods (Lernaea sp. and Lernaeascus sp.,
etc.)
 Collection from the wild: Zooplankton can be collected from seawater bodies as well as
freshwater lakes or ponds. For aquaculture purposes, approximately 80% is of marine origin.
Around 25 species of copepods, mysids and euphausids are commercially harvested. Leading
countries in using wild zooplankton in industrial aquaculture are Norway, Canada and Japan.
 Collection techniques:
o Plankton nets - the greater the surface area of the net the more effective and rapid the
filtration. The effectiveness of filtering is also influenced by the mesh size of the net: the
denser the net the faster it will clog, hence, the smaller its effectiveness. It is therefore
necessary to estimate with great accuracy the required size of the food particles with
respect to the age and species of the fry and to use an optimal mesh size. The following
mesh sizes may be used to collect the various sizes of freshwater zooplankton:

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  80 μm for small species of rotifers and larger infusorians. These are an excellent
starter feed especially for the fry of some fishes that need small food in the early
stages (tench, grass carp, silver carp, big head, carp);
 160 μm for larger rotifers, nauplius and copepodite stages of copepods;
 300 and 500 μm for small water fleas and smaller species of cyclopoid copepods;
 700 μm for adult water fleas of the Daphnia genus, large species of cyclopoid and
calanoid copepods, larvae and pupae of Corethra sp., etc.
o Trawl nets - A fishing boat equipped with a frame on which 2-4 plankton nets can be
installed on both sides of the boat can be used for this purpose. In order to minimize the
damage to the concentrated plankton, the nets must be emptied every 15-30 min.
o Baleen harvesting system - The Baleen harvesting system consists of a boat specifically
designed for harvesting zooplankton. The zooplankton is scooped onto a primary
dewatering screen, after which the organisms are graded through a series of sieves. The
stainless-steel mesh of the sieves and primary screen can be changed according to the
requirements of the target species. The graded and concentrated zooplankton is stored in
wells in the floaters of the vessel and can be unloaded by pumping.
o Flow-through harvesting
 Lake outflows - In reservoirs with a high water flow, a plankton net of adequate
size may be placed at the outlet or overflow; in this way the zooplankton present in
the water leaving the reservoir can be concentrated
 Propeller-induced water flows - Instead of using a motorboat, a propeller can also
be actioned from an anchored pontoon, platform, bridge close to the shore, or on
a free-floating boat.
 Pump induced water flows - use pumps to pump the water into a plankton net.
o Plankton light trapping - A more elegant method for zooplankton collection takes
advantage of the positive phototactic behaviour of some zooplankton species. The
effectiveness of light to attract the zooplankters is directly dependent on the water
transparency and on the intensity of the light source. It is useless to apply this method
where the water transparency is below 30 cm. Cladoceran and cyclopoid copepods
respond most sensitively to light, rotifers less. The best results of collecting zooplankton
with light are obtained in the early night (until about 10 pm); later the effectiveness
declines
 Transport and storage off collected zooplankton – sensitive to oxygen depletion (Bosmina,
Daphnia). Rotifers, cyclopoid copepods and their developmental stages are less sensitive, and
some species of the genus Moina, larvae of the genus Corethra, and Daphnia magna are very
resistant to low oxygen levels
o When the collected zooplankton is transferred from the net to the transport container,
part of the material stays in a layer just above the bottom. These organisms are either
mechanically damaged or immobilised and could be administered to the fry first.
However, when these organisms die, they will soon start to decay. It is useless to
administer these dead animals because the fish will refuse it and their decomposing
bodies will spoil the water quality of the rearing system. For this reason, dead
zooplankton should always be separated from live zooplankton by decantation

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 o Preservation of harvested material for long periods is difficult. At present, freezing is the
only method used on a large scale. But even at very low freezing temperatures, (i.e. -
198°C) one-third of the free and protein-bound amino acids are lost from the plankton
samples

IV. Copepods
 Numerous studies have demonstrated that copepods may have a higher nutritional value than
Artemia, as the nutritional profile of copepods appear to match better the nutritional
requirements of marine fish larvae. Furthermore, they can be administered under different
forms, either as nauplii or copepodites at startfeeding and as ongrown copepods until weaning.
Moreover, their typical zigzag movement, followed by a short gliding phase, is an important visual
stimulus for many fish which prefer them over rotifers. Another advantage of the use of
copepods, especially benthos-type species like Tisbe, is that the non-predated copepods keep the
walls of the fish larval rearing tanks clean by grazing on the algae and debris. Although some
success has been reported when using cultured copepods as live food in fish larviculture, it
should be pointed out that the economic feasibility (or not) of copepod culture may be the main
bottleneck for its routine application.
 Calanoids can be easily recognized by their very long first antennae (16-26 segments), while the
harpacticoids have only a short first antennae (fewer than 10 segments)
 Calanoids:
o Acartia tonsa
o Eurytemora affinis
o Calanus finmarchicus & C. helgolandicus
o Pseudocalanus elongatus
 Harpacticoids :
o Tisbe holothuriae
o Tigriopus japonicus
o Tisbenta elongata
o Schizopera elatensis
Life cycle:
 Planktonic copepods are mainly suspension feeders on phytoplankton and/or bacteria; the food
items being collected by the second maxillae. As such, copepods are therefore selective filter-
feeders. A water current is generated by the appendages over the stationary second maxillae,
which actively captures the food particles.
 The male copepods are commonly smaller than the females and appear in lower abundance then
the latter. During copulation the male grasps the female with his first antennae, and deposits the
spermatophores into seminal receptacle openings, where they are glued by means of a special
cement. The eggs are usually enclosed by an ovisac, which serves as a brood chamber and
remains attached to the female’s first abdominal segment. Calanoids shed their eggs singly into
the water. The eggs hatch as nauplii and after five to six naupliar stages (moltings), the larvae
become copepodites. After five copepodite moltings the adult stage is reached and molting is
ceased. The development may take from less than one week to as long as one year, and the life
span of a copepod ranging from six months to one year.

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  Under unfavourable conditions some copepod species can produce thick-shelled dormant eggs or
resting eggs. Such cysts can withstand desiccation and also provide means for dispersal when
these are carried to other places by birds or other animals. In more northern regions a diapause
stage is present in the development of the copepods so as to survive adverse environmental
conditions, such as freezing; such a diapause usually taking place between the copepodite stage II
to adult females and recognised by an empty alimentary tract, the presence of numerous orange
oil globules in the tissue and an organic, cyst-like covering. The major diapause habitat is the
sediment, although a minor part of the diapausing individuals may stay in the planktonic fraction,
the so-called “active diapause
Nutritional quality:
 The nutritional quality of copepods is generally accepted to be very good for marine fish larvae,
and believed to be of a higher quality than the commonly used live food Artemia. In general
copepods have a high protein content (44-52%) and a good amino acid profile, with the exception
of methionine and histidine
 Differences in the biochemical composition, and in particular the HUFA content, are not the only
advantages of copepods over Artemia when offered as food to marine fish larval. For example,
copepods (copepodites and adults) are believed to contain higher levels of digestive enzymes
which may play an important role during larval nutrition. As mentioned previously, the early
stages of many marine fish larvae do not have a well-developed digestive system and may benefit
from the exogenous supply of enzymes from live food organisms
Culture techniques:
 In general, it may be stated that harpacticoid copepods are less sensitive and more tolerant to
extreme changes in environmental conditions than calanoids and thus are easier to rear under
intensive conditions. Moreover, harpacticoids have a higher productivity than calanoids and can
be fed on a wide variety of food items, such as microalgae, bacteria, detritus and even artificial
diets. However, as mentioned previously, care should be taken in this respect as the lipid and (n-
3) HUFA composition of the copepods is largely dependent on that of the diet fed. With the
exception of the culture of Tigriopus japonicus, copepod culture should always be free from
rotifers. If rotifers should start to take over the culture, then a new stock culture should be
started with gravid females as described previously
 Calanoids: A continuous production system for the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa has been
described and consists of three culture units: basis tanks, growth tanks and harvest tanks.
o Basis tanks: Adult concentrations with a ratio of 1:1 males to females are maintained.
Eggs are collected from the effluent waters by the use of a 40 μm sieve
o Growth tanks: collected eggs are transferred here and nauplii start to hatch after 24
hours. After 21 days, adults are collected and added either to basis or harvest tanks.
o Harvest tanks: only in use once the fish hatchery starts to operate. To facilitate the
harvesting of solely nauplii or copepodites of a specific stage (depending on the
requirements), eggs are harvested daily and transferred to the hatching tanks; the
aeration levels within these tanks being increased to maintain 80% oxygen saturation.
Nauplii of appropriate size (and fed on Isochrysis) are harvested on a 45 μm screen and
by so doing cannibalism by the copepod adults is also minimized.
 Harpacticoids: characteristics include:
o high fecundity and short generation time

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 o extreme tolerance limits to changes in environmental conditions: i.e. salinity ranges of
15-70 mg.g-1 and temperature ranges of 17-30°C.
o a large variety of foods can be administered to the cultures; rice bran or yeast even
facilitating a higher production than algae
o potential to achieve high biomass densities: i.e. Tigriopus fed on rice bran increasing
rapidly from 0.05 to 9.5 ind.ml-1 in 12 days
 Use of resting eggs
o Many temperate copepods produce resting eggs as a common life-cycle strategy to
survive adverse environmental conditions, which is analogous to Artemia and Brachionus
sp. Experiments have shown that resting eggs can tolerate drying at 25°C or freezing
down to - 25°C and that they are able to resist low temperatures (3-5°C) for as long as 9
to 15 months. These characteristics make the eggs very attractive as inoculum for
copepod cultures.
o Since copepod resting eggs are generally obtained from sediments, they need to be
processed prior to their use. Samples of sediments rich in resting eggs can be stored in a
refrigator at 2-4°C for several months. When needed, the sediment containing the resting
eggs is brought in suspension and sieved through 150 μm and 60 μm sieves. The size
fraction containing the resting eggs is then added to tubes containing a 1:1 solution of
sucrose and distilled water (saturated solution) and centrifuged at 300 rpm for 5 min and
the supernatants then washed through a double sieve of 100 μm and 40 μm. The 40 μm
sieve with the resting eggs is then immersed in the disinfectant; surface-disinfection
being needed to eliminate contaminating epibiotic micro-organisms. Successful
experiments have been undertaken with the surface disinfection of resting eggs of
Acartia clausi and Eurytemora affinis. After disinfection, the eggs are then washed with
0.2 μm filtered sterile seawater and transferred to disinfected culture tanks or stored
under dark, dry and cool conditions.
o Before starting the surface-disinfection procedure attention must be paid to the
physiological type of resting eggs. Some marine calanoids are able to produce two kinds
of resting eggs, i.e. subitanous and diapause eggs. Since subitanous eggs only have a thin
vitelline coat covering the plasma membrane, they are more susceptive to disinfectants
than the diapause eggs which are enveloped by a complex four-layer structure.

V. Mesocosm systems
 Mesocosm systems are culture systems for fish larvae with a water volume ranging from 1 to
10,000 m³. In these large enclosures a pelagic ecosystem is developed, consisting of a
multispecies, natural food chain of phytoplankton (diatoms, flagellates, Nannochloris,...),
zooplankton (tintinnid ciliates, Synchaeta and Brachionus rotifers, copepods,...) and predators
(fish larvae). Intensification of mesocosms is determined by the initial load and by the level of
exogenous compounds (fertilizer,...). Fish larvae are stocked in the mesocosms when prey
densities have reached appropriate levels, or the organisms cultured in a mesocosm system are
harvested from time to time and supplied to fish larvae held in separate tanks.
 There are two methods to obtain a mesocosm system which offers natural live food during the
rearing of the fish larvae, provided that the fish larvae are the sole top predators in the system.

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 o In the first method the water in the system is continuously renewed at a high rate. An
example of such a system is an isolated tidal pond in which the inflowing water is filtered
from predators allowing phyto- and zooplankton to flow into the system, while the
outflowing water is filtered to retain the fish larvae in the enclosure. Such a system is
called “advective” since it depends on external, rather than internal processes. The other
method consists of a semi-enclosed or closed system, which is dominated by internal
processes. These systems require less technical backing and are thus more convenient for
aquacultural applications.
o (Semi-) closed mesocosm systems are small enclosures, which consist of water masses
retained:
 by dams in isolated bays, branches of a fjord or lagoons: pold system
 The pold system is an isolated water volume, such as an isolated bay, or
a branch of a fjord or a lagoon. Before each production cycle the
enclosed water volume is treated with chemicals (rotenone) to make the
enclosure free from predators, including fish larvae. Predators can also
be removed from the pold system by emptying, drying and refilling the
enclosure with filtered seawater (200-500 μm). The copepod resting
eggs can resist the rotenone treatment and will ensure a zooplankton
bloom in the mesocosm. After the treatment of the pold system, and
fertilization of the enclosure or lagoon, inoculation with microalgae
should be carried out to promote a phytoplankton bloom. When needed,
zooplankton harvested from nature can be introduced into the system.
 in bags hung up in the sea or lakes: bag system
 The bag system is a simplification of the former system, since the
isolation of a large water volume is easier achieved: black or transparant
polyethylene or PVC bags are used tied to a floating wharf.
 in man-made ponds on land: pond system – covered with plastic lining
 in tanks: tank system
 Mesocosm protocol
o The mesocosm systems are prepared as follows: they are treated with chemicals to kill
predators or they are set dry for at least 4 days, and if needed cleaned with HCl to
remove the calcareous cases of various organisms. These culture systems are then filled
with adjacent seawater rich in phyto- and zooplankton.
o In the mesocosms different plankton blooms will develop one after the other, and this
process is called succession. The first blooming organism will usually be the diatom
group, that will soon collapse due to depletion of silicates (only in closed systems: pond
and tank system). This bloom is then usually followed by a bloom of nanoflagellates and
dinoflagellates, which on their turn is followed by a bloom of ciliates and rotifers. These
organisms are important during the first feeding period of fish larvae and also form an
additional food source to the copepod nauplii N1. Only when an adequate population of
copepods is established can fish larvae be stocked.

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VI. Cladocerans
A. Daphnia/ “water fleas”
 The common name is the result not only of their size but their short, jerky hopping movement in
water. The genera Daphnia and Moina are closely related.
 Frequently used food source in the freshwater larviculture (i.e. for different carp species) and in
the ornamental fish industry (i.e. guppies, sword tails, black mollies and plattys etc.)
 Belongs to the suborder Cladocera, which are small crustaceans that are almost exclusively living
in freshwater
 Apart from differences in size, the relative size of the head may change progressively from a
round to helmet-like shape between spring and midsummer. From midsummer to fall the head
changes back to the normal round shape. These different forms are called cyclomorphs and may
be induced, like in rotifers, by internal factors, or may be the result from an interaction between
genetic and environmental conditions.
 Anatomy:
o Daphnia have a body consisting of a head and a trunk. The antennae are the main means
of locomotion. Large compound eyes lie under the skin on the sides of the head. One of
the major characteristics of daphnia is that the main part of the body, the trunk, is
enclosed in an external skeleton (carapace). Periodically, they molt or shed their external
shell. The brood pouch, where the eggs and embryos develop, is on the dorsal side of the
female. In Daphnia, the brood pouch is completely closed, while Moina have an open
pouch.

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 o There is considerable size variation between the genera. Moina are approximately half
the maximum length of Daphnia. Adult Moina (700–1,000 μm) are longer than newly-
hatched brine shrimp (500 μm) and approximately two to three times the length of adult
rotifers. Young Moina (less than 400 μm), however, are approximately the same size or
only slightly larger than adult rotifers and smaller than newly-hatched brine shrimp. In
addition, brine shrimp die quickly in freshwater. As a result, Moina are ideally suited for
feeding freshwater fish fry.
 4 to 6 Instar stages. Daphnia species reproduce either by cyclical or obligate parthenogenesis and
populations are almost exclusively female. Parthenogenetic eggs are produced ameiotically and
result in females, but in some cases males can appear. The parthenogenetic eggs are laid in the
brood chamber shortly after ecdysis and hatch just before the next ecdysis. Embryonic
development in cladocerans occurs in the broodpouch and the larvae are miniature versions of
the adults.
 Factors, such as change in water temperature or food depreviation as a result of population
increase, may induce the production of males. These males have one or two gonopores, which
open near the anus and may be modified into a copulatory organ. The male clasps the female
with the first antennae and inserts the copulatory processes into the single, median female
gonopore. The fertilized eggs are large, and only two are produced in a single clutch (one from
each ovary), and are thick-shelled: these resting or dormant eggs being enclosed by several
protective membranes, the ephippium. In this form, they are resistant to dessication, freezing
and digestive enzymes, and as such play an important role in colonizing new habitats or in the re-
establishment of an extinguished population after unfavourable seasonal conditions.
 Nutritional value: The nutritional value of Daphnia depends strongly on the chemical composition
of their food source. However, since Daphnia is a freshwater species, it is not a suitable prey
organism for marine organisms, because of its low content of essential fatty acids, and in
particular (n-3) HUFA. Furthermore, Daphnia contains a broad spectrum of digestive enzymes
such, as proteinases, peptidases, amylases, lipases and even cellulase, that can serve as
exoenzymes in the gut of the fish larvae
 From the spectrum blue-greens, flagellates and green algae, Daphnia performed best on a diet of
the cryptomonads, Rhodomonas minuta and Cryptomonas sp., containing high levels of HUFA
 Mass culture:
o Tank culture
 Daphnia is very sensitive to contaminants, including leaching components from
holding facilities. When plastic or other polymer containers are used, a certain
leaching period will be necessary to eliminate toxic compounds
 The optimal ionic composition of the culture medium is unknown but the use of
hard water is recommended. Maintenance of pH between 7 and 8 appears to be
important. Inoculation is carried out using adult Daphnia or resting eggs. The
production of resting eggs can be initiated by exposing a part of the Daphnia
culture to a combination of stressful conditions such as low food availability,
crowding of the animals, lower temperature and short photoperiods.
 There are 2 techniques to obtain the required algal densities:
1. Detrital system

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 The “stable tea” rearing system is a culture medium made up of a mixture of soil,
manure and water. The manure acts as a fertilizer to promote algal blooms on which the
daphnids feed. One can make use of fresh horse manure (or poultry manure or cow-dung
substrates) that is mixed with sandy loam or garden soil in pond water to a stable stock
solution; this solution diluted two to four times can then be used as culture medium
2. Autotrophic system
Use the addition of cultured algae. Green water cultures obtained from fish pond
effluents are frequently used but these systems show much variation in production rate
mainly because of the variable composition of algal species from one effluent to another.
Best control over the culture medium is obtained when using pure algal cultures. These
can be monocultures of e.g. algae such as Chlorella, Chlamydomonas or Scenedesmus, or
mixtures of two algal cultures. The problem with these selected media is that they are
not able to sustain many Daphnia generations without the addition of extra vitamins to
the Daphnia cultures.
Mass cultivation of Daphnia magna can also be achieved on cheap agro-industrial
residues, like cotton seed meal, wheat bran, etc. Rice bran has many advantages in
comparison to other live foods (such as microalgae): it is always available in large
quantities, it can be purchased easily at low prices, it can be used directly after simple
treatment (micronisation, defatting), it can be stored for long periods, it is easy to dose,
and it has none of the problems involved in maintenance of algal stocks and cultures.
Defatted rice bran is preferred above raw rice bran because it prevents hydrolysis of the
fatty acids present and, consequently, rancidity of the product.
o Pond culture
 Fertilization of the pond with organic manure instead of mineral fertilizers is
preferred because cladocerans can utilize much of the manure directly in the
form of detritus.
 Contamination
o Daphnia cultures are often accidentally contaminated with rotifers. In particular
Brachionus, Conochilus and some bdelloids may be harmful, (i.e. B. rubens lives on
daphnids and hinders swimming and food collection activities). Brachionus is simply
removed from the culture by flushing the water and using a sieve of appropriate mesh
size as Daphnia is much bigger than Brachionus. Conochilus, on the other hand, can be
eliminated by adding cow dung to the culture (lowering the oxygen levels). Bdelloids are
more difficult to remove from the culture since they are resistant to a wide range of
environmental conditions and even drought. However, elimination is possible by creating
strong water movements, which bring the bdelloids (which are bottom dwellers) in the
water column, and then removing them by using sieves
B. Moina
 Moina appear in high concentrations in pools, ponds, lakes, ditches, slow-moving streams and
swamps where organic material is decomposing. They become especially abundant in temporary
water bodies (ponds or ditches) which provide them with suitable conditions for only a brief
period.
 Physical and chemical requirements: generally quite tolerant of poor water quality. They live in
water where the amount of dissolved oxygen varies from almost zero to supersaturation. Moina

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 are particularly resistant to changes in the oxygen concentration and often reproduce in large
quantities in water bodies strongly polluted with sewage. Species of Moina have been reported
to play an important role in the stabilization of sewage in oxidation lagoons.
o The ability to survive in oxygen-poor environments is due to their capacity to synthesize
hemoglobin. Hemoglobin formation is dependent on the level of dissolved oxygen in the
water. The production of hemoglobin may also be caused by high temperature and high
population density.
o The high temperature tolerance of Moina is of great advantage for both the commercial
fish farmers in the southern U.S. and hobbyists culturing live food at home
 Moina is of a smaller size than Daphnia, with a higher protein content, and of comparable
economic value. Produced biomass is successfully used in the larviculture of rainbow trout,
salmon, striped bass and by tropical fish hobbyists who also use it in a frozen form to feed over
sixty fresh and salt water fish varieties. The partial replacement of Artemia by Moina micrura was
also reported to have a positive effect during the larviculture of the freshwater prawn
Macrobrachium rosenbergii
 Newly-hatched fry of most freshwater fish species can ingest young Moina as their initial food.
However, it should be noted that it can be difficult to grade Moina for size. It was found that
screening tends to fragment the animals to such an extent that they are no longer usable as live
food. In aquaria, care must also be taken when determining feeding rates, as Moina can quickly
grow too large to be eaten. If these larger Moina become too dense, their “hopping” movements
can serve to harass and potentially damage fry.
 In Singapore, Moina micrura grown in ponds, fertilized with mostly chicken manure or, less
frequently, with pig manure, are used as the sole food for fry of many ornamental tropical fish
species. Unfortunately, there is very little information concerning practical mass culture methods
of Moina
 Food requirements: Moina feed on various groups of bacteria, yeast, phytoplankton and detritus
(decaying organic matter). Bacterial and fungal cells rank high in food value. Populations of Moina
grow most rapidly in the presence of adequate amounts of bacterial and yeast cells as well as
phytoplankton. Moina are one of the few zooplankton which can utilize the blue-green algae
Microcystis aeruginosa. Both plant and animal detritus may provide energy for the growth and
reproduction of Moina. The food value of detritus depends on its origin and diminishes with the
age of the detritus
 Life cycle: The reproductive cycle of Moina has both a sexual and asexual phase. Normally, the
population consists of all females that are reproducing asexually. Under adverse environmental
conditions, males are produced and sexual reproduction occurs resulting in resting eggs
(ephippia), similar to brine shrimp eggs. The stimuli for the switch from asexual to sexual
reproduction in populations of Moina is an abrupt reduction in the food supply, resulting in an
increase in resting egg production. However, it is advantageous to keep the population well fed
and in the asexual mode of reproduction, since fewer progeny are produced with resting eggs.
 High population densities of Daphnia can result in a dramatic decrease in reproduction, but this is
not the case with Moina and are therefore, better adapted for intensive culture. A comparison of
the production of Daphnia magna and Moina macrocopa cultures fertilized with yeast and
ammonium nitrate, showed that the average daily yield of Moina is three to four times the daily
production of Daphnia

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 Nutritional value: The nutritional content of Moina varies considerably depending on their age
and the type of food they are receiving. Although variable, the protein content of Moina usually
averages 50% of the dry weight. Adults normally have a higher fat content than juveniles
o Organic fertilizers are usually preferred to mineral fertilizers because organic fertilizers
provide bacterial and fungal cells and detritus as well as phytoplankton as food for the
Moina. This variety of food items more completely meets their nutritional needs,
resulting in maximum production.
o Mineral fertilizers may be used alone, however, they work better in earthen ponds than
in tanks or vats. Fresh manures are preferred because they are richer in organic matter
and bacteria. However, some farm animals are given feed additives that control fly larvae
in their manure and these may inhibit the production of Moina
o Although manure is widely used to culture Moina, yeast, alfalfa and bran are less
objectionable to use and they work well.
o Coarse organic materials, such as manure, sewage sludge, hay, bran and oil seed meals,
are usually suspended in the water column in mesh bags. Cheese cloth, burlap, muslin,
nylon or other relatively loose weave fabrics may be used. Nylon and other synthetic
fabrics, however, do not deteriorate in water as do cotton or burlap. For smaller culture
containers, nylon stockings work well for this purpose, are inexpensive and readily
available. The use of a bag prevents large particles from being a problem when the Moina
are harvested and allows greater control of fertilization.
o Over-feeding can quickly cause problems in water quality. Regardless of the type of
media used, start with small amounts of feed or fertilizer added at frequent intervals and
slowly increase the amount used as you gain experience. If fungus occurs in the culture
container due to overfertilization, the bag containing the organic material should be
removed from the culture. If fungus persists in large quantities the culture should be
discarded and restarted.
o Excessively high pH (greater than 9.5), due to a heavy algae bloom and the resulting
increase in the proportion of the toxic form of ammonia (unionized), may inhibit the
production of Moina. The pH of the culture can be adjusted to 7–8 with vinegar (acetic
acid).
 Procedure for Moina culture:
o Inoculation: Use pure live cultures to inoculate. Avoid using animals for inoculation from
poor or declining cultures, cultures producing resting eggs, or cultures containing
predators of fish larvae or fry. Although a culture can theoretically be started with a
single female, always use an adequate number to develop a harvestable population
quickly. If fewer are used, the population in the culture will increase more slowly,
therefore, the initial quantity of fertilizer or food should be reduced to prevent
overfeeding. A greater number used for inoculation reduces the time to harvesting and
lessens the chance of contamination by competitors.
 Cultures are usually inoculated 24 hours or more after fertilization. However,
when yeast is used, Moina can be added to the culture after a few hours of
aeration, assuming good water quality and proper temperature. This is because
the yeast cells are immediately available to the Moina as food. The small amount

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 of phytoplankton present in the water and digestive tract of the Moina used to
inoculate the culture is usually sufficient to initiate a phytoplankton bloom.
o The batch culture method of producing Moina uses a continuous series of cultures.
Briefly, a new culture is started daily in a separate container using the procedures
outlined below. When all the fungal, bacterial, and algal cells are consumed, usually
about 5–10 days after inoculation, the Moina are completely harvested, and the culture
is restarted. This method is particularly applicable when a specific quantity of Moina is
needed each day because daily production is much more controlled.
o Batch culture is also useful for maintaining pure cultures because there is less chance of
the cultures becoming contaminated with competitors (e.g., protozoans, rotifers,
copepods) or predators of fish larvae or fry (e.g., Hydra, back-swimmers, diving beetles,
dragonfly larvae)
o Semi-continuous cultures can be maintained for two months or more by daily partial
harvests of Moina, water changes and regular feeding, keeping the population in a state
of rapid growth. Eventually, the Moina cultures will fail to respond to additional
fertilization. When it is evident that they are not reproducing well, the Moina should be
completely harvested and a new culture started. Moina can be produced either in
combination with their food or as separate cultures. Combined culture is the simplest,
but production from separate cultures has been reported to be approximately 1/3
higher.
o For separate culture, the phytoplankton tank is positioned so that it can be drained into
the Moina culture tank. Production from separate cultures has the disadvantage of
requiring additional space for the cultivation of phytoplankton. However, there are
advantages of separate culture of Moina and phytoplankton. The advantanges include
less chance of contamination, a greater degree of control, and more consistent yield.
o Containers for culture include 10-gallon aquaria for hobbyist culturing live food. For
larger scale and commercial operations, tanks or vats (concrete, stainless steel, plastic or
fiberglass) and earthen ponds can be used. Wading pools, plastic sinks, old bathtubs,
discarded refrigerator liners and cattle watering troughs also work well. Do not use
unpainted metal containers unless they are stainless steel. The shallow water depth
allows good light penetration for photosynthesis by phytoplankton and provides a large
surface to volume ratio for oxygen diffusion. A greenhouse covered with shade cloth (50-
80% light reduction) is ideal. Outdoor cultures should be protected from rain to help
stabilize production and screened to prevent entry of predacious aquatic insects.
Containers to be used, whether aquaria, tanks, vats or ponds, need not be particularly
clean. However, filamentous algae and predators of fish larvae or fry (e.g., Hydra, back-
swimmers, diving beetles, dragonfly larvae) can be especially troublesome in Moina
cultures. Tanks can be disinfected with a 30% solution of muriatic acid or by drying in
sunlight. Earthen ponds should be drained and sun dried.
 Moina are extremely sensitive to pesticides, metals (e.g., copper and zinc, which may be
prevalent in municipal or well water), detergents, bleaches and other toxic materials in the water
supply. Ensure that toxins are not inadvertently introduced into the culture container. Well water
should be aerated for at least two hours. Municipal water should be aerated for at least two days
to neutralize the chlorine, or sodium thiosulfate or a commercially available chlorine neutralizer

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 can be added to shorten this process. Natural spring water is ideal. Rain water is also excellent for
Moina cultures if it is collected from an area that does not have excessive air pollution. Filtered
lake or stream water may also be used.
 Gentle aeration of the Moina pool oxygenates the water, keeps food particles in suspension and
increases phytoplankton production; these result in an increase in the number of eggs per
female, the proportion of egg-bearing females in the population, and the population density.
Extremely small bubbles should be avoided as they can get trapped under the carapace, causing
Moina to float at the surface, eventually killing them.
 Monitoring: Green or brown-red Moina with full intestinal tracts and active movement indicate a
healthy culture. Pale Moina with empty digestive tracts or Moina producing resting eggs are
indications of suboptimum environmental conditions or insufficient food.
o The food concentration in the culture water, when examined in a clear glass, should
appear slightly cloudy and tea colored or green. Clear culture water is an indication of
insufficient food
o If predators of fish larvae or fry (e.g., Hydra, back-swimmers, diving beetles, dragonfly
larvae) are observed, discard the culture and clean and disinfect the tank or pool to avoid
contaminating other cultures.
 Harvesting: Moina can be harvested by simply dipping out the required number with a brine
shrimp net or reusable coffee filter as they concentrate in "clouds" at the surface. Cultures may
also be harvested by draining or siphoning the culture water into a plankton collector equipped
with 50- to 150-μm mesh netting net suspended in a container of water. Turn off the aeration
and allow the food particles to settle before harvesting. For semi-continuous culture, do not
harvest more than 20–25% of the population each day, unless you are restarting the culture.
o The bottom sediments should be stirred up manually every day following harvest,
thoroughly mixing the culture, to re-suspend food particles and prevent anaerobic
conditions from developing
o Harvested Moina can be kept alive for several days in clean water in a refrigerator. They
will resume normal activity when they are again warmed. The nutritional quality of the
stored Moina will probably not be optimal because of the period of starvation, so the
Moina should be enriched with algae and yeast before feeding them to fish.
VII. Nematodes
 The use of the free living nematode, Panagrellus redivivus as larval food has been demonstrated
successfully for several species, including Crangon crangon, juvenile king shrimp (Penaeus
blebejus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
 P. redivivus is a suitable larval live food since it is small (50 μm in diameter). Moreover, it has an
amino acid profile that matches that of Artemia, while its EPA and DHA content is respectively
nearly a third and almost the same or a little higher of that of Artemia
 P. redivivus can be cultured very simply in trays filled with flour and kept humid by spraying with
water. The culture medium is supplemented weekly with baker’s yeast, which should inhibit the
growth of nematophage fungi. The containers should be stored in a well-ventilated room.
 The nutritional quality of nematodes can be enhanced by the use of the bio-encapsulation
technique. Enrichment is simply carried out by adding the product to the culture medium (direct
enrichment) or by bringing the nematodes in an emulsion of the product (indirect enrichment).

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 The bioencapsulation technique can also be used to fortify the nematodes with therapeutics (bio-
medication).
VIII. Torocophora larvae
 For some marine fish species (i.e. siganids, groupers, snappers) very small zoo-plankton, such as
trochophora larvae need to be used as a starter feed, since the commonly used rotifers are too
big. Trochophora larvae of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas are 50 μm in size and free-
swimming (slow circular swimming pattern) ciliated organisms which have a high nutritional value
for marine fish larvae. For example, trochophora larvae may contain up to 15% (of total fatty
acid) of both EPA and DHA
 Production of trochophora larvae
o Mussel larvae
 Unripe mussels are brought in acclimation tanks with flowing seawater, after the
removal of excess epifauna. During the acclimation period the mussels are fed on
algal suspensions of Dunaliella tertiolecta and/or Chlamydomonas coccoides. The
spawning of the animals is induced by bringing the conditioned mussels in a
plastic bucket and shaking them violently for 2 to 3 min. After returning the
stimulated mussels to the spawning tanks (lightly aerated static seawater at 14-
15°C) spawning takes place within 12 h. The trochophora larvae can be harvested
after 24-48 h by concentrating them on a 25 μm sieve. After 10 weeks the
broodstock should be replaced, since the gametes are reabsorbed as a result of
temperature stress and inadequate food supply.
o Pacific oyster and Manila clam larvae
 Under controlled temperature conditions gametogenesis and gamete maturation
can be induced year round by submitting the bivalves to a sudden temperature
shock (increasing the temperature 2 to 4°C). Spawning will take place within 15
min. and the gametes are released into the tank. During this period the water
flow must be stopped in order to allow fertilization. A gentle aeration can be
used to keep the gametes in suspension.
 Quality control of the produced trocophora larvae
o Obtaining good quality trochophores with good swimming behaviour and a high
nutritional value is important. Firstly, the broodstock must be fed with algae with a high
nutritional value. Secondly, spawning must be synchronized, as there is rapid loss in
sperm fertility. Thus, when males start spawning before the females, the males must be
removed from the container and left out of the water, so as to stop the male spawning;
the males are put back in the water when a sufficient number of females start to spawn.
At no time should sperm older than 30 minutes be used.
o After spawning is completed the females should be taken out so as to let the eggs settle
on the bottom. Clumps of eggs must be separated to obtain good fertilization. Sperm
from various males is pooled to ensure a good genetic mix in offspring.
 Crpreservation
o Bivalve larvae can be cryopreserved at -196°C and used as live feed for later use.
Cryopreservation has been successfully achieved with trochophora larvae of Crassostrea
gigas and Tapes philippinarum. The larvae are equilibrated in a seawater solution of

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dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) with trehalose (cryo-protectants) and are then sealed into
polyethylene straws

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