Cultivo intensivo de Litopenaeus vannamei sin recambio de agua y con un sustrato artificial | Intensive culture of Litopenaeus vannamei without water exchange and with an artificial substrate

"Con el fin de verificar el efecto del perifiton presente en sustratos artificiales sobre la calidad del agua y el reciclaje de nutrientes, se cultivaron en sistemas cerrados durante 32 días juveniles de camarón blanco Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) (peso inicial: 3 g y biomasa inicial de 440 g m-3 ) en ocho estanques cilíndricos de 1 m3 y 3.7 m2 de superficie sumergida total. Se utilizaron dos tratamientos (con o sin sustrato artificial), cada uno con cuatro repeticiones. En las repeticiones de uno de los tratamientos se adicionaron 7.2 m2 de sustrato artificial (Aquamats™). Los niveles medios de amonio (NH4 +) y de amoniaco (NH3) en los cultivos con Aquamats fueron equivalentes al 39% y al 22% respectivamente, de los valores registrados en los cultivos control. El tratamiento con sustrato artificial favoreció el reciclaje de nutrientes, ya que la biomasa final fue 13% superior al control, y su contenido de nitrógeno y fósforo representó porcentajes significativamente mayores de los respectivos ingresos totales. El mayor nivel de proteína en la biomasa de camarón (21.4%) en los tratamientos con sustrato adicional, se explica por la mayor disponibilidad de alimento natural representado por el perifiton. En vista de estos resultados, el uso de cultivos cerrados y del sustrato artificial Aquamats™, parece una alternativa viable para el cultivo de camarón."

"Aiming to determine the effect of the periphyton growing on artificial substrates, juveniles (3 g initial weight and 440 g m-3 stocking biomass) of the whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) , were grown during 32 days in eight 1 m3 cylindrical tanks with 3.7 m2 of total submerged surface. Two culture treatments (with and without artificial substrate or control) were tested with four replicates each. Artificial substrate (Aquamats™) provided an additional surface area of 7.2 m2. The mean dissolved ammonium (NH4+) and ammonia (NH3) concentrations for the Aquamats group were 39 and 22% lower than the respective values obtained for the control cultures. The artificial substrate stimulated nutrient recycling among the biological components (shrimp, biofilm, bottom microfauna, etc.) since mean shrimp biomass yield was 13% higher for the Aquamats group, and it contained a significantly higher percentage of the total nitrogen and phosphorus inputs than the control treatment. The protein content of shrimp cultured with Aquamats was 21.4% higher than that obtained for the control group, which is explained by the higher availability (and diversity) of the natural food of the periphyton. In view of these results, the use of closed cultures added this artificial substrate seems a viable alternative for shrimp culture."