Biofloc system enhances growth, immunity, and stress tolerance in high-density cultured Pacific White Shrimp

Departement of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, IPB University, Dramaga, Bogor, Indonesia

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Abstract

The main challenge in Pacific white shrimp farming is disease. One of the technologies applied to address this issue is the biofloc system, which enhances growth performance, survival rate (SR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), water quality, suppresses pathogen activity, and boosts immune response. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the biofloc system on growth performance, health status, and stress response of high-density cultured vannamei shrimp at an intermediate scale. Postlarvae (PL-10) were reared for 56 days in biofloc and control systems at a density of 500 shrimp m^–3 using Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC) with a volume of 1000 L (1.2 × 1.0 × 1.15 m³). A completely randomized design (CRD) was used with two treatments: control (C) and biofloc (BF) with three replicates. Parameters observed included growth rate, weight gain, biomass gain, FCR, SR, bacterial abundance, total hemocyte count (THC), respiratory burst (RB), phenoloxidase (PO) activity, and water quality. Results showed that the BF treatment yielded superior outcomes, indicated by SR (81.24±0.02%), FCR (1.67±0.08), reduced Vibrio sp. and V. parahaemolythicus abundance, and improved immune and stress responses.