Biofloc the Nutritional Enriched Feed for IMC Culture in India

Abstract

World population is growing rapidly, the food production industry needs to be developed. As the aquaculture industry intensively develops, its environmental impact increases and its strong dependency on fi shmeal in the diet, the use of biofl oc technology can reduce these problems. The basic principle of the biofl oc technology is the retention of waste and its conversion to biofl oc as a natural food within the culture system. Now a days biofl oc technology has become very popular in aquaculture sector. The concept of fl oc formation in activated sludge systems can be used for application in biofl oc technology. There are so many factors which infl uence the formation of biofl oc. Microbes are manipulated in BFT systems in order to control and reduce toxic inorganic nitrogen concentrations. Extensive development of microbial biomass is an integral part of this process. Microbial proteins in BFT systems should be considered only as a supplement of feed proteins. Many researchers revealed that net protein uptake by the shrimp from biofl oc was equivalent to 25 to 50 per cent of conventional protein feeding. Biofl oc contains about 30 per cent crude protein along with other essential minerals. Essential fatty acid also found in biofl oc which is suitable for dietary requirement of Indian Major Carp (IMC). Therefore, it appears the biofl oc can be successfully used as fi sh feed particularly for herbivorous and omnivorous species. Microorganisms in biofl oc might partially replace protein content in diets or decrease its dependence of fi shmeal. Biofl oc technology provides a more sustainable approach with minimal water exchange along with reduce feed intake and transform it in to a low-cost sustainable technology for sustainable aquaculture development.