Ionic Supplementation of Pond Waters for Inland Culture of Marine Shrimp

Abstract

Saline well water used to fill ponds for inland culture of marine shrimp in Alabama often have low concentrations of potassium and magnesium. In 2002, pond waters on a shrimp farm were treated with enough muriate of potash and potassium‐magnesium sulfate (K‐Mag) to increase potassium concentration from 6.2 mg/L to about 40 mg/L and magnesium concentrations from 4.6 mg/L to about 20 mg/L. Salinity in ponds averaged 2.6 ppt at the time of mineral salt additions. The concentrations of potassium and magnesium remained fairly constant throughout the growing season without further applications of salts, and salinity increased to about 4 ppt mainly as a result of concentration through evaporation. Survival and production on the farm averaged 19% and 595 kg/ha, respectively, in 2001. In 2002, average survival improved to 67% and average production was 4,068 kg/ha. Ponds were stocked at similar rates and managed by similar procedures both years. Magnesium concentration was very low related to the concentration expected in normal seawater diluted to the same salinity as the pond water, while potassium was near the expected concentration. Thus, increased potassium concentration is thought to have influenced production much more than did the increase in magnesium concentration. K‐Mag does not dissolve as readily as muriate of potash. Thus, K‐Mag should not be dumped in shallow water areas of ponds to dissolve as can be done with muriate of potash. It should be broadcast over the pond surface, predissolved and splashed over the pond surface, or placed in porous bags suspended in front of aerators. Although a single application of mineral salts was effective, 2002 was a dry year. On a wet year, ions may be diluted or flushed out in overflow and more than one treatment with mineral salts might be necessary during the growing season.

Histo-Architectural Changes in the Selected Tissues of Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) Juveniles Reared in Inland Ground Saline Water (IGSW) fed with Graded Levels of Potassium (K+) and Magnesium (Mg2+) through Feed

“…Farmers in the West Alabama have been successful in raising L. vannamei in IGSW by raising the K + and Mg 2+ levels of their pond waters to correct ionic ratio imbalances (McNevin et al, 2004). In India, the culture of L. vennamei was successfully demonstrated and commercialized in K + and Mg 2+ fortified IGSW by Lakra et al, (2014).…”

“…These strategies include feed modification, offered to shrimp, usually with supplements that might theoretically improve osmo-regulatory capacity . Second strategy is the culture of marine shrimp in pond system with ionic supplementation in water (McNevin et al, 2004). It is reported that the use of fertilizers for the ionic fortification in inland saline aquaculture water could be costly.…”

Chelated Potassium and Arginine Supplementation in Diets of Pacific White Shrimp Reared in Low‐Salinity Waters of West Alabama

“…Inland shrimp farming in low-salinity well waters (LSWW) is a growing industry in the United States and various other countries around the world (Boyd and Thunjai 2003;Saoud et al 2003;McNevin et al 2004). Inland aquaculture of marine species is desirable for many reasons, notably biosecurity, reduced property prices, and availability of saline waters that are unsuitable for traditional agriculture (Hopkins et al 1996).…”

“…However, previous research showed that inland well waters were generally very low in salinity and had ionic compositions that were significantly different from those of seawater (Boyd and Thunjai 2003;Saoud et al 2003). Moreover, potassium (K þ ) was deficient in the majority of these waters (Saoud et al 2003;McGraw and Scarpa 2003;McNevin et al 2004).…”

“…Under controlled laboratory settings, K þ deficiencies of the water were shown to be remediable through the addition of KCl to culture waters . Commercial aquaculturists using inland LSWW are mitigating the problem by increasing the K þ levels in pond waters through addition of muriate of potash, KMagt, or both (McNevin et al 2004). Unfortunately, adding large amounts of salt or K þ compounds to ponds is costly, especially since treated water may be discarded during harvest or lost in overflow during the rainy season.…”