ornamental cultured fish

1. AQUAPONICS IN ORNAMENTAL
FISHERIES
Project Mentor
Dr. Honnananda B.R.
Asst. Prof, CoF, kawardha
Presented by
Devati
B.F.Sc. 4th year
CoF, kwardha

2. Contents
 Introduction
 History
 How Aquaponics work
 Types of Aquaponics
 Aquaponics component
 Ornamental Fishes
 Vegetables
 Fish maintenance
 Keep Fish Healthy
 Advantages
 Disadvantages
 Conclusion
 References

3. Introduction
• Aquaponics is an agricultural method that integrates
aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (soil-less plant
growth) into a single, re-circulating system.(Surnar et al.,
2015)
• The system relies on the mutual symbiosis (beneficial
species interactions) of fish, bacteria and plants.
• The fish excrete waste ammonia that is converted by
bacteria into nitrites and then nitrates, which are an
excellent source of plant nutrition.
• The plants then absorb this bioavailable nitrogen, filtering
and cleaning the water before it is returned to the fish tank.

4. A Simple Aquaponic Unit
Source: http://www.okofarms.com

5. HISTORY
 The idea of combining fish and vegetable production into an
integrated system is far from new.
 Ancient precedents for integrated aquaculture include the
chinampas of Mexico and the integrated rice paddy systems
across parts of Asia.
 Aquaponics is a term that was coined in the 1970s.
 The Aztecs cultivated a system of agricultural islands known
as chinampas in a system considered by some to be the first
form of aquaponics for agricultural use.
(Source: Kevin et al., 2013)

6. Source:
http:/www.theaquaponicsgarden.com

7. How Aquaponics
Work
Source: http://uponics.com/aquaponics-fish/.

8. Types of Aquaponics System
 Gravel Bed Culture (GBC)
 Deep Water Culture (DWC)
 Nutrient Film Technique (NFT)
 Media Based Growbed (MBG)

9. Gravel Bed culture
 In this the plant are rooted in coarse gravel or
aggregate media.
 Bacteria grow on the media and convert the ammonia
excreted by the fish into nitrate.
 Plant within the grow beds remove the nitrate from the
water, which then returns to the fish in a clean and
healthy form.
 No mechanical and biological filtration is required as
the gravel beds suit both purpose.
(Menon et al.,2013)

10. Gravel bed culture
https://www.google.co.in/search nutrient film
technique

11. Deep Water Culture(DWC)
 The water from the fish tank is filtered mechanically
and biologically to remove the solids from suspension
and convert the toxic ammonia to nitrate.
 The clean water travels down the length of a tank of
water in which polystyrene raft are floated.
 Plants are rooted through the holes in the polystyrene
sheet and into the water below, where the roots take up
nutrients from the water.
 DWC is most suited to leafy crops and there is some
discharge of water during the filtration process.

12. Deep Water Culture
Source: https://www.google.co.in/search nutrient film
technique

13. Nutrient Film Technique
 As with DWC the water is filtered prior to going to the plant,
but in this case the plant are rooted through holes in pipes.
 The tips of the root touches the bottom surface of the pipe and
absorbs nutrients from a thin film of water trickling down the
length of the pipe.
 This method also result in the loss of water and nutrients
during filter cleaning, and is also best suited to leafy.
 Adler et al. (2000) showed that the phosphorus rate recovery
was extremely more efficient in NFT aquaponic system to
produce rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and lettuce
(Lactuca sativa) than producing the plant and fish separately.

14. Nutrient Film Technique
Source: https://www.google.co.in/search nutrient film
technique

15. Media Based Growbed
 where the plants grow in a medium such as gravel,
hydroton, lava rock, vermiculite, sponges and perlite
etc.
 These beds may be “trickle fed” nutrient solution, or
subject to periodic flooding and draining (“ebb and
flow”) to maximise exposure to both air and nutrients.
 The media beds also function as bio filters.

16. Media Based Grow bed
Gravel Hydroton Lava rock
Sponges Perlite Vermiculite

17. Combined Aquaponics System :
(a) Nutrient film technique (b) Media bed (c) Deep water culture
(d) Fish tank
a
b
c
d

18. Aquaponics Components
 Fish tank
 Place to grow plants
 Water pumps
 Air pumps
 Irrigation Tubing
 Water heater(optional)
 Filtration (optional)
 Grow light (optional)
 Fish and plants

19. Ornamental Fishes
Caracius
auratus
Cyprinus
rubrrofuscu
s
Danio
rerio
Poecilia
reticulata
Collosoma
macropomum
Paracheirodo
n innesi
Hemicromis
bimaculatus
Trichogast
er
leeri

20. Vegetables
Phaseolu
s
vulgaris
Capsicum
annum
Lettuce
sativa
Solanum
lycopersicum
Pisum
sativum
Cucumis
sativus
Spinacia
oleracea

21. Bacteria
 Nitrification, the aerobic conversion of ammonia into
nitrates, is one of the most important functions in an
aquaponics system.
 It reduces the toxicity of the water for fish, and allows
the resulting nitrate compounds to be removed by the
plants for nourishment. (Diver et al., 2006)
 Nitrosomonas: bacteria that convert ammonia into
nitrites.
 Nitrobacter: bacteria that convert nitrites into nitrates.

22. Maintenance of Fish
 Feed fish 2-3 times a day, but don’t overfeed
 Fish eat 1.5 - 2% their body weight per day
 Only fish feed what they can eat in 5-10 min.
 Fish won’t eat if they are too cold, too hot or
stressed
 Check water quality, add water or do partial
water changes if necessary
 Observe fish behavior and appearance

23. Keeping Fish Healthy
 pH – Ideal range: 6-7.
 Ammonia and nitrites are very toxic to fish.
 Nitrates are fairly safe for fish (and great for plant).
 Fish need oxygen(they can die in 30 min. without
it)Battery based aerators are available for power
outages.
 Drastic temperature changes can cause health issues
and death.
 Sensitive to light(avoid direct light).
Source: David et al., 2014

24. WATER QUALITY IN AQUAPONICS
S.
N.
Parameter
Range
1 Temperature(˚C ) 18-30
2 pH 6-7
3 Ammonia(mg/L) <1
4 Nitrite(mg/L) <1
5 DO(mg/L) >5
(Source: Shafeena, 2016)

25. Some research work in Aquaponics

26. (A) Growth and survival of climbing perch, Anabas testudineus in
Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) Aquaponics System
 The growth and survival of climbing perch, Anabas
testudineus in a newly developed Nutrient Film
Technique (NFT) aquaponics system was studied for
6 weeks.
Species(Fish
and Plant)
Initial length /height and
weight
Length and weight after 6 week
Treatment tank Control tank
Anabas
testudineus
5.60±0.57 cm and
3.2± 0.63 gm.
9.02±0.54 cm
and 14.36±
2.01gm.
8.19±0.59 cm
and 10.69±
1.80gm
Basela alba 10.80±1.10cm and
9.17±1.60gm.
No significant
growth
No significant
growth

27.  Results revealed that there was no significant difference
in the plant growth parameters in the NFT grow pipes
at the end of the 6-week experimental duration.
 The survival of fish was higher (91%) in the aquaponic
system compared to control (89%).
 There was 34% higher growth in fishes in aquaponic
tank compared to control.
 The Daily Weight Gain (DWG), Feed Conversion Ratio
(FCR), and survival of fish grown in the aquaponic
system were better than that of fishes in control
tank.(Anantharaja et al., 2017).

28. (B) Effect of water flow rates on growth of Cyprinus carpio
var. Koi and spinach plant
in aquaponic system
 The experiment was aimed at standardization of water flow
rate in aquaponic system in order to correlate nutrient removal
and water quality with growth of Cyprinus carpio var. koi (koi
carp fingerlings) and Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis (spinach).
 Experimental plan was
 Treatment T2 (1.5 l per min.) showed highest weight gain of koi
carp fingerlings and also height gain of spinach plants as
compared to other treatments.(Hussain et al., 2014).
Flow rate (l per min.) Treatment Spinach (28 plants per m sq.)
3.2 T1 C (without plant)
1.5 T2 S1
1.0 T3 S2

29. (B) Biological nutrient recovery from culturing of pearl gourami
(Trichogaster leerii ) by cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
in aquaponic system
 The possibility of using different densities of cherry
tomato as a bio-filter in a simple media-based
aquaponic system to recycle nutrients from pearl
gourami intensive culture wastewater was evaluated.
 Each treatment was equipped with aquaponic systems
containing fish tank and plant growing bed.
Productivity of the system was measured by recording
the fish and plant growth indices.
Treatment No. of tomato plants TAN CONSENTRATION
C 0 6.59± 0.241 mg/l
T1 3 0.9 mg/l approximately
T2 6 0.9mg/l approximately
T3 9 0.05± 0.091mg/l

30. Cont….
 After 60 days of experiment the maximum fish weight gain
was recorded in T3 (26 ± 0.014%) with 1.26 ± 0.059 FCR,
and the lowest fish weight gain was measured in the control
group (15 ± 0.024%) with 2.19 ± 0.446 FCR. Total plant
length gain was reached at the maximum value in T3 (74.70
± 1.153 cm) in comparison to other groups. (Makhdom et
al., 2017).

31. ADVANTAGES
• Sustainable and intensive food production system.
• Two agricultural products (fish and vegetables) are
produced from one nitrogen source (fish food).
• Extremely water-efficient.
• Does not require soil.
• Does not use fertilizers or chemical pesticides.
• Higher yields and qualitative production.
(Source: Mahesh Khot et
al.,2017)

32. Cont….
• Higher level of bio security and lower risks from outer
contaminants.
• Higher control on production leading to lower losses.
• Can be used on non-arable land such as deserts, degraded
soil or salty, sandy islands.
• Creates little waste.
• Economical production of either family food production or
cash crops in many locations .

33. DISADVANTAGES
• Expensive initial start-up costs compared with soil
vegetable production or hydroponics.
• Knowledge of fish, bacteria and plant production is
needed for each farmer to be successful.
• Fish and plant requirements do not always match
perfectly.
• Not recommended in places where cultured fish and
plants cannot meet their optimal temperature ranges.

34. Cont….
• Mistakes or accidents can cause catastrophic
collapse of system.
• Daily management is mandatory.
• Energy demanding.
• Requires reliable access to electricity, fish seed
and plant seeds.
Source: Khot Mahesh et al.2017

35. Conclusion
 Aquaponics is more sustainable food production system.
 It involve the production of both fish and vegetables, using
a single nutrient source (fish feed).
 However that aquapoics system are primarily vegetable
production system, simply because of the biological nature
of the relation ship between fish nutrients production and
plant nutrient uptake.

36. REFERENCES
 Adler PR, Harper JK, Takeda F, Wade ED, Summerfelt ST (2000), Economic
evaluation of hydroponics and other treatment options for phosphorus
removal in aquaculture effluent. Hort Sci 35:993-999
 Chito F. , Kevin M., Fitzsimmons (2013), Vegetable production in a
recirculating aquaponic system using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with
and without freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii), Academia
Journal of Agricultural Research, Volume: 1(12),Pp- 236-250.
 Hussain, T., Verma, A. K., Tiwari, V. K., Prakash, C., Rathore, G., Shete, A. P.,
& Saharan, N. (2014), Effect of water flow rates on growth of Cyprinus carpio
var. Koi (Cyprinus carpio L., 1758) and spinach plant in aquaponic system.
Aquaculture International, 23(1), 369–384.
 Jungde Ranka , Konig Bettina , Villarroel Morris , Komives Tamas (2017),
Strategic Points in Aquaponics, Water, volume: 9(182), Pp- 9-182.

37.  K., Anantharaja, B.C., Mohapatra, B.R., Pillai, Rajesh Kumar, C. Devaraj
and D Majhi, (2017), “Growth and Survival of Climbing Perch, Anabas
Testudineus in Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) Aquaponics System.”
International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 5(4): 24–29.
 M. Rashmi, Sahana G.V., Shruthi V and Suganya R, (2013), Small Scale
Aquaponic System, International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science
Technology, Valume: 4 , Pp-141-146.
 Makhdom, S., Shekarabi, S. P. H., & Shamsaie Mehrgan, M., (2017),
Biological nutrient recovery from culturing of pearl gourami (Trichogaster
leerii) by cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in aquaponic system.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 24(25), 20634–20640.
 Shafeena, T., (2016), Smart Aquaponics System: Challenges and
Opportunities, European Journal of Advances in Engineering Technology,
valume: 3(2), Pp- 52-55.

38.  Surnar S.R, Sharma O.P., Saini V.P. (2005), Aquaponics:
Innovative farming, International journal of fisheries and
aquatic studies, volume 2(4), Pp-261-263.
 Vanmore S. V., Khot Mahesh, Shirasagi Lingaraj, Salavi Rohit,
(2015), Microcontroller Based automatic aquaponic system,
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology
(IRJET), valume: 04, Page - 1495-1499.
 https://www.extension.iastate.edu/Aquaponic_System Design and
Management.
 http://uponics.com/aquaponics-fish.