Short Communication: Comparison of the water environment aspects and production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) between biofloc and conventional aquaculture systems in tropical dryland region

Abstract. Halla PTHB, Lalel, H, Santoso P. 2023. Short Communication: Comparison of the water environment aspects and production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) between biofloc and conventional aquaculture systems in tropical dryland region. Intl J Trop Drylands 7: 12-15. The study aimed to compare the water quality of two aquaculture systems (i.e., conventional system and biofloc technology system) used to cultivate Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758) in tropical dry land areas. This study used a survey method using seven samples for each aquaculture system. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the content of ammonia (NH3) between the two aquaculture systems, while the content of nitrate (NO3), phosphate (PO4), dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH was not significantly different (P>0.05). Although the value of ammonia (NH3) in the biofloc aquaculture system is higher than in the conventional aquaculture system, it is still below the quality standard of the aquatic environment. Conversely, the specific growth rate (SGR), relative growth rate (RGR), survival rate (SR), and production of fish between the two aquaculture systems showed significant differences (P<0.05). Where the value of SGR, RGR, and survival rate in conventional ponds is higher than that of biofloc ponds, on the contrary, the value of fish production in biofloc ponds is higher than in conventional ponds.