Breeding of Piaractus mesopotamicus (Pacú) in acuaponic system

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate pacu fish re-breeding in an aquaponic system. 900 juvenile pacu with 10.5 ±3.26 g of initial mean weight were used, at an initial density of 3.3 kg/m³. Mean final weight, final biomass, daily biomass increase, daily weight gained, specific growth rate, and fish survival rate were evaluated. Lettuce was cultivated under the NFT system. The total biomass produced in each cycle, the average number of leaves, the weight of the whole plant, and the percentage relationship between the weight of the aerial part and root were evaluated. The aquaponic system consisted of four  modules located under a 48 m² greenhouse. The trial lasted 119 days, and three lettuce harvests were carried out. At the end of the trial, the fish reached a final average weight of 98.8 g, a final biomass of 22,233.8 g, a daily biomass increment of 172.9 g/day, a specific growth rate of 2 %/day, and 100 % survival in the four modules. Lettuce obtained an average final biomass of 8,081 g per cycle, 13.4 leaves per plant, 139.3 g/plant, and a percentage ratio between aerial part and root weight of 86.8 and 13.2 %, respectively. The results obtained demonstrate rearing pacu juveniles in aquaponic systems feasibility, obtaining high growth rates and excellent survival levels.