Keeping fish healthy and ponds clean are two typical challenges for fish farming. Sludge buildup and bad odors from decaying organics and fecal matter are common. Often, half of the pond water has to be replaced at the end of the cycle due to contamination. Heavy rain can lead to low dissolved oxygen levels. Fish stressed by poor conditions also eat less.

Bionetix® biologicals were trialed at an industrial fish farm in Mato Grosso, Brazil, to counteract these problems. Two side-byside ponds were stocked with 6300 young “Pintado” fish each. One pond was not treated. The other pond was treated with BCP54™, and AQUA-FEED™ was added to the fish food regularly. About eight months later, AEROBOOSTER-O2™ was introduced to the treated pond to counteract low oxygen levels from heavy rain. The cycle lasted 330 days in the control pond and 400 days in the treated pond (to allow time to test AEROBOOSTER-O2™).

The control pond stayed at relatively normal production (10,500 kilos [23,149 lbs]), while the treated pond saw a 42% increase from the norm and produced 15,143 kilos (33,385 lbs). Fish in the treated pond stayed healthy without medication and grew to a consistent size, while the control pond had a wide range of sizes (about one-fourth of its fish were not large enough to be included in the final production count). The treated pond also had excellent odor control and stabilized oxygen levels, with no need to follow the costly procedure of draining contaminated water, cleaning, and refilling the pond (except to compensate for natural evaporation). The results generated excitement and also captured the interest of potential investors.

Keywords: pisciculture, Bionetix, fish farming, low oxygen in ponds, fish farming challenges, keeping ponds clean, Brazil pisciculture, keeping fish healthy,
pond contamination

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