Premium
Water quality in a serial‐use raceway and its effect on the growth of South African abalone, Haliotis midae Linnaeus, 1758
Author(s) -
Naylor Matthew A,
Kaiser Horst,
Jones Clifford L W
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2109.2010.02660.x
Subject(s) - abalone , biology , raceway , zoology , nitrite , limiting , nitrifying bacteria , haliotis discus , fishery , water quality , ammonia , nitrogen , nitrification , ecology , chemistry , biochemistry , mechanical engineering , physics , organic chemistry , nitrate , thermodynamics , finite element method , engineering
To quantify the effects of serial‐use of water on abalone growth and feed conversion, this study describes water quality in a serial‐use raceway with seven passes. A flow index of 7.2–9.0 L h −1 kg −1 was estimated as the minimum value at which to grow 60–70 mm Haliotis midae , as weight gain (analysis of variance; F 6, 14 =13.9, P <0.0001) and feed conversion ratio (Kruskal–Wallis test; H 6, 21 =16.3, P =0.012) were significantly reduced at lower values. pH and dissolved oxygen concentration were positively correlated with the flow index (pH, r 2 =0.99; P <0.001; dissolved oxygen, r 2 =0.99; P <0.001), while free ammonia nitrogen (FAN) and nitrite were negatively correlated with the flow index (FAN, r 2 =0.99, P <0.001; Nitrite, r 2 =0.93, P <0.001). The concentration of nitrite increased throughout the experiment and may reflect the colonization of Nitrosomonas bacteria as water re‐use increased. Based on comparisons with growth and toxicity tests, it is suggested that low pH combined with growth‐limiting levels of FAN were the first variables limiting abalone growth in the serial‐use raceway.