Improved pond productivity through integrated cultivation of red tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and seaweed (Gracilaria verrucosa) in Maros, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Marginal land use for brackish water aquaculture has not been fully used optimally, due to various problems, especially low pond productivity caused by degradation of water and soil quality. One effort to increase pond productivity for aquaculture is integrated cultivation (polyculture) with various fisheries commodities. The purpose of this research was to increase the productivity of ponds through polyculture of red tilapia, tiger shrimp, and seaweed. Twelve earthern ponds were used for this study, each pond of 2,500 m2 The nos polyculture systems employed in this study were A) red tilapia (1 no/m2), tiger shrimp (2 nos/m2) and seaweed (0,15 kg/m2); B) Tiger shrimp (4 nos/m2) and seaweed (0,15 kg/m2); C) red tilapia (1 no/m2) and tiger shrimp (2 nos/m2), and D) red tilapia (2 nos/m2) and seaweed (0,15 kg/m2). The results showed that the highest survival rate of red tilapia was recorded in D (87.3±3.15%) and the lowest in A (78.5±1.75%). Meanwhile, the highest tiger shrimp survival rate was achieved in B (72,2±6,53%) followed by A (64.0±3,02%) and C (62,6±3.15 %).The highest production of red tilapia was recorded in D (716.7 kg/2,500 m2), while the highest production of tiger shrimp was in B (100,04 kg/2,500 m2). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the red tilapia was the highest in D (1.19), followed by C and A (1.15 and 1.03), while the FCR for tiger shrimp in all the treatments was less than 1. Economic analysis showed that the highest profit per cycle was obtained in D.