Effect of different concentrations of potassium and magnesium on performance of Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae reared in low-salinity water and a biofloc system

ABSTRACT

Effect of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ in water on the performance of Litopenaeus vannamei using bioflocs was evaluated. Control had water with K:Mg (1:4.57) and other treatments (K:Mg of 1:5.4, 1:4.65, and 1:3.77), both with salinity of 4 g/L. Initial mean weight of shrimp was 0.08 ± 0.007 g. No difference in shrimp growth performance and survival was observed (P > 0.05) except in the control. Our results suggest that it is possible to culture postlarvae of Litopenaeus vannamei in low-salinity water with bioflocs when the water has an initial potassium concentration of 30.90 ± 8.5 mg/L and magnesium of 167.0 ± 3.9 mg/L.

KEYWORDS:

• Inland water
• ionic concentration
• ions
• shrimp

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Robyn Livesey-Shilland for proofreading the English language.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [151032/2012-2]; Southern Ocean and Education Development (SOED)—Canada program for the master’s scholarship and funds for research (Zacarias) .