Water quality, chemical fluxes and production in semi-intensive Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) culture ponds utilizing two different feeding strategies

During the 203 days of trial, the ponds where feed was provided by feed trays generated significantly (p < 0.05) lower load of ammonia (0.511 g ammonium/kg shrimp) and organic solids (918 g/kg shrimp), while ponds fed by FD generated 1.71 g ammonium/kg shrimp and 1832 g of particulate organic solids/kg shrimp. However, the FT ponds released higher amounts of total suspended solids (5275 g TSS/kg shrimp) than the FD ponds (4348 g TSS/kg shrimp). Additionally, this study shows that the feeding strategy and the amount of feed added have a significant effect on shrimp yield. Finally, it is concluded that the feed trays permit manage most feed rates than FD systems and therefore can result in higher profitability and lower environmental load for ammonia and organic solids.