Chapter 3
Action of wastes on pond food chain
The objective in fertilizing an aquaculture pond with excreta, nightsoil or wastewater is to
produce natural food for fish. Since several species of fish feed directly on faecal solids, use
of raw sewage or fresh nightsoil as influent to fish ponds should be prohibited for health
reasons. Edwards (1990) has represented the complex food chains in an excreta-fed fish pond
as shown in Figure below, involving ultimate decomposers or bacteria, phytoplankton,
zooplankton and invertebrate detritivores. Inorganic nutrients released in the bacterial
degredation of organic solids in sewage, nightsoil or excreta are taken up by phytoplankton.
Zooplankton graze phytoplankton and small detritus particles coated with bacteria, the latter
also serving as food for benthic invertebrate detritivores. Plankton, particularly
phytoplankaton, are the major sources of natural food in a fish pond but benthic invertebrates,
mainly Chironomids, also serve as fish food, although they are quantitatively less important.
To optimize fish production in a waste fed pond, the majority of the fish should be filter
feeders, to exploit the plankton growth.
Figure : Food chains in an excreta-fed aquaculture system (Edwards et al. 1988)
Since the added waste in effect acts as a fertilizer, the ponds become highly eutrophic and the
ecological balance is upset. The result of this frequently is dense growths of plankton
followed by their death, with accompanying cycles of aerobic and nearly anaerobic
conditions.
Fish species Selection for waste fed pond
A wide range of fish species has been cultivated in aquaculture ponds receiving waste,
including common carp (Cyprinùs carpio), Indian major carps (Catla catlax, Cirrhina
mrigala and Labeo rohita), Chinese silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp
(Aristichthys nobilis), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), crucian carp (Carassius
auratus), Nile carp (Osteochilus hasseltii), tilapia (Oreochromis spp.), milkfish (Chanos
chanos), catfish (Pangasius spp.), kissing gouramy (Helostoma temmincki), giant gourami
(Osphronemus goramy), silver barb (Puntius gonionotus) and freshwater prawn
(Macrobrachium lanchesterii). The selection reflects local culture rather than fish optimally-
suited to such environments. For example, Chinese carps and Indian major carps are the
major species in excreta-fed systems in China and India, respectively. In some countries, a
polyculture of several fish species is used. Tilapia are generally cultured to a lesser extent
than carps in excreta-fed systems although, technically, they are more suitable for this
environment because they are better able to tolerate adverse environmental conditions than
carp species. Milkfish have been found to have poorer growth and survival statistics
compared with Indian major carps and Chinese carps in ponds fed with stabilization pond
effluent in India.
Edwards (1990) gives a thorough review of current knowledge on the various fish species
which can be cultured in ponds fed with waste. It would appear that considerable confusion
still exists with regard to fish feeding on natural food. Although fish are generally divided
into types according to their natural nutritional habits - those that feed on phytoplankton, or
zooplankton or benthic animals - several species are known to feed on whatever particles are
suspended in the water. There is also uncertainty about the types of phytoplankton fed upon
by filter-feeding fish. For example, although blue-green algae are thought to be indigestible
to fish, Tilapia have been shown to readily digest these algae and there is evidence that silver
carp can do the same.
Environmental factors
In a successful aquaculture system there must be both an organismic balance, to produce an
optimal supply of natural food at all levels, and a chemical balance, to ensure sufficient
oxygen supply for the growth of fish and their natural food organisms and to minimize the
build-up of toxic metabolic products (Colman and Edwards 1987). Chemical balance is
usually achieved through organismic balance in waste-fed ponds because the most important
chemical transformations are biologically mediated. It is now recognized that depletion of
dissolved oxygen in fertilized fish ponds is due primarily to the high rates of respiration at
night of dense concentrations of phytoplankton.
Fish mortality in a waste-fed pond can result from at least three possible causes. First, the
depletion of oxygen due to bacterial oxygen demand caused by an increase in organic load.
Second, the depletion of oxygen overnight due to the respiratory demand of too large a
concentration of phytoplankton, having grown in response to an increase in inorganic
nutrients, caused by an organismic imbalance. The third possible cause is high ammonia
concentration in the waste feed. All three causes of fish mortality have been reported in
respect of sewage-fertilized fish ponds. The sensitivity of fish to low levels of DO varies with
species, life stage (eggs, larvae, adults) and life process (feeding, growth, reproduction). A
minimum constant DO concentration of 5 mg/l is considered satisfactory, although an
absolute minimum consistent with the presence of fish is probably less than 1 mg/l (Alabaster
and Lloyd 1980). Fish cultured in waste-fed ponds appear to be able to tolerate very low DO
concentrations, for at least short periods of time, with air-breathing fish (such as walking
catfish (Clarias batrachus) being the most tolerant, followed in decreasing order of tolerance
by tilapia, carps, channel catfish and trout. Reducing phytoplankton biomass to maintain a
reasonable DO in the early morning hours might well depress fish growth more than exposure
to a few hours of low DO. A wastewater fertilized aquaculture system might occasionally
require a stand-by mechanical oxygenation system for use during periods when DO would
otherwise be very low. However, if the system is well managed to avoid overloading, this
expense can be avoided.
Unionized ammonia (NH3) is toxic to fish in the concentration range 0.2 - 2.0 mg/l (Alabaster
and Lloyd 1980). However, the tolerance of different species of fish varies, with tilapa
species being least affected by high ammonia levels. Bartone et al. (1985) found that
satisfactory growth and survival of tilapia was possible in fish ponds fed with tertiary effluent
in Lima, Peru when the average total ammonia concentration was less than 2 mg N/l and the
average unionized ammonia concentration was less than 0.5 mg N/l, with the latter only
exceeding 2 mg N/l for short periods. In ponds receiving large quantities of organic matter,
sediments tend to accumulate and release anaerobic breakdown products, such as methane
and sulphides, which can inhibit fish growth. Bottom feeding fish, such as the common carp
(Cyprinus carpio), are most affected by such conditions, especially if the macrozoobenthos
disappear.
How animal wastes work in a pond?
Direct feeding value of pure wastes is known to be poor. Wastes act by:
• stimulating phytoplankton production; and
• acting as substrate for bacterial production (detritus) and as feed for zooplankton.
These two processes are strongly interlinked, since phytoplankton is a major source of
detritus for bacterial production. Also, phytoplankton, through photosynthesis, is the chief
producer of dissolved oxygen in the pond used by all organisms including fish.
Factors to consider before using animal wastes
1. Are wastes available on-farm? If so, are the wastes already used? Should they be diverted
for use in fish culture?
Livestock wastes are often important as crop fertilizers and fuel. Consider the opportunity
costs.
2. Is it worth raising livestock, especially to generate wastes for aquaculture? Consider:
• costs/difficulties of doing so (e.g. feed availability and cost, marketing difficulties,
technical abilities and interest of farmers); and
• inorganics are now cheaper to use than livestock manure in many places
Management factors to consider
1. Are all wastes to be used in fish culture?
If wastes are to be used elsewhere, they should be collectible prior to entering the pond (e.g.
use a sump). Also, wastes should be available in larger quantities at certain periods when
their use should be reduced for fish culture (e.g. during the cool season).
2. Can all wastes be collected?
Feedlot livestock are kept confined at all times so all the wastes can be collected and used.
Small-scale farmers often allow livestock to graze or scavenge during the day and only
confine these at night. This reduces feed costs considerably, often allowing only on-farm or
low-cost, supplementary feeds to be given. However, collectible wastes will be less.
3. Livestock may be penned at the farmer's house for security or traditional reason; this may
limit potential advantages of integration. Labour is required to collect or prepare livestock
feed.
4. Ponds may be multifunctional. Large animals are usually denied access to the pond
because entry to and wallowing in it can destroy the dikes and cause turbidity which reduces
natural food production.
• Livestock wastes vary in terms of both quantity and quality which are affected by the
following:
- food quality of livestock
- species (monogastrics and ruminants) and size
- stage in life cycle (breeder, grower, etc.)
- solids only or mixed with urine
- amount of waste feed
- contamination with bedding materials, rainwater, soil, etc.
- method and period of storage
Miscellaneous facts
• Young livestock tend to feed on diets higher in protein so their waste has more
nitrogen and is better as a pond input.
• Ruminants' faeces contain high levels of carbon relative to nitrogen and discolour the
water. Generally used alone, they give low-fish yields. Consider use of ruminants'
urine as it contains a better balance of nutrients.
• Laying hens are fed different diets than broiler chickens and their waste is particularly
high in phosphorus.
Tips for proper waste application
• First application can be done about 1-2 weeks before fish stocking to produce natural
food for immediate fish consumption.
• Apply or load manure after sunrise (about mid-morning).
• Maintain a regular schedule or routine of application.
• Make sure that freshwater is available for flushing in case of direct oxygen depletion.
• Scrape off 2-5 cm of the pond bottom soil during pond preparation. This can serve as
an excellent fertilizer for vegetables.
Water quality management
Too much manure when loaded in fishponds can cause dissolved oxygen depletion resulting
in fish mortalities. When manure loading is excessively high, too much decomposition
occurs; thus, the biological oxygen demand is high, using up the available dissolved oxygen.
Phytoplankton produces dissolved oxygen during the day but consumes it at night. Another
source of dissolved oxygen in a static water is diffusion of atmospheric oxygen.
Indicators of low dissolved oxygen
1. When plenty of fish are on the water surface «gasping for air» (i.e. they are consuming
oxygen from the thin and oxygenated top layer of water)
2. When air or gas bubbles are observed in the water
3. When the pond water is brownish or greyish
4. When the pond water smells pungent.
What to do when dissolved oxygen is low?
• Stop loading manure.
• Add freshwater into the pond while draining water off the pond bottom.
• Stir the pond water by striking the water surface with tree branches or other
appropriate materials; row repeatedly across the pond.
• Make provisions for flow- through system (if water is readily available).
• Use mechanical aerators (if available).
If the water is turbid because of suspended sedimentary particles, spread over the pond
surface chopped rice straw or hay, allowing them to settle at the pond bottom together with
the silt. But caution: too much decomposing hay can also deplete dissolved oxygen. The pH
or hydrogen ion concentration determines whether the water is acidic or alkaline. Highly
acidic water (4 or below) can result in fish kills.
Ways of knowing the presence of hydrogen sulphide
Hydrogen sulphide is a poisonous gas emitted from the pond bottom as a result of decaying
and decomposing organic matter. Its presence is indicated by the following:
• Emission of unpleasant odor resembling that of a rotten hard-boiled egg
• Presence of dead fish also in the source canal
What to do when hydrogen sulphide occurs?
• Agitate the pond water.
• Add freshwater.
• Regulate or stop manure loading.
• In serious cases, drain pond and dry pond bottom for 1-2 weeks.
Causes of and possible remedies for different water quality problems
Fish harvesting methods to remove off-flavour
Off-flavour or muddy taste of fish harvested in highly manure-loaded pond and in pellet-fed
ponds can be a serious problem if fish farmers do not follow the proper harvesting
procedures. People will not buy or eat the fish with off-flavor or muddy taste.
Here are some suggestions to remove the off-flavor or muddy taste:
1. Stop manure loading or delivery to the fishpond at least two days before harvesting.
2. Partially drain the pond leaving about 40-50 cm water depth.
3. Harvest fish by seining before draining the pond totally. This will minimize fish mortality
and the murky odor of fish associated with muddy water.
4. Transfer fish to a net enclosure installed in a pond with clean water or in holding tanks
with running water and hold the fish for at least 4-6 hours but preferably for several days.
5. Sell fish alive or fresh.
Chapter 4
Rice-fish/prawn
In areas where irrigation facilities are not available, a second crop of rice is possible by
constructing water storage areas within the field. These could be in the form of lateral, central
or marginal trenches or unilateral/bilateral ponds which are also utilized for aquaculture.
Based on the input requirements for a 0.4 ha field, the following methods are used by
farmers:
1. Raise the peripheral dikes by digging a perimeter trench (3 m wide x 1.5 m deep) or a
lateral pond. If necessary, inlets and outlets are provided and guarded with meshed screens.
2. Fill the trench with sewage water to a level of 15-20 cm.
3. Deepwater rice (e.g. CN 570, 652; NC 487 or 492) is sown directly after the first monsoon
shower.
4. When the water level in the trench is about 60-70 cm, stock about 400 mature (1.5-2 g)
mola (Amblypharyngodon mola), a small indigenous species high in vitamin A) together with
8 000 bata (Labeo bata) having an average weight of 2 g. As soon as 3-4 g prawn
(Macrobrachium rosenbergii) are available, 2 000 juveniles are also stocked. The fish and
prawn move about the field when the water level in the trench rises and covers the paddy.
Rice-fish/prawn
5. The water level in the field and the trench falls with the end of the monsoon. The paddy
ripens in November/December and about 500-600 kg of deepwater rice are harvested from
the field after 150 days of growing. The fish and prawn continue to grow in the trench.
Utilize the water in the trench for raising a second crop of rice. Fertilize it by taking in
sewage to a level of about 10 cm each month from December to February. A low-level dike is
constructed all around to maintain a 10-15 cm water level in the paddy field.
6. The field is fertilized with sewage and seedlings of high-yielding rice varieties (e.g. Ratna
or IET 4094) transplanted in January.
7. Sewage fertilization is repeated when the seedlings have taken roots and again during the
flowering stage. The fields are irrigated regularly and the water level is maintained until the
rice is mature. Pesticides are used only when necessary.
8. A partial harvest of prawn (50 g), bata (20 g) and mola (20 g) is made.
9. The paddy is harvested in April with a yield of about 2.0-2.4 t.
10. The fish are finally harvested in end April or early May. The total fish harvest is about
112 kg bata, 50 kg prawn and 45-50 kg mola.
Advantages
1. The second rice crop contributes to additional food production, employment and income
generation.
2. Fish crop provides a rich protein food of high market value and adds considerably to the
farmer's income.
Sewage system
Limitations
1. Trench/pond construction is useful only in water-retentive soils.
2. Difficulties are encountered in fish seed transport, if away from the main road.
Budget (in rupee) for rice-fish-prawn culture in a 0.4 ha unit
1996: US$1 = Rs25.50
Carp breeding using off-season wheat fields
About 300 000 ha of wheat fields around Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in India are virtual
rainfed ponds (havelis) from July to October. There being no source of irrigation, rainwater is
impounded in these fields (with about 1 m high dikes) until the onset of winter when they are
drained, ploughed and the wheat is sown. This period lasts for 3-4 months wherein the field is
used for common carp seed production. Based on the input requirements for a 0.4 ha field,
these procedures could be followed.
Seed production
1. Select a field near the road but away from a floodprone zone. Check the dikes and put
meshed screens on the inlets and outlets, if provided.
2. Spray an emulsion of 20 litres
diesel and 7 kg of cheap washing
soap on the water surface to kill
predatory aquatic insects as soon
as about 60-80 cm of water gets
accumulated in the field.
3. After spraying, release four
healthy and fully ripe females
along with an equal number of males, each weighing about 1 kg. Provide 2-3 kg of Hydrilla
or Eichornia at three or four places in the field. A fully ripe, healthy female can be
distinguished by its swollen, bulging abdomen and a reddish genital region which is pit-like
in the male. The males also ooze milk with gentle pressure on their abdomen.
4. The fish breed within 24-48 hours of stocking or take a day or two more, if they are not
fully ripe. The eggs are laid on the weeds and hatch within 48-72 hours.
5. Harvesting can be done after 15-20 days. Approximate yield is 100 000 fry of about 25-30
mm size. If the field is fertilized with 2 000 kg cow dung and the fish are fed with an artificial
feed comprising groundnut oil cake and rice bran (1:1 by weight), the survival is high and the
growth is fast.
6. The remaining fry attain a size of 40-60 mm by the time the fields are to be drained when
these (about 20 000 fingerlings) are also harvested.
Budget (in rupee) for carp in 0.4 ha haveli wheat fields
Costs
Cost of 8 kg live broodfish (4 females and 4 males; 1 kg each) at 200
Rs25/kg
Transport 200
Soap oil treatment 125
Total costs 525
Income
Sale of 50 000 fry at Rs10/1 000 500
Sale of 20 000 fingerlings at Rs100/1 000 2
000
Sale of 6 kg of fish at Rs15/kg 90
Total income 2
590
Balance 2
065
Net income/ha 5
162
