Sains Malaysiana 53(4)(2024): 747-757

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2024-5304-02

Aquaponics vs Recirculating Aquaculture System: Assessing Productivity and Water Use Efficiency of Native Fish Species Empurau (Tor tambroides) and Jelawat (Leptobarbus hoevenii) Compared to Red Hybrid Tilapia

(Akuaponik vs Sistem Akuakultur Kitar Semula: Menilai Produktiviti dan Kecekapan Penggunaan Air Spesies Ikan Asli Empurau (Tor tambroides) dan Jelawat (Leptobarbus hoevenii) Berbanding Tilapia Hibrid Merah)

QI-SONG COLIN, KIU¹, CHAIW-YEE, TEOH^1,2,*& AI-LIN OOI^1,2

¹Department of Agriculture and Food Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak, Malaysia

²Centre for Agriculture and Food Research, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Barat, 31900 Kampar, Perak, Malaysia

Received: 25 August 2023/Accepted: 26 February 2024

Abstract

A 3 × 2 (fish species × culture system) factorial design experiment was conducted to compare productivity of empurau (Tor tambroides), jelawat (Leptobarbus hoevenii) and red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis sp., control) cultured in recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and aquaponics system. Growth performance, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and survival rate of fish were evaluated, and water quality of all tanks throughout the 70-days experiment was determined. In the present study, FCR of tilapia, empurau and jelawat tended to be lower in aquaponics than RAS, while no significant differences (P>0.05) on weight gain (WG) and specific growth rate (SGR) between RAS and aquaponics for each fish species were observed. Although tilapia had significantly higher WG and SGR, and lower FCR compare to empurau and jelawat, the survival rate of empurau and jelawat were higher than tilapia, regardless of the culture system. Between empurau and jelawat, better growth performance was observed in aquaponics than in RAS. Significantly higher (p<0.05) ammonia and nitrite concentrations were shown in RAS tanks as compared to aquaponics tanks, regardless of the fish species. Jelawat might have wide range tolerance to ammonia as no mortality in both RAS and aquaponics, while tilapia and empurau had higher survival rate in aquaponics than RAS. In summary, aquaponics appears to be a viable approach to enrich variety and improve fish production in an environmentally responsible manner. Therefore, it is plausible to advocate for the use of aquaponics as a sustainable methods of farming native fish species in Malaysia.

Keywords: Aquaponics; native fish species; recirculating aquaculture system; red hybrid tilapia

Abstrak

Suatu kajian reka bentuk faktorial 3 × 2 (jenis ikan × sistem kultur) telah dijalankan untuk membanding produktiviti empurau (Tor tambroides), jelawat (Leptobarbus hoevenii) (jelawat), dan tilapia hibrid merah (Oreochromis sp., sebagai kawalan) yang dibiak dalam sistem akuakultur kitar semula (RAS) dan sistem akuaponik. Prestasi tumbesaran, nisbah penukaran makanan (FCR), dan kadar kemandirian ikan telah dinilai. Kualiti air dalam semua tangki sepanjang tempoh 70 hari juga telah ditentukan. Dalam kajian ini, FCR tilapia, empurau dan jelawat adalah lebih rendah dalam sistem akuaponik berbanding dengan RAS. Sementara itu, tiada perbezaan signifikan (P> 0.05) dalam penambahan berat (WG) dan kadar tumbesaran khusus (SGR) antara RAS dan akuaponik bagi setiap spesies ikan. Walaupun tilapia menunjukkan WG dan SGR yang lebih tinggi secara signifikan, FCR tilapia didapati   lebih rendah daripada empurau dan jelawat.  Kadar kemandirian empurau dan jelawat didapati adalah lebih tinggi daripada tilapia dalam kedua-dua sistem kultur. Antara ikan empurau dan jelawat, prestasi tumbesaran yang lebih baik diperhatikan dalam sistem akuaponik berbanding RAS. Kandungan ammonia dan nitrit yang lebih tinggi secara signifikan (p<0.05) telah diperhatikan dalam RAS berbanding sistem akuaponik, tanpa mengira jenis spesies ikan. Jelawat mungkin mempunyai julat toleransi ammonia yang tinggi kerana tiada kematian dalam kedua-dua sistem RAS dan akuaponik diperhatikan. Tilapia dan empurau mempunyai kadar kemandirian yang lebih tinggi dalam sistem akuaponik berbanding dengan RAS. Kesimpulannya, akuaponik merupakan sistem kultur yang berpotensi untuk mempelbagaikan ikan tempatan dan meningkatkan pengeluaran ikan dengan cara mesra alam. Oleh itu, penggunaan sistem akuaponik sebagai salah satu sistem penternakan yang mampan untuk pembiakan spesies ikan asli di Malaysia adalah amat digalakkan.

Kata kunci: Akuaponik; sistem akuakultur kitar semula; spesies ikan asli; tilapia hibrid merah

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*Corresponding author; email: cyteoh@utar.edu.my