The experimental groups were randomly distributed in a unifactorial experimental design. Semi-cylindrical plastic tanks (92 cm × 68 cm × 25 cm) with a working volume of 60 L constituted the experimental units. Four tanks were prepared for each experimental condition, resulting in 12 tanks. All tanks were equipped with linear aeration supplied by a PVC pipe (90 cm long, 20 mm diameter with 36 holes of 1 mm) to keep the solids generated during cultivation in suspension and maintain the level of dissolved oxygen in the water
at the recommended concentration for L. vannamei larval cultivation (>5 mg L − 1 ). The water temperature was kept constant, between 29 and 30 ◦ C, using 100-W heaters connected to a thermostat.