Both protein recycling and water quality control are achieved through the addition of carbonaceous feed and adjustment of the C/N ratio.
Protein is an expensive feed component. In addition, it is, at least partially, made of fish meal, a component that is scarce and its harvest in the ocean leads to environmental damage. Thus, the fact that protein utilization rises from 15-25% in conventional ponds to 45% in BFT is very important.
The utilization of microbial flocs as a source of feed protein leads to a lower expenditure on feed. Avnimelech reported that feed cost for tilapia production was lowered from $0.84/kg fish in conventional ponds to $0.58 in BFT. McIntosh reported that feed cost using the lowered protein diet in Belize Aquaculture was about 50% as compared to conventional shrimp farming.
An important advantage of biofloc systems is their contribution in limiting development of shrimp and fish diseases. These processes were lately discussed in a special workshop dealing with the effects of biofloc and related systems on shrimp and fish diseases.
BFT systems are environmentally friendly, mostly due to the fact that there is almost no release of nutrient rich drainage water to the environment.