Molasses has been used in combination with pelleted shrimp
food to promote the initial development of microorganisms in BFT
systems (Avnimelech, 1999; Ballester et al., 2010). In actual practice,
however, the cost of both molasses and feed as carbon sources
limits their use. However, rice bran, which is a by-productfrom rice
processing plants, is a cheap carbon source, and it can be a potential
carbohydrate source for use in BFT systems. Rice bran contains
high levels of carbohydrates (39.75%) and proteins (12%), and has a
low ash content (8.7%). In addition, low levels of lignin are present
in this product (NRC, 2011). Compared to molasses, rice bran is less
efficient in controlling ammonia during the rearing of Litopenaeus
vannamei in BFT systems, which can be attributed to slow degradation
(Serra et al., 2015). However, such slow degradation could
be turned into an advantage during the fertilization of the water
before shrimp stocking. It is also important to start rearing with
enough solids to maintain water quality, while, at the same time,
keeping the safety of shrimp in mind. This calls for better definition
of total suspended solid in water (Schveitzer et al., 2013).
This study evaluated the potential use of different application
rates of rice bran as an initial water fertilizer in BFT and its effect
on the performance of post-larval Litopenaeus vannamei.