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Biotica H o w t o c i t e t h i s a r t i c l e?
Ray and Mohanty, 2020. Biofloc Technology: An
Research Overview and Its Application. Biotica Research Today
Today 2(10): 1026-1028.

1026 A bstrac t
Vol 2:10
T
he growing demand for pertinacious food, in particular animal
1028 protein, is responsible for the growth of animal husbandry
2020 and fisheries. But now, due to the over-exploitation of
fisheries and environmental pollution through the emission of toxic
metabolites, aquaculture faces both environmental and economic
Biofloc Technology: un-sustainability. One of the innovative waste management and

An Overview and Its nutrient retention technologies is Biofloc Technology (BFT) that offers
a solution to the problem. In aquaculture ponds, Biofloc Technology
Application removes toxic metabolites and helps to retain more nitrogen in the
form of fish or shrimp biomass through the production of microbial
mass protein. BFT is a C/N ratio optimization technology. Microbial
Anwesha Ray1 and Biswajit Mohanty2* flocs also have a probiotic effect on the environment through the
1
College of Fisheries, Odisha University of Agriculture and production of poly β-hyroxy butyrate. Quorum sensing and co-
Technology, Surya Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha aggregation of microbial groups determines the quality of floc and
also helps to eliminate or suppress the influence of pathogens in the
(751 003), India aquaculture system.
2
College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University (Imphal),
Lembucherra, Agartala, Tripura (799 210), India Introduction

I
ncreasing human population trends from 1.5 to 6.4 billion
and is projected to increase to 9 billion by 2050 requires
production diversification, which has been estimated at 840
Open Access million, to reduce malnutrition. Animal husbandry and fishing
Corresponding Author are the two sources of animal protein to ensure the health
Biswajit Mohanty of the world population by providing nutritionally balanced,
e-mail: [Link]@[Link] particularly protein-rich food. Fish and fish products Animal
protein containing all essential amino acids, essential fatty
acids of series n-3, n-6, is the safest group of animal proteins.
Key wo r d s But today there is a huge gap between production and demand
Aquaculture, Biofloc, Nutrient recycling, Fisheries compared to the exponential growth of the world population.
In order to solve these problems, organisms culture under
controlled conditions in water, i.e. the only way is aquaculture.
But the intensification of aquaculture is necessary to satisfy
the demand for food. BFT was first developed at the French
Sea Exploitation Research Institute, Oceanic Pacific Centre. It is
become a popular technology in the family of Tilapia, Penaeus
monodon, Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), Giant
freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii).
Need of Biofloc Technology (BFT)

B
iofloc system was developed to improve the
environmental control over the aquatic animal
production. In aquaculture the strong influencial factors
are feed cost (60% of total cost) and most limiting factor is
Article History the water and land availability. High stocking density and
Received in 14th October 2020 rearing of aquatic animal requires a wastewater aquaculture.
Received in revised form 15th October 2020 The principle of this technique is the generation of nitrogen
Accepted in final form 16th October 2020 cycle by maintaining higher C/N ratio through stimulating
heterotrophic microbial growth which assimilates nitrogenous
E-mail: bioticapublications@[Link] waste that can be exploited by cultured species as feed.

© 2020 1026
Ray and Mohanty, 2020

Higher C/N ratio is maintained by the addition of carbohydrate

source (molasses) and the water quality is improved through
production of high quality single cell protein. Immobilisation
of toxic nitrogen species occurs more rapidly in BFT as the
growth rate and microbial production per unit substrate
of heterotrophs are 10 times greater than autotrophic
bacteria. Due to its bottom dwelling habit and resistance to
environmental changes, the technology was implemented in
shrimp farming. An improved growth rate and larval growth
has been reported in BFT as compared to normal cultivation.
Composition and Nutritional Value

B
Figure 1: Biofloc Technology Model
iofloc is a heterogeneous aggregate of suspended
particles associated with extracellular polymeric
substances and a variety of microorganisms. Microbes
such as bacteria, fungi, invertebrates and detritus are
composed of it. It is a live feed rich in protein formed as a
result of the conversion of unused feed formed and excreta in
a culture system to a natural food on exposure to sunlight. In a
loose matrix of mucus that is secreted by bacteria and linked
by filamentous microorganisms or electrostatic attraction,
each Biofloc is held together. Large floc can be seen in naked
eye, but most of them are microscopic. The size of the flock
varies from 50-200 microns. Biofloc is found to have good
nutritional value. The dry protein weight varies from 20-50
percent to 0.5-15 percent of fat. It is a good source of vitamins,
minerals and phosphorus, in particular.
Advantages of Biofloc Technology
• The environmentally friendly system of culture.
• It decreases the environmental impact.
• Improves the effectiveness of land and water usage.
• Limited exchange of water or zero. Figure 2: Imhoff Cone/Imhoff flask (For quantifying biofloc
during biofloc fish culture)
• Higher productivity (increased rate of survival, development,
conversion of feed).
• Greater Biosecurity.
• Reduces and cost effective water pollution.
• Reduces the pressure on fishing catches.
Disadvantages of Biofloc Technology
• Increased energy requirements for mixing and aeration.
• Reduced response time due to higher rates of water
respiration.
• The start-up period is required.
• Supplementation of alkalinity required.
• Increased potential for pollution from nitrate accumulation.
• Inconsistent and seasonal performance of sunlight exposed
systems. Figure 3: Biofloc fish culture in tanks

© 2020 1027
Biotica Research Today 2020, 2(10):1026-1028

Conclusion to turbid water growth. So, the compartmental design of the

A
BFT is suggested by most scientists. In such applications, fish
lthough research has been underway since the early cultivation and microbial production take place in separate
1990’s with the precursors of biofloc systems and compartments, enabling better management options. For
commercial application has been in place since the future BFT practise, a good understanding of the microscopic
early 2000’s, some key issues of the function of the biofloc mechanisms (microbes, particularly bacteria) involved in
system are still poorly understood. Biofloc technology is bio-flocculation is necessary. For the closed examination
the best for closed system management and providing bio- of microbes, such as the FISH procedure and Real time
security in aquaculture, as per research. The periodic increase Polymerized Chain Reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient,
of total suspended solids is one of the major risk factors of Gel Electrophoresis, advanced biological biofloc monitoring
these technologies, because clogging in shrimp and fish gills technologies are necessary.
and requires more energy to meet the oxygen demands. It
is necessary to investigate the Biofloc probiotic effect. It has References
the ability, particularly in shrimp culture systems, to regulate Avnimelech, Y., 2009. Biofloc technology.  A practical guide
vibrio bacteria. However, some studies have shown that vibrio book. The World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, 182.
species is also present in biofloc, but there is a switch on Crab, R., Defoirdt, T., Bossier, P., Verstraete, W., 2012. Biofloc
systems that determines the ability to promote or discourage technology in aquaculture: beneficial effects and future
the possibility of disease outbreak. The common way for BFT challenges. Aquaculture, 356, 351-356.
systems is to co-culture aquaculture species and heterotrophic Hargreaves, J.A., 2013.  Biofloc production systems for
bacterial biomass by adding the source of carbohydrates. aquaculture (Vol. 4503,. 1-11). Stoneville, MS: Southern
However, the multiplication of heterotrophic bacteria in the Regional Aquaculture Center.
system causes excessive turbidity, which may have adverse
effects on sensitive fish species, not all of which are adaptable

© 2020 1028