The "bio" in Biofloc
At its core, biofloc is a waste treatment system. Biofloc systems use a counter-intuitive approach and allow or encourage solids and the microbial colonies to accumulate in water. Water quality can be controlled as long as there is sufficient mixing and aeration to maintain an active floc in suspension. For more information about the principle of biofloc technology, click 👉 here.
What is Probiotics?
Probiotics are usually live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefits on host. Nowadays, probiotics are also becoming an integral part of the aquaculture practices to obtain high production. The common probiotics that are used for aquaculture practices include Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Leuconostoc, Enterococcus, Carnobacterium, Bacillus, Aeromonas, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Clostridium, and other genera.
The involvement of probiotics in nutrition, disease resistance and other beneficial activities in fish has proven beyond any doubt. The most common use of bacterial colonies can be described in a broad sense as the conversion of all kind of wastes in a fish tank to a secondary protein rich food source for the fishes. It is an innovative and cost-effective technology in which toxic materials to the fishes such as leftover food, organic wastes, excreta of the fishes, dead fishes, etc. can be converted to useful product, i.e., proteinaceous feed. This feat is achieved by the bacterial colonies that are manually administered for this specific purpose.
When we discuss water preparation later, we will discuss about the bacterial colonies and their benefits in a biofloc system in depth.