ROLE OF NATURAL ZEOLITE IN IMPROVING WATER QUALITY, PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH STATUS OF NILE TILAPIA
(OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS L.) IN EARTHEN PONDS

Samir M. Saeed1; Ahmed F. Fath El-Bab2; Mohamed T.

Shehab El-Din3 and Ibrahim H. Ibrahim4*

1Limnology Dept, 2Fish Production Dept, 3Fish Diseases Dept, Sakha Aquaculture Research Unit, 4Fish Genetics & Breeding Dept.

Central Laboratory for Aquaculture Research, Abbassa, Agriculture Research Center, Egypt.

*Corresponding Author (Ibrahim Hassan Ibrahim) E. Mail Address: [email protected]

Received 2/ 8/ 2015

Accepted 13/ 9/ 2015

Abstract

This experiment was designed to determine the impact of natural zeolite on water quality, growth performance and health status of Nile tilapia freshwater fish, (Oreochromis niloticus) in earthen ponds. Three treatments included six earthen ponds (two replicates for each treatment) of one feddan each were stocked by Oreochromis niloticus. The first treatment (control) without zeolite, the second treatment (T1) in which natural zeolite was scattered on the bottom of the pond (about 500kg\feddan), while in the third treatment (T2) natural zeolite was used as a mechnical filter where zeolite (500kg) was placed in a concrete pond with dimentions (1.5 m length, 2.30 m width and 90cm height) in which the irrigation water passed through it and then distributed to the ponds by water inlet pipes. The results revealed that application of zeolite in fish ponds improves water quality parameters; decrease heavy metals accumulation in water, sediment and fish organs as well as it increases fish growth parameters. However, proximate chemical composition of the whole fish body of O. niloticus not significantly varied among different treatments. In conclusion, application of zeolite in fish ponds helps to get good fish production and improves water quality and fish health especially, when scattered on the pond bottom than used as filter. Moreover, using zeolite was a truly effective preventive measure for facing fish diseases.

Keywords: Natural zeolite, Water quality, Earthen ponds, Nile tilapia, Performance, Health status