Cultivation of vegetables in an integrated biofloc system with nile tilapia

The urbanization process poses challenges in ensuring adequate food supplies for growing populations. FLOCponic offers a sustainable solution by optimizing space, water, and nutrients to produce both fish and vegetables in a single system. This study aimed to improve food production efficiency by integrating biofloc fish farming with vegetable cultivation. Surplus nutrients from fish feed and waste were utilized to grow vegetables, maximizing nutrient use and preventing system imbalances. Twelve experimental units were set up: four with Nile tilapia and lettuce, four with Nile tilapia and arugula, and four control units with only Nile tilapia. Each unit contained 80 tilapia fingerlings (3.39 g ±0.02). The presence of vegetables maintained higher alkalinity than the control, with the lettuce group showing the lowest TAN levels (0.14 mg. L−1) compared to the control (0.33 mg. L−1) and arugula (0.34 mg. L−1). The lettuce group also improved nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) retention by 2.55 % and 21.75 %. Integrating vegetables improved nutrient utilization and reduced TAN and NH3 concentrations, enhancing overall nitrogen and phosphorus absorption. •The presence of vegetables reduces nitrogenous compounds in biofloc.•Lettuce showed greater adaptability to the system integrated with tilapia in biofloc.•The integration between vegetables and fish increases N and P retention