Production performance of freshwater redclaw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus, in an aquaponics system based on phytoremediation technology

Abstract

Background - The well-known freshwater redclaw crayfish are from the genus Cherax (Olszewski 1980). One
species of freshwater lobster which is included in the genus Cherax is Cherax quadricarinatus or commonly
known as redclaw crayfish which originates from the northern Australian continent (Queensland and Northern
Territory) and southern Papua New Guinea (Munasinghe et al 2004). Freshwater crayfish have a promising future
in the fishing industry. Apart from being easy to maintain, crayfish are resistant to disease, omnivorous, grow
quickly and have a high egg production capacity. Freshwater crayfish deserve to be widely developed in society in
terms of technical aspects of cultivation and market potential, so that they can increase economic value (Jones
1995). The development of the freshwater lobster business cannot be separated from a high market demand,
especially the export market. Demand for freshwater crayfish for consumption coming from several countries such
as Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Japan and Korea. Australia, New Zealand, France, the
Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Canada and the United States make crayfish a favorite food because they
believe it is healthier than seafood (FAO 2016). FAO noted that there are at least 13 largest freshwater lobster
producing countries, namely Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Indonesia, Belize, China, Israel,
Morocco, Panama, Spain and the United States (Parnes & Sagi 2022). As one of the freshwater lobster producing
countries, Indonesia needs efforts to increase production through hatcheries. Freshwater lobster hatchery
activities are often hampered by low survival rates and seed rearing techniques that are still difficult to understand
(Jones 1995). The problem faced in freshwater crayfish cultivation activities is cultivation waste such as ammonia
(NH3). This causes a decrease in the quality of cultivation water and can cumulatively cause a decrease in lobster
performance and death. The main sources of cultivation waste that have the potential to pollute the cultivation
environment are uneaten feed residue and excretory products such as feces, urine and metabolic waste (Cripps &
Bergheim 2000). The accumulation of food waste and fish waste during nursery often causes a decrease in water
quality in nursery ponds, resulting in toxic effects on fish. The toxicity of ammonia depends on several factors such
as the life stage of the fish. Some studies have reported more influence of ammonia on growth performance (Lin
et al 2002). Ammonia is the main nitrogenous waste product excreted by aquatic biota, existing in equilibrium as
ammonia molecules (NH3) and ammonium ions (NH4+) in the aquatic environment (Gomu?ka et al 2014).
Conventional water quality management can be done by changing cultivation water periodically, but it is less
effective because it requires quite a lot of water and is expensive (Rezagama et al 2017). Cultivation wastewater
containing organic materials will be used by plants as nutrients for growth (Sikawa & Yakupiyiyage 2010). The
principle of a recirculation system is the reuse of water that has been released from cultivation activities (Effendi et
al 2015). The advantage of a recirculation system is that it can minimize the use of water and reduce organic
materials such as ammonia, nitrite, and pH buffers (Yanong 2012). Phytoremediation with aquatic plant through
aquaponic system is an integrated system between aquaculture and hydroponic using recirculation system. The
waste of this system can be absorbed by aquatic plant. In aquaponics, nutrient-rich effluent from fish tanks is used
as nutrient source of hydroponic production beds for growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers. This negates the
cost of a biofilter used for other recirculating aquaculture systems, and is more environmentally sustainable
(Allsopp et al 2009). Phytoremediation is a cheap and energy-saving alternative method that acts on biological
processes, where plants are used to remove nutrients and waste from the cultivation medium (McGee & Circha
2000). There are advantages to using phytoremediation: (i) it is economically feasible phytoremediation is an
autotrophic system powered by solar energy, so it is easy to manage, and installation and maintenance costs are
low, and (ii) it is environmentally friendly, can reduce exposure to pollutants in the environment and ecosystem
(Zhang et al 2014). The formulation of the problem in this research is: whether the use of phytoremediation
technology by plants is able to reduce waste (zero waste) from crayfish cultivation activities and whether reducing
this waste can improve crayfish growth performance. This research aims to determine the ability of
phytoremediation of freshwater crayfish waste by water spinach and mustard greens plants, to determine the
physiological profile and performance of crayfish maintained using a phytoremediation-based aquaponics system.
Comparative physiological studies of hematology and blood biochemistry of several lobster species are of great
interest. A number of cultivable crustacean species have been examined for hematological properties to
determine the range of normal values and deviations, which may indicate disturbances in physiological processes
(Lesmana et al 2022).
Purpose - This research aims to determine the ability of phytoremediation of freshwater redclaw crayfish (Cherax
quadricarinatus) waste by water spinach and mustard greens, to determine the physiological profile and
performance of C. quadricarinatus maintained with the system of phytoremediation-based aquaponics.
methodology - Material and Method Containers and media research. The experiment was conducted in an indoor
laboratory using 20 containers (for 5 treatments in 4 replications) of 56 x 40 x 18 cm3 in aquaponic systems. The
treatment consisted of four containers without plant, four containers with 5 water spinach plant, four containers
with 10 water spinach plant, four containers with 5 mustard greens plant and four containers with 10 mustard
greens plant. Crayfish. Specimens of C. quadricarinatus an average body weight of 17 g ind-1, served as
experimental animal. C. quadricarinatus were obtained from Ciherang Lobster Farm catches in West Java
Province, Bogor District, Indonesia.
Findings - Parameters that were observed include plant growth performance, phytoremediation profile by plants,
physiological profile and growth performance of freshwater crayfish. Aquaponic system using water spinach and
mustard greens reduced wastewater in freshwater C. quadricarinatus culture, particularly the nitrate and ammonia
(NH3), by 83.33-90.91% and 38.09-59.09%, respectively. In this study, the AST and ALT values in the controls
were higher compared to treatments, this shows that C. quadricarinatus is experiencing stress. The cultivation
wastewater containing unused C. quadricarinatus feed and feces could support the growth of spinach and
mustard green at aquaponic system without nutrient addition
Originality - Parameters that were observed include plant growth performance, phytoremediation profile by
plants, physiological profile and growth performance of freshwater crayfish. Aquaponic system using water
spinach and mustard greens reduced wastewater in freshwater C. quadricarinatus culture, particularly the nitrate
and ammonia (NH3), by 83.33-90.91% and 38.09-59.09%, respectively. In this study, the AST and ALT values in
the controls were higher compared to treatments, this shows that C. quadricarinatus is experiencing stress. The
cultivation wastewater containing unused C. quadricarinatus feed and feces could support the growth of spinach
and mustard green at aquaponic system without nutrient addition