In a 30-day experiment, Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis PL₂₅ (25 ± 10 mg; 17.9 ± 1.6 mm) were raised in nine circular floating cages with a stocking density of 1000 shrimp m⁻³. Three treatments were evaluated: (1) culture in BFT system plus a commercial feed supply (BFT+CF); (2) culture in BFT system without feed supply (BFT) and (3) culture in clear water with feed supply (control). Post-larvae (PL) final weight (218.9, 236.5 and 176.0 mg, for BFT+CF, BFT and control respectively), final biomass (17.9, 15.7 and 8.2 g) and weight gain (193.9, 211.5 and 151.0 mg) were similar in the BFT regardless of whether they were fed a commercial diet (P>0.05), but were both significantly higher than the control (P0.05). The biofloc analysis identified five main microorganism groups: protozoa (ciliate and flagellate), rotifers, cyanobacteria (filamentous and unicellular) and pennate diatoms. Free living bacteria and attached bacteria in bulk were 25.73 ± 8.63 and 0.86 ± 3.17 × 10⁶ mL⁻¹ respectively. Proximate analysis in the biofloc indicated high levels of crude protein (30.4%). Results confirmed favourable nutritional quality of biofloc, and enhanced growth and production of F. brasiliensis PL in biofloc systems.

Farfantepenaeus paulensis juveniles (72 ± 24 mg), were reared in a suspended microbial flocs system and fed practical diets containing increasing amounts of crude protein (250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 g kg⁻¹ CP). Development of microbial flocs was promoted by high aeration rates and fertilization with wheat bran and molasses. Flocs were composed of detritus in the form of flocculated matter colonized by heterotrophic bacteria, cocoid and filamentous cyanobacteria, flagellate and ciliate protozoa and rotifers. Proximate composition analysis of the suspended microbial floc showed CP levels of 304 g kg⁻¹. After 45 days, mean shrimp survival were above 89%, with no significant differences between treatments. Shrimp fed diets with 350 g kg⁻¹ or higher CP content achieved significant higher (P < 0.05) final weight (0.66–0.68 g), weight gain (0.58–0.61 g) and instantaneous growth rate (0.049–0.050), with feed conversion rates (2.17–2.30) significantly lower (P < 0.05). Results show that, when rearing is carried out in a suspended microbial flocs system, dietary CP levels can be kept at 350 g kg⁻¹. Furthermore, results confirm that microbial‐based systems allow shrimp culture without compromising the surrounding environment and shows the possible reduction of production costs and fish meal dependence.

Assessment of fish trophic ecology in natural environments is imperative to understand biological and ecological requirements, supporting the management and conservation of populations and environments. There are several methods available to assess fish diets, generically divided in noninvasive approaches, such as underwater observations, and invasive approaches, such as analyses of lipid biomarkers, stable isotopes and stomach contents. Each one has application assumptions and conditions that must be aligned with study objectives and methodological criteria, assuring results robustness and allowing comparability among different studies. This review addresses the advantages and limitations of these methods, highlighting those applied for stomach analysis (SA). This work presents complete updated review concerning qualitative and quantitative methods applied to SA: sixty equations were reviewed comprising four formulae to value stomachs per se and, for stomach content analysis, eight single indices, fifteen composite indices and thirty-three equations related to modeling approaches. The review presents different potentialities associated to these methods, standardizes distinct names applied to a same method, and provides clarifications on confusion sources due to the use of same names in distinct methods, a source of scientific mistakes detected in the specialized literature.