How to Succeed in Vaname Shrimp Polyculture and Fast Harvest Milkfish!

Hello Mr/Ms Shooters! Have you ever heard of vannamei shrimp and milkfish polyculture? Polyculture is a cultivation method that combines the maintenance of 2 fishery commodities in one pond or pool, or in this case, the two commodities are vannamei shrimp and milkfish. In vaname shrimp and milkfish, polyculture is carried out to increase productivity levels with a mutually beneficial relationship. So, how can vaname shrimp and milkfish benefit from each other through polyculture? Find out the answer in this article, come on!

Vaname Shrimp and Milkfish Polyculture Requirements 

Vaname shrimp and milkfish polyculture cannot be done just like that, there must be a number of conditions that you must fulfill during the polyculture. These conditions are:

1. Vaname shrimp and milkfish polyculture should be carried out in ponds with low water salinity. This is done so that the maintenance process becomes much easier.
2. Polyculture must be carried out with types of fish that have different characteristics and eating habits with vannamei shrimp so that there is no competition in getting feed and space for movement.
3. Polyculture cannot be done in intensive cultivation or cultivation with high stocking densities. This is because the density of vannamei shrimp and milkfish which is too high will actually make polyculture unproductive and efficient.

Advantages of Vaname Shrimp Polyculture with Milkfish 

Determination of fishery commodities used in polyculture is one of the problems that are often encountered. Milkfish and vannamei shrimp have different properties or characteristics but have the same environmental requirements. It is these characteristic differences that make both of them suitable for cultivation together with a polyculture system. 

Vaname shrimp and milkfish are the most effective combination of polyculture fishery commodities because both of them can make maximum use of the natural food available in the pond. Vaname shrimp and milkfish polyculture is considered to be able to overcome the problem of moss in ponds because moss is one of the milkfish's natural feeds. That way, moss which is considered to be able to interfere with vannamei shrimp metabolism will be useful for milkfish as natural food.

Vaname Shrimp and Milkfish Polyculture Method 

1. Pond Preparation

For the success of vannamei shrimp and milkfish polyculture, good pond preparation is necessary. The following are the stages of pond preparation needed:

a. Drying

Pond land drying takes 15-30 days, depending on the season. Pond bottom drying during the dry season can take a shorter time than drying during the rainy season. At the drying stage, bund and caren repairs are also carried out to facilitate the polyculture process.

b. Liming and Fertilization

Liming is done after the pond is completely dry. This process is carried out using CaMg (CO3)2 agricultural lime powder which is mixed with water and left for 3-7 days. Liming is done to determine the presence of pests in the pond. If there are pests, you can sprinkle saponins on the pond and leave it for 7-14 days.

If the presence of pests is no longer there, you can apply fertilization by mixing urea and SP36 fertilizer and letting it sit for 7 days. After 7 days, you can fill pond water with a height of 10 cm to grow natural food in the form of klekap and algae which are milkfish and vannamei shrimp food

c. Distribution of Milkfish and Vaname Benur Seeds

Milkfish suitable for polyculture is milkfish with a body length of 7-10 cm with a stocking density of 1 fish/m2. Before stocking them in ponds, you need to map the milkfish seeds first. The map needs to be placed near the pond sluice gate which is given a rectangular waring (hapa) and each corner is given a brace so it doesn't loosen.

Stocking is done at 08.00 in the morning or before 04.00 in the afternoon to avoid too large a difference in temperature from the transport water to the pond water. Before being stocked in ponds, milkfish seedlings must adapt to the temperature of the water in the ponds or undergo an acclimatization process. This adaptation process can be carried out by floating a plastic bag containing milkfish seeds above the surface of the water for 30-60 minutes so that the temperature in the bag is the same as the temperature of the rearing pond water. 

After the temperature of the water bag is equal to the temperature of the pond water, open the plastic bag and add the pond water little by little until the bag is completely filled with pond water. If the milkfish seedlings seem to have adapted to the water in the ponds, the milkfish seeds can be spread to the acclimatization plots. If the seedlings are active and want to get out of the acclimatization plot, open the acclimatization plot slowly and let the milkfish seedlings swim to the rearing pond. After about 1 month, new vannamei shrimp fry can be sown in ponds at a PL size of 7 with a stocking density of 5 individuals/m2.

Stocking of milkfish seeds is done first because it aims to reduce the number of klekap in the enlargement pond. This is because high concentrations of klekap can interfere with the movement and growth of shrimp fry.

2. Maintenance

Maintenance and care of milkfish seeds and vannamei shrimp fry is carried out by controlling the water quality, water volume, and quantity of natural food found in the ponds. In maintaining water quality, fertilization is necessary so that natural food can grow in ponds. If you also want to use pellets as vannamei shrimp feed during polyculture, you can adjust the feed management to normal (non-polyculture) cultivation.

Apart from that, you also need to control the water quality levels (height, salinity, pH, and temperature) once a week because it can affect the growth of the two polyculture commodities. If the water quality has been considered, the quantity also needs to be maintained. You can control the volume of water by adding additional water when the pond water level is below 90 cm. If the pond experiences high fluctuations in water quality, you need to first remove the milkfish and vannamei shrimp and dispose of the bad pond water through the drainage.

In addition to monitoring the quality and quantity of water, you must conduct regular sampling. Sampling was carried out to find out the average weight, weight gain, biomass increase, population estimates, estimates survival rates, and the health condition of milkfish and vannamei shrimp. Sampling consisted of two methods, namely anco sampling and net sampling. Anco sampling was carried out when the shrimp were >30 days and <60 days old. Meanwhile, net sampling was carried out when the shrimp were >60 days old. Usually, sampling is done at 07.00 in the morning because the water temperature is still low at that time to avoid stress on the shrimp.

3. Pest and Disease Control

Pests that usually interfere with the running of the vannamei shrimp and milkfish polyculture are snakes, snapper, tilapia, tilapia, baronang fish, and eels. In addition to pests, various shrimp diseases can also attack at any time. One of the common shrimp diseases found in vannamei shrimp is the white spot virus. However, when growing vannamei shrimp in polyculture, this disease is almost not found in ponds. For milkfish itself, no disease was found because milkfish is a fish that is resistant to disease. You can install a net (waring) at the entrance to the water and gutters so that pests do not enter the pond.

4. Harvesting

In vannamei shrimp and milkfish polyculture, harvesting can be done partially (partially) and totally. However, partial harvesting is only done to harvest vaname shrimp because vaname shrimp maintenance can be done in a short time (3 months). To harvest vannamei shrimp, you can herd the shrimp to the exit which has been fitted with prayang as a container for collecting the shrimp. After being collected in prayang, the shrimp can be immediately lifted and weighed for sale. 

In contrast to partial harvesting, total harvesting is done to harvest milkfish sizes 8 during the 5 month maintenance period and the remaining partial harvest of vannamei shrimp. Milkfish harvesting is done by removing all the water in the grow-out pond and installing a net at the water outlet to prevent the fish from escaping during the water disposal process. When harvesting is complete, the collected milkfish can be washed immediately so that the mud on their bodies can be removed. If the milkfish is clean of mud, you can directly market it.

Consult Vaname Shrimp Polyculture Directly with Experts!