Influence of pond water total alkalinity on disease dynamics in Indian tropical freshwater aquaculture: Evidence from case studies
摘要
The study was conducted in the freshwater aquaculture farms for a period of 5 years where pond water samples (N = 831) were subjected to an estimation of the total alkalinity which is one of the important parameters for the fish culture system. Further, the collection of pond water total alkalinity and fish health status was recorded upon each sampling. After metadata analysis, it was found that there is a significant correlation between the total alkalinity of pond water and the prevalence of various infectious diseases in farmed food fish while other water quality parameters were at an optimal range. In addition, the correlation values were found to be + 0.95, + 0.32, and − 0.77 while the total alkalinity of that pond water was ≤ 40 ppm, ≤ 100 ppm, and ≥ 100 ppm respectively. The results of the study infer that lower alkalinity favors the incidence of infectious diseases in farm food fish. The fish health-related data revealed that the occurrence of infectious diseases (presence of etiological agents) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in farmed food fish while the total alkalinity range of pond water was ≥ 100 ppm (mg/L). Hence, it could be concluded that the variations in total alkalinity ranges of pond water considerably affect the fish health and occurences of infectious disease in freshwater aquaculture systems in Indian tropical climates.