In vivo statistical evaluation of efficancy of a biological agent on water quality in the rearing of ornamental Cyprinus carpio

Abstract

A biological treatment, containing a consortium of Bacillus species isolated from natural environments, was formulated into a prototype product. Experiments were aimed at demonstrating the effects of the prototype on water quality. Trials were conducted in six small- scale model systems. Three aquaria were treated with the prototype product and the other three were treated with tap water as a placebo. The aquaria were monitored for approximately 80 days, after which the contents of each of the aquaria were homogenised and sampled. Analyses for indicators of water quality were conducted. The results revealed that pathogen counts, nitrate, chlorophyll and phosphate were significantly lower (p <0.05) in the test systems than in the control systems. This observation verified the efficacy of the consortium of biological agents selected, based on in vitrostudies in the in vivotrial