Influence of a Bacterial Amendment on Water Quality in Small Research Ponds for Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, Production.

There has been considerable interest worldwide in applying bacterial inocula to channel catfish ponds for improving water quality, especially for acceleration of ammonia nitrogen oxidation through bacterial nitrification. The effects of a selected bacterial amendment on water quality in small research ponds for channel catfish production were evaluated at the E. W. Shell Fisheries Center, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Three ponds were treated with the bacterial amendment Waste & Sludge Reducer™ (Keeton Industries, Wellington, CO, USA) at three times the dose recommended by the manufacturer every 2 wk, and three ponds served as controls. There were nonconsistent minor differences in water quality between ponds treated with a commercial bacterial amendment and control ponds on several sampling dates. However, the average concentrations of water quality variables did not differ ( P > 0.05) between the treatments and control. Channel catfish yield was not improved by applying the bacterial amendment. This study demonstrates that the bacterial amendment was of no benefit in improving water quality in well-managed catfish ponds where stocking rates, feeding rates, and amount of aeration are balanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]