ABSTRACT
Distillery spent wash was used as a carbon source to maintain the C:N ratio at 10:1 in the fish culture ponds and screening of bacteria were done fortnightly in 180 days culture. The results indicated the presence of EPS producing bacteria in biofloc based Nile Tilapia aquaculture systems. In the present study 7 bacterial species isolated from Biofloc culture water were identified as EPS producing bacteria. The EPS extracted from bacterial isolates of biofloc culture water varies from 0.33-1.25g/L with the maximum production in Bacillus cereus. Tilapia is one of the widely cultured fish globally in various aquaculture systems. However, tilapia production was hugely affected by emerging disease outbreaks thereby hindering the development of aquaculture industry. The current study proved the presence of EPS producing bacteria in the biofloc ponds providing the optimal environment for the flocculation and sludge settlement. The identified isolates can be mass cultured and deployed in the bioremediation of aquaculture effluents.
