The effect of swimming activity of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on water quality and fish-plant growth performance in aquaponics

In this thesis study, swimming activity and feed restriction applications were applied to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in different aquaponic systems to investigate how they affects the water quality of the aquaponic system, the growth performance of the fish (live weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion rate, etc.), fatty acids and amino acids profiles in fish meat, some enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in fish and, growth performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. elmaria). In each system, 108 juvenile rainbow trout with an average weight of 26.54±0.36 grams and 60 10-day-old lettuce seedlings were placed and the study lasted for 42 days. The study was carried out with four different groups. These groups were; The group kept in still water (at 0 BL/s current) and fed until satiation (SN group), the group kept in still water (at 0 BL/s current) and with 25% feed restriction (SK group), approximately one fish total length per second (1 BL/s) and until satiation fed group (YN group) is in the form of the group (YK group), which is kept in the current at a rate of approximately one fish total length (1 BL/s) per second and 25% feed restriction is applied. As a result, the application of 1 fish length/second current in the fish tank increase the feed intake, increase the length of the fish, contribute positively to growth, increase the hepatosomatic index, add more nutrient to the water, increase the feed intake, and had a positive effect on plant yield if adequate nutritional supplementation is provided. When sufficient nutrients were not given, it has been determined that the growth of the fish and the efficiency of the system were adversely affected (p<0.05).