Journal of Aquaponics & Agroecology

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  • The Uncomfortable Truth: Are We Starving Our Systems of Real Life?

    The Uncomfortable Truth: Are We Starving Our Systems of Real Life?

    As conventional agricultural practices reach their limits, humanity is turning to innovative methods of food production. Using Heather Paxson’s concept of microbiopolitics (2012) as a framework that highlights how microbial life is integrated into social governance, particularly in food production and safety, this article explores the role of microbes in cultivated meat and aquaponic farming.

     It is impossible to replicate completely the heterogeneity of soil ecosystems without soil itself. The intricate soil associations found in open-ended ecosystems are usually reduced to amplify plant growth in the aquaponic indoor environment. 

    It examines how researchers and producers engage with microbes and considers the potential scenarios of human-microbial coexistence in these systems. First, drawing on ethnographic research in Czechia, the article investigates the role of microbes in production processes within the environments of bioreactors and indoor farms. The analysis highlights the contrast between the sterility of cultivated meat facilities and aquaponic systems, which depend on the labor of specific microbes.

    Second, using speculative fabulation (Haraway 2016), the article explores the broader implications of aquaponics production for microbial communities beyond the production process. Building upon the two-way dynamics of reduction and amplification (Latour 1999), where diminishing one quality is necessary to enhance other attributes, the article examines possible impacts of these novel foods on the environmental and gut microbiomes.

    Regarding aquaponic systems, we identify a potential reduction in the microbial diversity in the human diet produced by way of aquaponics, while the transparency of microbial community structures within aquaponic facilities and the soil microbiome outside these farms may be amplified.

    Source: Senft, Lukáš, Tereza Stöckelová, and Varvara Borisova. “The Microbiopolitics of Novel Foods: The Pro-and Antibiotic Implications of Cultivated Meat and Aquaponic Farming.” Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture 26.1 (2026): 60-72.


  • How Our Food Systems Impact National Health – And What We Can Do!

    How Our Food Systems Impact National Health – And What We Can Do!

    Just released on May 19, 2025, a significant paper called “Food Rx: Integrating horticulture research to improve nutrition and health“ is making waves! This US study dives deep into a national health crisis largely caused by what people are (and aren’t) eating. It’s a wake-up call that has lessons for everyone involved in producing food.

    So, what’s the big deal? Researchers found that not enough fruits and vegetables are being grown or eaten, leading to widespread health issues. They argue that the folks who grow our food (horticulture), nutrition scientists, and medical doctors haven’t been working together closely enough to tackle this problem.

    The paper is a call to action! It pushes for:

    • Growing A LOT more healthy fruits and veggies.
    • Making these healthy foods easy for everyone to get and afford.
    • More research into the best ways to grow super-nutritious food efficiently.
    • A real team effort between food producers, health experts, and doctors.

    How does this affect our work with integrated fish and plant systems? It shines a spotlight on why these systems are so important! By growing fresh, healthy food locally, often with great nutritional benefits, integrated systems can be a key part of the solution to making communities healthier. This paper supports the idea that innovative food production, like the methods we champion, is crucial for a healthier future. Let’s keep leading the way in showing how to grow nutritious food smartly!

  • Friendly Bacteria from Kenya’s Great Lake: A Natural Boost for Aquaponic Fish?

    Friendly Bacteria from Kenya’s Great Lake: A Natural Boost for Aquaponic Fish?

    Could the secret to healthier fish in aquaponics be hiding in plain sight, right in their own water? Exciting findings from Kenya suggest this might be the case. Researchers explored Lake Victoria, looking for tiny natural allies for fish. Their study, “Probiotic properties of Lactobacillus spp. from Lake Victoria as potential feed supplement in aquaponic production system,” set to be published in The Microbe in June 2025, dives into this very question. The goal is to find better ways to keep fish healthy, reducing the need for medicines that can sometimes cause more problems down the line.

    The scientists got their hands wet, so to speak. They collected samples from Nile tilapia – from their skin, gills, and inside their bellies. They also took samples from the lake water and the sediment at the bottom. Their mission? To find a special kind of helpful bacteria called Lactobacillus. Think of these as “good germs” or probiotics. Once they found some candidates, they put them through a series of tough tests in the lab. They needed to see if these tiny organisms could survive the harsh, acidic conditions similar to a fish’s stomach. They also checked if they could handle salty water, as water conditions in tanks can sometimes change. Crucially, they tested if these bacteria could fight off common harmful bacteria, like E. coli and S. aureus, which can make fish sick.

    The team successfully isolated ten different types of Lactobacillus. The results from the lab tests were largely positive. Most of these tiny contenders showed they could indeed survive in very acidic environments. This is important because it means they could likely pass through a fish’s stomach alive and get to work in the intestines. All ten types also coped well with high salt levels, which is a handy trait for life in an aquaponics system. Perhaps most interesting, several of these Lactobacillus types showed they could stop the growth of the harmful bacteria. One particular isolate was a standout performer in this “germ warfare.”

    So, what’s the takeaway for those of us working to improve aquaponics? If these locally sourced bacteria work as well in real fish as they do in the lab, they could become a valuable tool. Using such probiotics could lead to stronger, healthier fish. This, in turn, could mean less reliance on antibiotics and a more natural, sustainable approach to fish farming. Finding these beneficial microbes in the fish’s own environment is a big plus, as they are already adapted to those conditions.

    However, it’s wise to keep our enthusiasm grounded for now. These encouraging results come from laboratory settings. The researchers themselves are clear that the next vital step is to conduct in vivo studies. This means testing these promising bacteria in live fish within actual aquaponic systems to see if they truly boost health and growth. So, while the initial signs from Lake Victoria are good, further research is needed before these tiny helpers are ready for widespread use. This study certainly shines a light on the potential hidden within local ecosystems, a path worth exploring for a more secure food and water future.

  • Can Computers Help Keep Aquaponics Water Healthy?

    Can Computers Help Keep Aquaponics Water Healthy?

    From India comes a research paper, published in April 2025. It’s called “Design and Development of a Machine Learning-Based Decision Support System for Water Quality Prediction in Aquaponic Farming.” The researchers are looking at using computers to help aquaponics farmers. Their goal is to predict if the water is good for fish and plants.

    Keeping aquaponics water just right can be tricky. This new study tried to make it easier. Scientists in India used ‘machine learning’ – teaching computers to find patterns in data. They fed a computer information about water from West Bengal. This included details like water temperature, oxygen levels, and amounts of ammonia and nitrite.

    The computer learned from this data. Its job was to guess if the water was good for plants, bacteria, and different types of fish. And, if the water wasn’t good, the system was designed to suggest ways to fix it. This is a step beyond just knowing there’s a problem; it’s about getting advice on what to do next.

    So, how well did the computer do? The study says their system made correct guesses about 9 out of 10 times in tests (around 90% accuracy). That’s a good start. The computer also helped show which water details were most important. Things like dissolved oxygen (how much air is in the water), nitrite, and ammonia seemed to be key clues for good or bad water. The team even built a basic website where a farmer could enter water test results and get advice.

    Ideas like this could be really helpful. If computers can warn farmers about water problems early, it might save fish and plants. This could make aquaponics more reliable. But, we should also be a little careful. This system worked well in tests with specific data. Real farms have all sorts of surprises. The researchers themselves say more work is needed to make it even better. Computers learning in a lab is one thing; tools working daily on a busy farm is another.

    This Indian study offers an interesting look at using smart technology for aquaponics. Using computers to predict water quality and guide farmers is a promising idea. If these systems prove reliable and easy to use on many farms, they could be great tools for better aquaponics.

  • FLOCponics: A Boost for Catfish and Lettuce, But Eels Prove Tricky

    FLOCponics: A Boost for Catfish and Lettuce, But Eels Prove Tricky

    Could a special mix of microbes in fish water, known as biofloc, be the key to growing more fish and plants together? A recent paper from South Korea, titled “Indoor application of a coupled FLOCponics system with caipira lettuce (Lactuca sativa) affects the growth performance and water characteristics for Far Eastern catfish (Silurus asotus) and tropical eel (Anguilla bicolor)” and made available as a preprint in May 2025, explores this very idea. Researchers investigated if combining biofloc technology (BFT) with aquaponics, a system they call “FLOCponics,” could improve how we farm these high-value species.

    The study compared traditional flow-through systems with BFT alone and the FLOCponics setup for growing Far Eastern catfish and tropical eels, alongside caipira lettuce. The good news? Both catfish and eels grew better in the FLOCponics and BFT systems than in the standard flow-through tanks. This suggests the biofloc, which is a mix of tiny living things like bacteria, might be helping the fish thrive, perhaps by providing extra food or keeping the water cleaner. For the plants, lettuce grown with water from the catfish tanks did just as well as lettuce grown in a typical hydroponics system. This is a big plus, showing fish water can indeed be rich enough for healthy crops.

    However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. When lettuce was paired with the tropical eels in the FLOCponics system, the plant roots started to degrade, leading to smaller lettuce. The researchers think this might be due to too many solids from the eel system or perhaps changes in water chemistry, like higher sodium from pH adjustments, affecting the delicate roots. Water quality, in terms of harmful ammonia and nitrite, remained stable across the tests, which is important for fish health. Nitrate, a plant nutrient, was used up by the lettuce in the FLOCponics system, which is exactly what we want to see.

    This research hints at the potential of FLOCponics to make aquaculture more efficient. Yet, the eel-lettuce problem highlights a critical point: what works for one fish species might not work for another, or for all plants. It’s a reminder that while new methods are exciting, they often need careful tweaking. As this is a preprint study, it hasn’t yet undergone the full scrutiny of peer review by other scientists.

    Still, it provides useful food for thought on how we can better integrate fish and plant farming, though we’ll need more research to iron out the kinks, especially for sensitive species combinations.

  • Waste to Wonder: Could Palm Kernel Shells Boost Your Aquaponics?

    Waste to Wonder: Could Palm Kernel Shells Boost Your Aquaponics?

    Finding smart, low-cost ways to grow food is more important than ever. Could a common waste product help make aquaponics systems better and cheaper? Researchers in Nigeria explored this idea in their study, “The Effectiveness of Using Palm Kernel Shells as Growth Medium in a Flood and Drain Aquaponic System,” published in March 2025. This work from Nigeria offers a practical look at using local resources for sustainable farming.

    The team set out to see if palm kernel shells – often leftover after processing oil palms – could work well as a place for plant roots to grow and as a natural filter in an aquaponic setup. In their system, they cultivated Amaranth, a type of leafy green vegetable, using these shells as the grow bed. They also raised African catfish. For 45 days, they kept a close eye on the water quality, how fast the fish put on weight, and how tall the plants grew. They then compared the fish growth to another group of catfish raised in a standard tank, and plant growth to those grown in soil.

    So, what did they discover? The palm kernel shells appeared to perform well. Key water quality measures like pH and dissolved oxygen stayed within a healthy range for the fish, the Amaranth plants, and the vital bacteria that convert fish waste into plant nutrients. The fish in the palm kernel shell system grew a bit larger and were slightly more efficient at turning their food into weight compared to the fish in the control tank. The plants also grew a tiny bit faster than the plants grown conventionally in soil. The shells effectively helped in the nitrification process, an important step in cleaning the water.

    This is interesting news, especially because palm kernel shells are widely available in many regions and are often just considered agricultural waste. Using them in aquaponics could potentially lower costs for farmers and make the whole system more eco-friendly by repurposing a byproduct. It’s a good example of turning potential trash into a useful tool for producing food.

    However, it’s wise to look at these findings with a practical eye. While positive, the improvements in fish and plant growth were modest. The researchers themselves point out that more investigation is needed. For instance, they suggest further studies to find the ideal operational timings for these systems and to directly compare palm kernel shells with other common growth media like gravel or clay balls.

    In conclusion, while palm kernel shells might not be a revolutionary breakthrough, this Nigerian study indicates they are a viable and sensible option for aquaponics. They seem particularly promising in areas where these shells are abundant and easily sourced. This research serves as a valuable reminder that sometimes, straightforward, local solutions can play a significant role in advancing our food and water security goals.