Roles of natural zeolite (clinoptiolite) as a bed medium on growth and body composition of red tilap (Oreochromis sp.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa var longifolia) seedlings in a pisciponic system

Natural zeolite was used as a bed medium for plantation of lettuce seedlings and its effects on growth and chemical composition of red tilapia and lettuce were investigated in a pisciponic system. The place of study was the Aquatic Resources Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, at the University Putra Malaysia, in 2002. The mean individual weight and biomass of fish in the treatment with zeolite were significantly higher (P<0.05) than the control at the end of experimental period. Use of zeoilte as bed media to plant lettuce seedlings significantly (P<0.05) increased the yield of lettuce. The yield of lettuce in zeolite bed medium and control treatments were 1507&plusmn;83 and 275&plusmn;48g, respectively at the end of the experiment. The percentage of protein, fiber and ash in the dry weight of fish were not significantly different (P>0.05) between treatments. The percentage of ash in the dry weight of lettuce in the control was significantly (P<0.05) higher than the zeolite bed medium group. It was concluded that the use of zeolite as bed medium to plant lettuce seedlings could improve culture system performance due to its positive effects in lettuce growth.