Introduction:

The growing Earth population requires the aquaculture production expansion and intensification. Interest in biofloc-based systems has increased because they can provide biosecurity, are financially sustainable, and can be applied in a variety of systems.

Objective:

To carry out a scientific literature review about the importance of biofloc in aquaculture.

Materials and Methods:

An information search was carried out in specialized scientific literature; synthesizing the most important, for which it was possible to define the concept of Biofloc, its most relevant characteristics, development conditions, as well as other aspects of vital importance for this technology understanding and application.

Results and Discussion:

Bioflocs are a community formed by microorganisms associated with each other in a suspended substrate that responds to trophic mesh dynamics. Biofloc development is affected by many factors and its nutritional quality is similar than the food obtained by species grown in their natural habitat. The most used carbon sources in biofloc systems are: sugar, molasses and starch; however, agro-industrial waste is rich in bioactive compounds, so it can be used as raw material for microbial growth.

Conclusions:

Although much remains to be known, the fact that biofloc technology conceptually declared the wastes as an opportunity for on-site production makes it a possible and eco-friendly alternative.

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