AquaGrow Solutions
Emergency quick guide
Breathing distress, stopped air supply or new deaths? Contact your local aquaculture technician now. These are first steps, not a diagnosis or treatment recipe.
A sign is a clue. Not a diagnosis.
Keep people safe around electricity, water and chemicals. Check oxygen and safe air support. Contain suspect stock, equipment and water; do not release untreated suspect water into shared systems.
Farm (Grow-out)
01Water quality
Low dissolved oxygen in shrimp ponds
Shrimp crowd the edges or surface, especially before sunrise.
- Start or increase safe mechanical aeration; use backup power if needed. Keep people away from live electrical equipment.
- Pause feeding while shrimp are distressed and oxygen is low. Do not add fertiliser or oxygen-demanding inputs.
- Recheck DO as aeration operates. Arrange urgent technical help if shrimp remain distressed or DO does not recover.
- Record readings and losses. Plan any water exchange with a technician using tested, suitable reservoir water; do not pump in unknown canal water.
02Water quality
Power failure and stopped aerators
Aerators stop and the backup supply does not start.
- Use the tested backup supply and safe backup aeration. Only trained people should operate electrical changeover equipment.
- Measure DO at representative locations. Ask for urgent technical help if aeration cannot be restored.
- Pause feed while oxygen support is interrupted; avoid handling shrimp or adding inputs.
- Keep checking shrimp and DO until aeration is stable. If oxygen falls or deaths start, follow the low-DO guide immediately.
03Disease
White spot disease (WSSV)
Sudden loss of appetite and deaths; shell spots may be present or absent.
- Contact an aquatic animal health professional promptly; check oxygen and aeration immediately.
- Record when feeding changed, the daily mortality and any recent water or animal movement.
- Arrange sampling before applying unplanned treatments; coordinate containment with neighbouring farms and fisheries authorities where required.
- Keep affected stock, equipment and water separate. Agree on safe disposal and any harvest or discharge with your professional.
04Pond bottom
Hydrogen sulphide and black pond bottom
Black sludge and stressed shrimp raise concern, but smell cannot confirm safety.
- Keep people out of sludge pits and enclosed tanks. Move away and seek emergency medical help if gas exposure causes dizziness or breathing trouble; do not attempt an unprotected rescue.
- Maintain safe aeration without churning black sludge into the pond. Pause feeding if shrimp are distressed.
- Call a qualified aquaculture technician for sulphide, DO and pH checks and a pond-specific recovery plan.
- Do not drag the bottom or apply acids, oxidisers or a product mix as an emergency experiment. Use controlled waste or water removal only under technical direction.
05Algae
Algal bloom crash
Pond colour changes quickly and oxygen may fall, especially at night.
- Increase safe aeration and measure DO; treat surface crowding or low DO as an emergency.
- Pause feed if shrimp are distressed. Stop fertiliser and unplanned pond inputs.
- Ask a technician to assess the bloom and water tests before any correction. Do not apply an algaecide to a crashing bloom.
- Monitor through the night and before sunrise. Use only a tested, controlled water-management plan.
06Water quality
Sudden pH change
pH changes sharply after rain, a bloom change or an input.
- Repeat the pH test with a checked meter, but do not delay help if shrimp are distressed.
- Maintain aeration and pause feed if shrimp are distressed. Stop unplanned inputs.
- Call a technician with the readings, recent input names and water-change history. Do not add acid or quicklime to chase a target number.
- Make only a gradual, test-based correction planned by a technician; retest after each planned change.
07Water quality
Sudden salinity change
Salinity changes after heavy rain, pumping or an abrupt water exchange.
- Check salinity at representative points and depths and record how quickly it changed.
- Maintain safe aeration and monitor DO. Pause feed if shrimp are distressed.
- Stop unplanned water additions. Do not dump salt or mineral mixtures into the pond as a quick fix.
- Ask a technician for a gradual, tested water-management plan. Do not suddenly reverse the change or flush untreated water out.
Hatchery
01Water quality
Low oxygen in larval or seed tanks
Weak swimming, crowding or deaths with poor air flow or a falling oxygen reading.
- Restore the planned, safe air supply or trained backup operation. Keep people away from faulty electrical equipment.
- Measure DO and inspect larvae while calling the hatchery technician; do not wait for visible deaths.
- Avoid extra feed or unplanned inputs during distress. Have the technician adjust the stage-specific feeding plan.
- Monitor recovery across affected tanks. Do not move weak stock into clean batches to make space.
02Water quality
Power cut or air-blower failure
Air lines stop bubbling or several tanks lose air at the same time.
- Activate the tested backup system using trained staff. Never run a fuel-powered generator in an enclosed room.
- Keep people clear of wet electrical equipment and call a qualified electrician for faults.
- Check DO and animal condition in affected tanks. Adjust feed only with the technician’s stage-specific plan.
- Record the outage and check recovery after restart; watch tanks that lost circulation or temperature control.
03Water quality
Residual disinfectant or unsuitable treated water
Weakness or deaths follow treated-water use or an accidental input.
- Stop the suspected water or chemical supply and keep the batch clearly identified.
- Call the hatchery technician immediately. Maintain safe air support and keep workers away from hazardous chemical exposure.
- Follow a technician-led plan using verified suitable water; do not transfer distressed animals into clean production units without a containment plan.
- Do not mix neutralisers, acids, disinfectants or other products. Retain labels and ask the laboratory what samples are needed.
04Larval rearing
Sudden larval deaths: first checks
A tank loses larvae rapidly or several tanks decline together.
- Call the hatchery health professional now and restore the planned safe air supply; check DO.
- Stop suspected new inputs or water supplies while retaining labels and batch records. Avoid an unplanned whole-system correction.
- Keep the affected lot, tools and waste separate. Do not dispatch seed, mix batches or release untreated suspect water.
- Record the timeline and ask the laboratory how to collect samples before applying treatment. Do not wait for test results to address a clear air failure.
AI-assisted educational content and translations, source-checked 17 October 2026. Not an individual diagnosis or prescription. Independent aquaculture-health and native-language specialist approvals have not been supplied. Sources do not endorse AquaGrow.