Improving the Efficiency of Lambari Production and Diet Assimilation Using Integrated Aquaculture with Benthic Species

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Editor,

the manuscript is very fluent, in general clear, well organized and contextualized with respect to current literature. The subject matter is of interest to the scientific community dealing with aquaculture.

I would like to make just a few small notes that in my opinion could improve the manuscript for publication:
- consider changing the title to "Improving the efficiency of lambari production and [...]"
- please take care of scientific notations as superscripts (for example in the abstract). At line 125 I think it would be better to numerically express dissolved oxygen (not "three").
- With regard to Latin names there is a need for greater uniformity: in my opinion it would be better to report the full name in brackets (for example, Astyanax lacustris) the first time it is cited in the text and then abbreviated (A. lacustris) all the following times . Authors should perhaps consult the editor about it.

METHODS
- an illustrative scheme (or a timeline) to support the description of the experiment (paragraph 2.1) would enrich the paper and facilitate its interpretation.
- The authors please specify on what basis the stocking densities of the experiment were chosen
- paragraph 2.2: it would be optimal to provide more information on the feed used: composition and main nutritional characteristics (beyond the protein content)
- table 1: why is temperature capitalized? Then I would suggest making a separate column for units of measure.

DISCUSSION
- line 194: "data available" by whom and where?
- Please expand the final part of the discussion regarding the future limits and prospects of this research.
- a brief discussion on the economic sustainability of the experiment carried out would also be interesting. This is often mentioned in the paper but not in depth. The authors could make economic arguments on the various scenarios explored, perhaps proposing a simplified cost-benefit analysis.

Author Response

The manuscript is very fluent, in general clear, well organized and contextualized with respect to current literature. The subject matter is of interest to the scientific community dealing with aquaculture.

Author´s answer: Many thanks for your kind words and good suggestions to improve the MS.

I would like to make just a few small notes that in my opinion could improve the manuscript for publication:
- consider changing the title to "Improving the efficiency of lambari production and [...]"

Authors' answer: Done

- please take care of scientific notations as superscripts (for example in the abstract).

Authors´ answer: We have looked at the entire MS and realized that these notations are correct in the original version. These wrong notations probably appeared when the MS was uploaded.

At line 125 I think it would be better to numerically express dissolved oxygen (not "three").

Auhtors´ answer: Done.

- With regard to Latin names there is a need for greater uniformity: in my opinion it would be better to report the full name in brackets (for example, Astyanax lacustris) the first time it is cited in the text and then abbreviated (A. lacustris) all the following times . Authors should perhaps consult the editor about it.

Authors´ answer: We have revised the entire MS. Now, we only spell out the genus a second time in the method session to describe the species used in the experiment or when it starts a new sentence.

METHODS
- an illustrative scheme (or a timeline) to support the description of the experiment (paragraph 2.1) would enrich the paper and facilitate its interpretation.

Authors´ answer: Very good idea. We have provided a timeline, which certainly enriches the MS and facilitates everyone to understand.

- The authors please specify on what basis the stocking densities of the experiment were chosen

Authors´answer: There is no significant information available in the literature on this subject; thus, we have chosen the density of lambari currently used in larger farms. The densities of M amazonicum and P. lineatus were set a little bit lower than generally used in monocultures. This information was added to the MS.

paragraph 2.2: it would be optimal to provide more information on the feed used: composition and main nutritional characteristics (beyond the protein content)

Authors´ answer: Done

- table 1: why is temperature capitalized? Then I would suggest making a separate column for units of measure.

Authors´answer: We have capitalized the first letter of all variables. It is standardized, now. In addition, we created a separate column for units. The table is certainly improved with your suggestions.

DISCUSSION
- line 194: "data available" by whom and where?

Authors´ answer: We have added to the MS that these data come from a recent survey not published yet.

- Please expand the final part of the discussion regarding the future limits and prospects of this research.

Authors´ answer: Done. It is much better now.

- a brief discussion on the economic sustainability of the experiment carried out would also be interesting. This is often mentioned in the paper but not in depth. The authors could make economic arguments on the various scenarios explored, perhaps proposing a simplified cost-benefit analysis.

Author´s answer: A very comprehensive economic analysis in different scenarios, including cost-return, cash flow, and indicators of financial feasibility is in the phase of conclusion. It will be published in another article. We have acknowledged it in the final discussion and claimed that the results are positive.

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper describes some very interesting results and is well organized. However, there are some points that are not well described. I recommend the following improvements.

■L54-56; provide specific information on Lambari's production trends. It could be shown in a graph.

■L219-221; does the total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentration (390-6100 μg L-1 and 16-390 μg L-1 , respectively) in this study correspond to nitrogen and phosphorus-rich water according to Kimpara et al. It would be interesting to add a discussion on this point.

■I recommend the addition of A graphical abstract (GA). Likewise, we recommend adding the option "conclusion". This is because the reader's attention is focused on the GA, summary, and conclusion.

■Other than that; how about attaching photos of yellow tail lambari, Amazon river prawn, and curimbata?

Author Response

Many thanks for your good suggestions to improve the MS. Please, find my comments below.

■L54-56; provide specific information on Lambari's production trends. It could be shown in a graph.

Authors´answer: there is no data on lambari production year by year to make a graph. Thus, we have added the production data from 2019, which were published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2021 and is really trustable.

■L219-221; does the total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentration (390-6100 μg L-1 and 16-390 μg L-1 , respectively) in this study correspond to nitrogen and phosphorus-rich water according to Kimpara et al. It would be interesting to add a discussion on this point.

Authors´ answer: Done.

■I recommend the addition of A graphical abstract (GA). Likewise, we recommend adding the option "conclusion". This is because the reader's attention is focused on the GA, summary, and conclusion.

Authors´ answer: Very good ideas. We have provided a GA and included a Conclusion session. The MS was improved with these modifications.

■Other than that; how about attaching photos of yellow tail lambari, Amazon river prawn, and curimbata?

Authors´answer: We think that it is not necessary because many high-quality photos of the three species are available on the internet. Just to add the name of species on google and people have access.

Reviewer 3 Report

In freshwater, total amounts of dissolved solids are often used instead of salinity. Some conductivity probes express the results in conductivity as well as TDS. These probes assume a constant relationship between conductivity and TDS. It is desirable to discuss it in the section of the results of Table 1. Because they did not use measurement of salinity and ammonium concentration to define the quality of water at different levels of the column, it can be added to the discussion. 

Can the survival of organisms only be justified by the predation of birds ??? Is it possible that the short time of the experiment and the number of organisms per square meter were less and this did not impact the experiment? 

In the conclusions section, the authors comment: The experiment was carried out under conditions very similar to commercial farms, and therefore, the results are directly applicable, requiring few management adaptations to lambari monoculture farms ....... It is suggested that this comment in the Materials and methods section, comment fully on this, which the authors conclude. 

Author Response

Many thanks for the suggestions. Please, find my comments below.

In freshwater, total amounts of dissolved solids are often used instead of salinity. Some conductivity probes express the results in conductivity as well as TDS. These probes assume a constant relationship between conductivity and TDS. It is desirable to discuss it in the section of the results of Table 1. Because they did not use measurement of salinity and ammonium concentration to define the quality of water at different levels of the column, it can be added to the discussion. 

Authors´answer: We did not have data on TDS, but we have data on Total Suspended Solids, which was added to table 1. Considering we used fresh water, and that the conductivity is very low (closed to 135 µS cm-1) we think that TDS is not necessary to characterize the water.

Can the survival of organisms only be justified by the predation of birds ??? Is it possible that the short time of the experiment and the number of organisms per square meter were less and this did not impact the experiment?

Authors´ answer:  Please, note that we have written in the MS “Mortality of yellow tail lambari in the present study and commercial farms may be caused by predation by birds and aquatic insects, susceptibility of the species to management, and the lack of a scientific-based farming protocol”. Thus, mortality may be due to many factors.

On the other hand, I am sorry, but I could not understand what you mean in the claim “Is it possible that the short time of the experiment and the number of organisms per square meter were less and this did not impact the experiment?”

In the conclusions section, the authors comment: The experiment was carried out under conditions very similar to commercial farms, and therefore, the results are directly applicable, requiring few management adaptations to lambari monoculture farms ....... It is suggested that this comment in the Materials and methods section, comment fully on this, which the authors conclude. 

Authors´ answer: Very well observed. Thanks. We have added this information in the method session now.