wcm.02.2025.307.315

Aquaculture plays a critical role in global food security, although sustainable water quality management remains a key concern. Farmers that solely raise prawns or tilapia underutilize ponds. Prawns reside along the substrate and effectively use the benthic production, whereas fish mostly inhabit the water column and hardly ever explore the bottom. Consequently, both species’ pond-based monoculture systems leave a substantial portion of the installations unutilized. Significant waste accumulation on the bottom from monocultured tilapia may be discharged into the environment. This review paper analyses the effectiveness of monoculture and polyculture systems in maintaining optimal water quality in numbers of earthen freshwater ponds. It specifically focuses on using freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) together as a way to improve water sustainability. This review examines the management of important water quality metrics under monoculture and polyculture systems, including dissolved oxygen, ammonia levels, pH balance, and organic matter accumulation. According to various research results, the polyculture method greatly enhances water quality by stabilizing oxygen levels, encouraging nutrient cycling, and lowering ammonia build-up. Prawns benefit in sediment bioturbation, which lowers the build-up of organic waste, while tilapia helps regulate algae growth. The efficacy of this system in enhancing aquaculture sustainability and optimizing pond ecology is supported by both practical and international studies. This review article emphasizes the benefits of using polyculture as opposed to monoculture systems for improving water quality and raising overall productivity in various culture systems. The adoption of polyculture systems, ongoing water quality monitoring, and the creation of sustainable feeding practices are among the main suggestions. Impending studies should, however, concentrate on the combined culture practices towards long-term ecological and economic feasibility in order to support and adapt sustainable aquaculture development and meet pertinent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).