With the intensifying global freshwater shortage, the efficient utilization of saline–alkaline water has become a critical research focus in aquaculture. In this study, brown sugar, corn straw powder, and peanut shell powder were added to regulate the carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratio (C/N = 15) of saline–alkaline water, while a blank control group without carbon source addition was set up. The effects of this regulation on the aquaculture environment and health status of Litopenaeus vannamei were systematically evaluated. The experimental results demonstrated that the brown sugar group (HT) significantly improved the aquaculture water quality ( p < 0.05): the peak concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) and nitrite () were 4.41 ± 0.20 mg/L and 1.93 ± 0.29 mg/L, respectively, which were 42.73% and 70.12% lower than those in the control group (control, TAN peak: 7.70 ± 0.30 mg/L; peak: 6.46 ± 0.24 mg/L). Meanwhile, this group alleviated high‐alkalinity stress through the rapid formation of bioflocs, with a pH value of 8.57 ± 0.34, which was lower than that of the control group (8.94 ± 0.35) ( p < 0.05). Relative abundance of Bacillus in the HT group increased to 18.7% (6.3% in control), whereas the proportion of Vibrio decreased, indicating that carbon source type directly influenced probiotic proliferation and pathogen suppression. The HT group exhibited the best growth performance, with a final body weight of 8.31 ± 0.25 g, a specific growth rate (SGR) of 7.04 ± 0.10%/day, and a survival rate of 96%, all of which were significantly higher than those in other treatments ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, hepatopancreatic antioxidant enzyme activities, including superoxide dismutase and catalase, reached 129.67 U/mg prot and 22.33 U/mg prot, respectively, increases of 26.7% and 29% over the control group ( p < 0.05). These findings confirm that carbon supplementation mitigates oxidative stress by enhancing antioxidant capacity. Brown sugar was identified as an efficient carbon source for L. vannamei culture in saline–alkaline water systems. This study provides essential theoretical support for carbon source selection and biofloc technology optimization in saline–alkaline water aquaculture.
Meng et al. (Thu,) studied this question.