Method and apparatus for rearing aquatic animals

A system for rearing aquatic animals comprising:

• a plurality of rearing tanks for retaining aquatic animals for a plurality of consecutive periods of growth extending from an initial period of growth which begins when the animals are of an initial post-larvae or fry size to a final period of growth which ends when the aquatic animals are of a mature size, each of said rearing tanks retaining aquatic animals for a different one of said consecutive periods of growth and each rearing tank having a common wall with the rearing tank which retains aquatic animals for the immediately preceding period of growth;
• a plurality of habitat means, each of said habitat means locatable within each of one of said rearing tanks and each habitat means including
• a plurality of vertically spaced substrate means arranged in individual groups, each of said substrate means providing a surface area to which crustaceans can cling and having openings therein for permitting the passage of fluid therethrough, and
• frame means for supporting the individual groups of said substrate means,
• the substrate means of the haibtat means of each one of said rearing tanks having a combined total surface area which is greater than the combined total surface area of the substrate means of the habitat means of the rearing tank which retains aquatic animals for the period of growth immediately preceding the period for which said one rearing tank retains aquatic animals;
• means for moving said habitat means into and out of said rearing tanks;
• and
• filtration means for continuously filtering the medium in said tanks.

A system for rearing aquatic animals comprising:

• a plurality of rearing means for retaining aquatic animals for a plurality of consecutive periods of growth extending from an initial period of growth which begins when the animals are of an initial post-larvae or fry size to a final period of growth which ends when the animals are of a mature size, each of said rearing means retaining aquatic animals for a different one of said consecutive periods of growth and including
• an enclosure for receiving a medium and habitat means removably disposed in the enclosure for providing habitats for crustaceans, said habitat means including a plurality of stacked substrates having a combined total surface area which is greater than the combined total surface area of the stacked substrates of the habitat means of the rearing means which retains aquatic animals for the immediately preceding period of growth, said substrates of the plurality of substrates of each habitat means being vertical and stacked in parallel spaced relationship;
• and
• filtration means for continuously filtering the medium in said enclosures, including
• pump means comprising at least one high volume pump,
• a filter assembly including particulate filter means through which the medium from said enclosures is drawn by said high volume pump, bio-filter means for receiving the output of said high volume pump, foam fractionator means for receiving the output of said bio-filter means, and carbon filter means disposed intermediate said bio-filter means and said foam fractionator means to filter the output of said bio-filter means before entry into said foam fractionator means,
• an area adjacent one of said enclosure having walls which partition said area into an entry chamber, a bio-filter section and a fractionation chamber, one of said partitioning walls being positioned intermediate said enclosure and said entry chamber and including at least one opening for allowing passage of medium from said enclosure into said entry chamber, said gate particulate filter means being removably mounted in said opening, said bio-filter means and said high volume pump being positioned in said bio-filter section, and
• means for coupling said entry chamber to said high volume pump;
• said entry chamber containing medium which is at a first level, said bio-filter section containing medium which is at a second level higher than said first level, and said high volume pump drawing medium from the first level of said entry chamber through said coupling means and conveying said medium to the second level of said bio-filter section.

In a system for rearing aquatic animals wherein said aquatic animals are retained for consecutive periods of growth in a plurality of rearing means, rearing means comprising:

• an enclosure for receiving a medium;
• habitat means for providing habitats for crustaceans disposed within said enclosure;
• means for moving said habitat means into and out of said enclosure, including
• support frames arranged above said habitat means,
• means for connecting each support frame to the habitat means over which that frame is disposed, and
• means for raising and lowering each said support frame and its connected habitat means;
• and
• platform means disposed above said habitat means for providing a temporary habitat for molting crustaceans, said platform means including
• tray means formed of a rigid mesh material, and
• means for selectively suspending said tray means in a horizontal position when said tray means is inserted within the medium of said enclosure and in a slanted position when said tray means is removed from said medium.

A system for rearing aquatic animals comprising:

• rearing means including an enclosure for retaining a medium and aquatic animals;
• and
• filtration means for filtering said medium comprising:
• a filter assembly, and
• pump means for drawing the medium from said enclosure and directing the medium thus drawn through ambient air to a level sufficiently higher than the level of the medium in said enclosure to cause the medium to pass through the portion of said filter assembly downstream of said pump means solely by gravity flow, said pump means including a motor having a rotatable shaft, a propeller mounted on the shaft for drawing the medium from said enclosure and spraying said medium to said higher level, a housing including a flared discharge section and a tapered intake section, said intake section having at least one opening formed therein, said motor and said propeller being mounted adjacent the intake section of said housing.

A method of rearing aquatic animals comprising:

• dividing the growth cycle of the animals from the post-larvae or fry stage to maturity into a plurality of consecutive periods of growth,
• providing a rearing tank containing a medium for each period of growth,
• providing habitat means for crustaceans for each of said rearing tanks, each said habitat means being locatable within a rearing tank and including
• a plurality of vertically spaced substrate means arranged in individual groups, each substrate means providing a surface area to which crustaceans can cling and having openings therein for permitting the passage of medium therethrough, said plurality of substrate means having a total combined surface area greater than the total combined surface area of the plurality of substrate means of the habitat means of the rearing tank corresponding to the immediately preceding period of growth, and
• frame means for supporting the individual groups of substrate means of said habitat means;
• providing means for moving said habitat means into and out of a rearing tank;
• selecting a crustacean populace and a fish populace to occupy each rearing tank;
• moving individual groups of substrate means into or out of said rearing tanks to provide within said rearing tanks sufficient surface area of substrate means for the crustacean populace to inhabit while simultaneously providing sufficient unobstructed space through which the fish populace may move freely;
• and
• retaining the animals in each of said rearing tanks for the period of growth corresponding to that rearing tank.

A system for rearing aquatic animals comprising:

• a plurality of rearing means for retaining aquatic animals for a plurality of consecutive periods of growth extending from an initial period of growth which begins when the animals are of an initial post-larvae or fry size to a final period of growth which ends when the animals are of a mature size, each of said rearing means retaining aquatic animals for a different one of said consecutive periods of growth and including
• an enclosure for receiving a medium, and habitat means for providing habitats for crustaceans, said habitat means including a plurality of stacked substrates having a combined total surface area which is greater than the combined total surface area of the stacked substrates of the habitat means of the rearing means which retains aquatic animals for the immediately preceding period of growth;
• and
• filtration means for continuously filtering the medium in said enclosures, including
• a high volume pump,
• a filter assembly, including bio-filter means for receiving the output of said high volume pump,
• an area adjacent one of said enclosures having walls which partition said area into an entry chamber and a bio-filter section, one of said partitioning walls being positioned intermediate said enclosure and said entry chamber and including at least one opening for allowing passage of medium from said enclosure into said entry chamber, said bio-filter means and said high volume pump being positioned in said bio-filter section, and
• means for coupling said entry chamber to said high volume pump;
• said entry chamber containing medium which is at a first level, said bio-filter section containing medium which is at a second level higher than said first level, and said high volume pump drawing medium from the first level of said entry chamber through said coupling means and conveying said medium to the second level of said bio-filter section.