The use of traditional bait and medicament in freshwater aquaculture exacerbates environmental pollution and leads to frequent occurrence of diseases. Effluent collected after Rhodopseudomonas palustris‐mediated wastewater treatment could be reutili...
The use of traditional bait and medicament in freshwater aquaculture exacerbates environmental pollution and leads to frequent occurrence of diseases. Effluent collected after Rhodopseudomonas palustris‐mediated wastewater treatment could be reutilized as microbial feeds, medicament and aquaculture water to culture Pelteobagrus vachelli. Therefore, a novel integrated system of wastewater treatment using effluent containing R. palustris that improves yield, increases disease resistance and enhances the quality of aquaculture water for P. vachelli culture was proposed and investigated. P. vachelli can grow well in effluent containing R. palustris (ER). The survival rate, yield and whole‐body composition of the ER group were all increased compared to those of the control group (CK). The biochemical (B vitamin) and other substances in the effluent of R. palustris enhanced the activity of proteases, amylases, lipases, alkaline phosphatase (AKP), acid phosphatase (ACP), phagocytic, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) by up‐regulating the expression of AKP, ACP, SOD and CAT genes. Theoretical analysis showed that biochemical substances regulated the expression of these genes and enzyme activities as stimulus signal, component and active centre. Moreover, R. palustris and biochemical substances improved the target of rapamycin (TOR) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) signalling pathways and intestinal microbiota. Furthermore, R. palustris inhibited Aeromonas hydrophila, which increased resistance to fish diseases and promoted the growth of intestinal probiotics. Meanwhile, R. palustris in effluent also purified the quality of aquaculture water. Use of this technology simultaneously helped improve aquaculture water quality, reduce water pollution and wastewater discharge and increased the output and disease resistance of P. vachelli.