Economic sustainability of tambatinga (Colossoma × Piaractus) farming in tropical earthen ponds: insights from small-scale aquaculture in Brazil

Economic sustainability of tambatinga (Colossoma × Piaractus) farming in tropical earthen ponds: insights from small-scale aquaculture in Brazil | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Economic sustainability of tambatinga (Colossoma × Piaractus) farming in tropical earthen ponds: insights from small-scale aquaculture in Brazil Sandra Elisa Schneider, Thiago Machado Silva Acioly, Matheus Luís Docema This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7661118/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Brazil is a leading global fish producer, notably of tilapia, native species, and hybrids. Despite the potential of native species, production is constrained by limited genetic improvement, nutritional gaps, environmental challenges, low productivity, and often poor financial management. This study aimed to assess the production costs and economic viability of farming tambatinga ( Colossoma macropomum × Piaractus brachypomus ), a native hybrid species, in earthen ponds under tropical conditions. The analysis was conducted at a small-scale facility in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Zootechnical performance and operational costs were analyzed to determine cash flow, profitability, and overall economic feasibility across two production cycles. Average costs per kilogram were R $ 5.05 and R $ 4.36, for cycles 1 and 2, respectively, with feed, labor, and fingerlings comprising the largest expenses. Gross margins reached 85.7% and 103%, profitability indices were 46.2% and 50.8%, net present value (NPV) totaled R $ 620,981.78 and R $ 419,375.41, and Internal rate of return (IRR) were 341.2% and 245.5%. Discounted payback occurred within the first year (4 and 5.6 months, respectively). Even with productivity below 1 kg/m², tambatinga farming proved economically viable, balancing profitability and sustainability. These results provide a practical framework for improving small-scale tropical aquaculture and guide producers and policymakers toward sustainable fish farming strategies. aquaculture economics native fish hybrids financial indicators small-scale aquaculture cash flow analysis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformationSI.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 09 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 17 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 18 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 23 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7661118","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":546981677,"identity":"9e3ad5fa-c2ed-4f8f-ae67-8017bdf14b13","order_by":0,"name":"Sandra Elisa Schneider","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of São Paulo, MBA USP/ESALQ","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sandra","middleName":"Elisa","lastName":"Schneider","suffix":""},{"id":546981678,"identity":"8a33e65b-d723-4560-8fdb-9841305519f7","order_by":1,"name":"Thiago Machado Silva Acioly","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidade Estadual 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