Aquaponics integrates aquatic animal production with soilless cultivation through the recovery of nutrients from aquaculture effluent. Its performance depends on interactions among fish nutrition, microbial transformations, plant demand and hydraulic design. This narrative review examines these interactions, with particular attention to nutrient deficiencies, water-quality management and the constraints on disease control in shared-water systems. Literature available on or before March 2025 is considered, including recent studies of complete ammonia oxidation and vermicompost-derived supplements. Hydroponic growing methods must be distinguished from coupled and decoupled system configurations because these classifications describe different aspects of production. Nutrient recycling does not ensure nutritional completeness: feed composition, solids removal, mineralization, pH and crop requirements jointly determine plant nutrient availability. Evidence from aquaponic and hydroponic experiments suggests that liquid vermicompost, vermitea and vermiwash may provide supplementary nutrients or biostimulant effects, but their preparation and composition vary and hydroponic responses cannot establish compatibility with fish or biofilters. Effective health management therefore requires diagnosis, prevention and attention to the consequences of interventions across compartments. Future research should combine nutrient mass balances, microbial functional measurements and replicated production trials to identify supplementation strategies that improve crop performance without compromising aquatic animal welfare or water quality.
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Aquaponics, Biosecurity, Nitrification, Nutrient availability, Vermicompost, Vermiwash
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