Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture with crop production, where the residues of the first activity serve as inputs for the second, through biological transformations that occur in the system. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the initial density of ornamental fish (Carassius auratus) in mini aquaponics systems, consisting of 100 L aquariums and expanded clay cultivation beds (20 L). Two densities (three and six fish per system) were evaluated with three replications. Each growing bed received one seedling of basil (Ocimium basilicum) and one of parsley (Petroselinum crispum). The fish were fed daily to apparent satiety with 32% CP commercial feed, two to three times daily for 103 days. The highest values of fish weight gain were observed in lower density aquariums. Green mass production was higher in systems with higher initial fish density. It was concluded that the higher initial density of fish provided better production of green mass, despite presenting lower fish growth rates.
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