Effect of stocking density, water exchange rate and tank substrate on growth and survival of post-larvae of Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with Penaeus monodon post-larvae to evaluate the effect of stocking density, water exchange rate and provision of tank substrate on the wet weight of shrimp. Three stocking densities viz., 200, 400 and 600 of post-larvae per 500 l tank (corresponding to 0.4, 0.8 and 1.3 animals per litre respectively) under two water exchange systems (10% or 100% seawater exchanged daily) were considered, along with the provision or absence of a substrate in the form of a plastic fiber mat. The wet weight of shrimp was analyzed using a nested generalized linear model, with water exchange and mat provision and their interactions treated as fixed effects, and the effect of tank nested within the combination of the three main effects treated as random. The results demonstrated significant effect of tank substrate, stocking density and rearing tank, while the water exchange rate did not influence wet weight. As expected, the growth was highest with the lowest stocking density and lowest with the highest stocking density. When a tank substrate was provided, survival decreased with an increase in the individual weight of shrimp.