IMPROVEMENT IN THE PRODUCTION PHASE OF FRESHWATER PRAWN, MACROBRACHIUM ROSENBERGII IN GROW-OUT PONDS THROUGH THE USE OF SUBSTRATES

摘要

The present experiment was conducted to observe the feasibility of fresh water prawn culture and to evaluate the effects of substrates on the growth and survival of freshwater prawn, Macribrachium rosenbergii. The experiment was conducted in 12 ponds,30 m2 each, for a period of 100 days. Three substrates were assigned to three different treatments. Each treatment had three replicates. Treatment-I received no substrate and considered as the control. Coconut branch was used as substrate in treatment-ll. Treatment-Ill was provided with HDPE black netting. Treatment-IVcontained 15 pieces bamboo sticks. PL-30 of M. rosenbergii (mean initial weight 0.062 +- 0.02 mg) were stocked at the rate of 120 PL in each pond. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in final weight of prawn in treatment-ll and treatment-Ill but these values were significantly higher than those in treatment-IVand treatment-l. Mean survival of all treatments which ranged from 65.90 to 66.33%. Result of the present study indicatedthat growth of M. rosenbergii improved in the presence of substrates but the substrate did not improve the survival.