Ramasubramanian, V., N. Munuswamy
The dietary value of the brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica (Indian strain) was assessed for the larval rearing of Penaeus monodon. Enrichment experiments were performed using 48 hours old Artemia nauplii with emulsified docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (DOCOSA 65 E). Artemia nauplii were enriched with emulsified DOCOSA 65 E at a concentration of 3ml DHA/10 lit. for one million Artemia nauplii. The enrichment period was standardized as 12 +/- 1.5 hours for Artemia nauplii. The active incorporation of DHA in the enriched nauplii was analysed using Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC). Feeding of Artemia nauplii (enriched brine shrimp nauplii) resulted in better growth and survival in the post larvae (PL) stages 1-20. The survival rate of PL 1-20, fed on enriched nauplii resulted in as much as 80-90% of survival compared to control. The dietary value of enriched nauplii was also effectively improved by feeding the Artemia with yeast and rice bran. This combination markedly reduced the mortality rate of the post larvae. GLC analysis further reveals the incorporation of 20:n3 in the post larvae of P. monodon. Thus our results amply demonstrate that A. parthenogenetica nauplii are suitable for larval rearing of the penaeid prawn P. monodon.
(Unit of Live-feed Culture, Department of Zoology University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Madras - 600 025, India)
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