The present study describes a defined culture technique for the fairy shrimp, Streptocephalus dichotomus. It emphasizes reclamation of low-cost organic live-stock waste (cow-dung), lime powder, and urea. These compounds were used to enrich algal and diatom populations in the medium. These algae and diatoms were fed to filter feeding fairy shrimps to yield anostracan biomass. A production of 262 +/- 6 animals/l was obtained in an experimental tank compared to 36 +/- 4 animals/l in the controls. Interestingly, the total number of clutches in experimental females (12 +/- 2), relative to the control (7 +/- 1), increased too.
(Univ. Madras, Dept. Zool., Unit. Live Feed Culture, Guindy Campus, Madras 600025, Tamil Nadu, India)
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