Comparative analysis of the growth and survival of Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) larvae, from protozoea 1 to postlarva 1, on live feeds, artificial diets and on combinations of both

Abstract

Replacement of live by artificial foods is of major importance in commercial larval culture. The results presented establish, for the first time, the practicality of rearing Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) larvae on microencapsulated diets. Using food particles of <20 μm and 40–90 μm at concentrations of between 20 and 45 μl −1, larvae of P. monodon were reared from protozoea 1 to postlarva 1, on artificial diets, both in the presence and absence of live foods. Results for growth and survival indicated that all the microencapsulated diets investigated adequately supplemented algal diets and RDX24 proved a reasonable algal replacement. The data further suggested that CD435 could successfully replace Artemia.