Effect of Feeding Artemia Enriched with Stresstol and Cod Liver Oil on Growth and Stress Resistance in the Indian White Shrimp Penaeus indicus Postlarvae

Abstract

Artemia franciscana preadults were enriched with emulsified codliver oil and stresstol, a medicinal plant product having the properties of giving tonic to resist stress and improve growth and vigor. Both enrichment and evacuation time in the Artemia were studied. A maximum of 127 and 72 min were required to enrich and evacuate 100% of gut of Artemia, respectively. Penaeus indicus postlarvae (PL-20) fed with preadult Artemia and Artemia enriched with emulsified fish oil, stresstol as well as oil mixed with stresstol consumed Artemia more or less at the same rate. However, the absorption efficiency of P.indicus postlarvae fed with enriched Artemia differed from those fed with the non-enriched Artemia. The nonenriched Artemia fed postlarvae grew at an average rate of 19.3 mg/g/day, whereas the postlarvae fed with the stresstol-enriched Artemia had an average growth rate of 31.3 mg/g/ day. Postlarvae fed with the fish oil-enriched Artemia exhibited the highest growth rate at 42.2 mg/g/day. In the stress test, where the postlarvae (fed with enriched and non-enriched Artemia for 8 days ), were exposed to 0 and 50 ppt salinities, it was revealed that the stresstol-fed postlarvae had increased resistance to stress. Hence, the use of stresstol in the larviculture of P.indicus shrimp is recommended.