Growth, respiration and caloric content of larvae of the prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Abstract

1. 1. Oxygen consumption, growth, caloric content and ash content were determined for laboratory-cultured larvae of the giant Malaysian prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. 2. 2. Oxygen consumption was nearly proportional to body size (dry wt), the relation being described by log O 2 = 1.54 + 0.904 log W. 3. 3. Growth was exponential, with a specific growth rate of 0.084. 4. 4. Caloric content ranged from 6617 cal/g ash-free dry wt at hatch to 5048 cal/g ash-free dry wt for Stage 8 larvae. 5. 5. Ash content decreased from about 21% of dry wt at hatch to about 14% for Stage 8 larvae.