Abstract
With the worldwide demand for tropical penaeid prawn increasing in recent decades, more research on shrimp culture methods is needed to enhance efficiency and profitability for shrimp farmers. The objective of this study was to develop a technique to boost the productivity, feed efficiency, and profitability of the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon). To accomplish this, a novel culture setup was established in which two benthic organisms, a filamentous green alga (Chaetomorpha sp.) and a microsnail (Stenothyra sp.), were propagated together with P. monodon post-larvae during an early culture stage and then offered to shrimp as supplementary live feeds in intensive aquaculture ponds. For the experiment, shrimp post-larvae (density: approximately 33 individuals m-2) were cultured in outdoor concrete ponds (9 × 9 × 1.2 m) under either control (fed only artificial feed, n = 3) or experimental (fed artificial feed and benthic organisms, n = 3) conditions until they reached marketable size (15 weeks). Apparent green algae consumption was 6.81 kg (8.4% green alga to total feed consumption), whereas microsnail consumption was 1.96 kg (2.4% microsnail to total feed consumption). Compared with the control group of giant tiger prawn, the experimental group showed significantly higher productivity (total number of shrimp produced: 118%; total shrimp production: 133%), feed efficiency (feed conversion ratio of artificial shrimp feed: 89%), and profitability (shrimp sales: 139%; balance between shrimp sales and costs: 146%), while labor and financial costs were kept minimal. These results can be explained by the enhanced growth of shrimp at the early stages of culture. The techniques developed in this study will help to advance the efficiency of intensive aquaculture operations for giant tiger prawn and also improve profitability for shrimp farmers.
Highlights
The global demand for tropical penaeid prawn and their consumption have risen tremendously over the past 30 years, with the total production of aquacultured Penaeidae increasing from 678,000 tons in 1990 to approximately 5.5 million tons in 2017 [1]
The protein contributions of both benthic organisms provided in the experimental treatment ponds were higher in the first 4 weeks than after this period (Table 3). These results suggest that Chaetomorpha sp. and Stenothyra sp. effectively promoted shrimp growth as supplementary live feeds during the first 4 weeks in the early stages of growth, leading to the higher final production
To accelerate the implementation of an innovative system in intensive shrimp aquaculture ponds, the productivity, feed efficiency, and profitability of giant tiger prawn were evaluated for a system in which a filamentous green alga (Chaetomorpha sp.) and a microsnail (Stenothyra sp.) are propagated together during an early culture stage and freely consumed as supplementary feeds in outdoor concrete ponds
Summary
The global demand for tropical penaeid prawn and their consumption have risen tremendously over the past 30 years, with the total production of aquacultured Penaeidae increasing from 678,000 tons in 1990 to approximately 5.5 million tons in 2017 [1]. White-leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) were the most prominent species of aquacultured Penaeidae, representing 80.9% and 13.4%, respectively, of global Penaeidae production in 2017 [1]. Intensive shrimp culture is the most commonly used method for tropical Penaeidae production, and intensive aquaculture accounted for approximately 98.9% of Penaeidae production in Thailand in 2017 [2]. Methods involving low production costs, minimal labor, increased productivity, and the effective use of artificial feed are urgently required to improve the profitability of intensive shrimp culture
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