Comparative evaluation of Penaeus monodon (Fabricius, 1798) culture in different saline grow-out systems in India

Present study was conducted for a period of 156 days (February - July, 2010) in three earthen ponds of each 10000m2 area in different salinities. P. monodon seeds were stocked at a density of 15 nos /m2 in all the ponds. The water quality parameters such as temperature, salinity, hydrogen ion concentration (pH), dissolved oxygen and alkalinity were monitored. The alkalinity at pond I,II and III showed a significantly value (60-130ppm,180 to 230ppm and 220-260ppm) at 86 DOC. The Pond II showed higher survival rate than that of pond I and III. The survival at the time of harvest was 86.6% for pond I, 95.6% for pond II and 72.6% for pond III at 142, 114 and 156 DOC respectively. The Average Body Weight (ABW) gained during the 114 DOC was 33.16±0.83g, 23.44±0.62g and 17.83±0.28g for pond II, I and III respectively. The Average Daily Growth (ADG) at the time of harvest was 0.23g for pond I, 0.29g for pond II and 0.17g for pond III at 142, 114 and 156 DOC respectively. Among the ponds, Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) was found to be lower in pond II, followed by pond I and pond III. A similar trend was observed for Specific Growth Rate (SGR) also, in which pond II showed 37% higher SGR than pond III and 29.31% higher than pond I. Pond II obtained higher harvested biomass of shrimps at lesser DOC (4928 kg in 114 DOC) than pond I (4390 kg in 142 DOC) and pond III (3150 kg in 156 DOC). The Revenue Over Investment (ROI) was maximum for pond II (99%), followed by a moderate ROI at pond I (60%) and the least was for pond III (10%) respectively.