Culture strategy for production of Indian white prawn, Fenneropenaeus indicus in semi-arid conditions using biofloc technology

An experiment was conducted to test efficiency of biofloc technique for production of Indian white prawn, Fenneropenaeus indicus in HDPE liner ponds (300 m2) for 90 days. There were control (water exchange to maintain transparency at 40-50 cm) and treatment (zero water exchange) ponds and both were triplicated. Soya hull and molasses were added to treatment ponds as carbon sources to induce biofloc formation. Post larvae (PL20) were stocked at the rate of 50/m2 and fed with a standard fishmeal based supplementary pellet feed. Physico-chemical parameters of water, microbial and plankton population, immune response, physical quality and shrimp growth were monitored during the period. High growth and survival was observed in treatment ponds compared to control. Heterotrophic bacteria, phytoplankton population and total haemocyte count (THC) were found to be enhanced in treatment ponds. A strong linear relationship (R2=0.8758) was found between growth rate and biofloc content. Shrimp raised through biofloc culture strategy showed better colour and quality compared to control. Biofloc technology is an ideal culture method for biosecure production of white shrimp in semi arid lands.