Studies on the protein requirement of postlarvae Of the penaeid prawn Penaeus indicus H. Milne Edwards Using purified diets

Six purified diets were formulated and prepared using casein, starch, flshand- groundnut oil mixture ( 1 : 1 ratio), vitamins, minerals and other additives, with the protein content varying from 20 to 70%, to study the protein requirement of the postlarvae fPL 1 to PL 42) of the prawn Penaeus indicus. The results of the feeding experiments conducted separately on group I (PLl to PLIO), group II (PLll to PL25) and group III (PL27 to PL42) for a duration of 10, 15 and 15 days, respectively, showed that the growth of group I postlarvae increased with the increasing protein content of the diet up to 40% and declined thereafter. The growth obtained by the diet with 40% protein was highly significant (P <C 0.01). In group II postlarvae, the protein requirement was between 30 and 50%. In group HI postlarvae, maximum growth was obtained with the diet with 30% protein and it was significantly different (P