Experimental prawn culture in coastal ponds at Mandapam camp

This paper deals with the experimental culture of penaeus indicus and p. semisulcatus carried out in two coastal ponds at the fish farm of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute at Mandapam Camp for a period of 158 days during 1978 and 1979. Sea water was pumped into the culture pond daily to maintain water level at 0.75 m. Two experiments were carried out to study the growth rate of p. indicus at a stocking rate of five numbers per sq. M, one with supplementary food and the other with natural food elements produced by application of inorganic fertilisers. In the third experiment, p. semisulcatus stocked at the rate of three per sq. M were fed with pelletised supplementary food. Results of the above experiments are presented and discussed in the background of experimental culture operations carried out earlier