ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTIVITY OF AMAZON RIVER PRAWN, Macrobrachium amazonicum, IN FOUR NURSERY SYSTEMS
The Amazon river prawn, Macrobrachium amazonicum, is a South American species that shows great potential for aquaculture. However, few information of production in nursery phase is available. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the culture of M. amazonicum in the freshwater prawn nursery systems most frequently used around the world. Four systems were compared: Indoor Recirculating Tanks (IRT), Cages Inside Ponds (CIP), Tanks Inside Greenhouse (TIG) and Outdoor Earthen Ponds (OEP). . An 8 wk experiment was conduct in the warm season. Experimental design was in randomized blocks (four blocks and four repetitions). The density used was 200 post-larvae.m-2 (weighting about 6.4 mg). The animals were fed about 40% of their biomass during the experiment, reducing to 20% when leftover feed were observed. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, transparency, N-ammonia, N-nitrite and N-nitrate mean values were suitable for the culture of this species.
Results showed that survival and productivity (Fig. 1) did not differ between systems. Final wet weight was bigger in TIG and OEP (Fig. 2). Data suggested that all systems are technically feasible for M. amazonicum nursery, at least in warm season. An economic analysis should be performed to assess the commercial feasibility of these systems. (CNPq)
Results showed that survival and productivity (Fig. 1) did not differ between systems. Final wet weight was bigger in TIG and OEP (Fig. 2). Data suggested that all systems are technically feasible for M. amazonicum nursery, at least in warm season. An economic analysis should be performed to assess the commercial feasibility of these systems. (CNPq)