Growth and survival of two different source of domesticated Black Tiger Prawn Penaeus monodon reared in brackish water pond in Johor, Malaysia.
A joint project between Fisheries Research Institute (FRI), Dept. Fisheries Malaysia and a private company Rentas Saga Sdn. Bhd. was initiated to help enhance the local prawn industry activities. In this project we would like to compare the growth performance and survival of two different domesticated source of black tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon). The domesticated black tiger shrimp were from Asia Pacific family and from Madagascar family. Both specific pathogen free (SPF) stocks were obtained from local hatcheries. A few farms in Malaysia have been using both domesticated SPF stocks. However, the growth performance and survival for these two stocks have not been well-documented locally. Thus, in this study the growth performance and survival rate of Black Tiger Prawn from both domesticated stocks in brackish water ponds were recorded and evaluated. The prawns were reared in six earthen ponds of the same size (0.2 ha) located in FRI Gelang Patah, Johor, Malaysia and were carried out within the same culture period. Three pond A1, A2 and A3 were stocked with domesticated postlarvae(PL)s from Asia Pacific family and another three, B1, B2 and B3 were stocked with domesticated PLs from Madagascar family. Stocking density in each pond was standardized at 60 PL/m2. Water quality parameters were monitored regularly. Commercial prawn feed were given to the cultured prawns and the ponds were harvested after 120 days of culture. The average final weight of black tiger prawn cultured in pond A1, A2 and A3 is 37.0 ±1.1 g and in pond B1, B2, and B3 is 31.2 ±1.3 g. Average specific growth rate (SGR) for pond A1, A2 and A3 is 2.78 ±0.07 %/day while for pond B1, B2 and B3 is 2.27 ±0.03 %/day. The average survival rate of PLs were 86.73 ±6.30% and 83.13 ±5.01% for Asia Pacific family and for Madagascar family respectively. Based on the SGR and survival rate data of both PLs, PLs from Asia Pacific family showed better performance. However, this study only look at the grow-out phase of the two different source of PLs, further studies need to be carried out to see the differences in terms of growth and survival at the prematuration phase and maturation phase.