PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE PRAWN Macrobrachium rosenbergii IN A RECIRCULATING SYSTEM IN DIFFERENT DENSITIES

The freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, has been the subject of several studies on its biology, making it economically possible and feasible for cultivation. This species is the most used in shrimp aquaculture projects worldwide, being the only one commercially farmed in Brazil. The objective of the present study was to analyze the weight gain and survival of Macrobrachium rosenbergii in different stocking densities. The prawns were reared in a recirculation system and subjected to four treatments (T1, T2, T3 and T4), each with six replicates. The densities used were 50, 100, 150 and 200 prawns/m², respectively. The initial mean weight used was 0.10521g. The results indicate that the T3 treatment presented the best result in relation to survival, however, the T1 treatment had the best weight gain with a final mean weight of 1.44 ± 0.18g. The data show that the survival rate above 65% supports further studies to improve the cultivation of M. rosenbergii in the recirculation system.