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The beneficial effects of PHB as supplement for giant tiger prawn Penaeus monodon postlarvae using a short‐term enrichment strategy via Artemia were examined. The effects of co‐supplementing with a lipid emulsion were also evaluated to determine whether it yielded an additional benefit. Results on the average weight and larval development were not significantly different among postlarvae fed the different dietary treatments, indicating that PHB supplementation could not be used to stimulate growth in P. monodon postlarvae while such positive results have been reported in other aquaculture species. Nonetheless, significantly higher survival was obtained in postlarvae fed PHB‐enriched Artemia irrespective of lipid enrichment. In addition, PHB increased the survival of the postlarvae after exposure to a lethal dose of ammonia. Lipid supplementation nullified this effect. The cumulative mortality of postlarvae subjected to a sublethal concentration of ammonia for 24 h and subsequent exposure to pathogenic Vibrio campbelli showed that PHB but not lipids could effectively enhance the resistance of the postlarvae. Co‐supplementing lipids even significantly decreased this outcome. Our study indicates that PHB supplementation increases the quality of larval P. monodon and their chance of surviving under adverse environmental conditions. The short‐term co‐supplementation with lipid emulsion did not add to these effects.

A preliminary study was conducted to demonstrate fate of the bacterial storage compound poly‐β‐hydroxybutyrate (PHB) once ingested and degraded in vivo in crustaceans. The 2% supplementation of 13C‐labeled Ralstonia eutropha DSM545 containing 75% PHB on dry weight in postlarval whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei resulted in consistent enrichment of two fatty acids (containing 14–24 carbons [C] in length) pentadecanoic acid (15:0) and palmitic acid (16:0) in all lipid fractions. This could indicate that 13C signal may not only originate from the PHB but partly from the structural components of the bacterial cell. There was a trend of lower 13C enrichment in various lipid fractions of the postlarvae as compared to the diet. These findings may have important implications as to potential of PHB as energy source rather than as building block. There was a rapid transfer of 13C in the postlarvae as seen by the significant 13C enrichment in the tissues 4 hr after feeding with labeled bacterial cells. Overall, the assimilation of PHB in crustacean tissues is demonstrated for the first time. Our results indicate that PHB once ingested is rapidly assimilated in the tissues and could probably act as an energy source rather than as a building block.