Effects of different ration levels on survival, moulting and food conversion in two freshwater prawns

Abstract

Effects of different daily rations of the oligochaete worm Tubifex tubifex on survival, moulting and food conversion of Macro brachium lanchesteri (Palaemonidae) and Caridina weberi (Atyidae) have been described. Moulting is a metabolic necessity for either species and occurs even at the expense of organic reserves of starving prawns. The geometric derivation of the growth-feeding rate relations in M. lanchesteri indicated that, 88, 162 and 204 mg live food/g live prawn/dav represent the maintenance, optimum and maximum feeding rates respectively. The corresponding values for C. weberi were 96, 236 and 3% mg. Food availability has a marked influence on the food partitioning and biochemical composition of either species.

Bioenergetics of feeding and metabolic cost of living in freshwater Caridean prawns

“…The details of M. lanchesteri and C. weberi collection from the local habitats of Bangalore, methods of laboratory rearing, determination of moulting frequency, food intake, growth and conversion efficiency are detailed by Ponnuchamy et al (1983), Table 1 presents the information on the work on physiological energetics of food conversion in M. lanchesteri and C. weberi in relation to abiotic and biotic factors. The overall data from these works have been used to describe how the energy budget of Caridean prawns are affected by the abiotic and biotic factors.…”

Comparative studies on the effects of population density on moult production and food conversion in two freshwater prawns

“…The importance of intensive culture of freshwater prawns is repeatedly emphasized (Pillay 1979;Jhingran 1982;Ponnuchamy et al 1983). Growth of individuals and increase in their numbers vary in every population and while extreme limits of individuals growth is species-specific, the obvious upper limit for numbers is space, which can harbour not more than a certain population density (Backiel and Le Cren 1978).…”