Increased production of inland shrimp farms

View the project final report

• 2006 annual report
• 2007 annual report
• 2008 annual report

Commodities

• Animals: shellfish

Practices

• Animal Production: feed formulation, mineral supplements
• Education and Training: extension, on-farm/ranch research

Ion availability in inland, saline waters where shrimp are being produced was thought to be limiting production. We conducted tests to evaluate the strategies of supplementing diets and pond water with potassium (K) and with magnesium (Mg) to improve the growth and osmoregulation ability of Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei in low salinity water. The effects of supplemented diets were examined in replicated greenhouse trials were conducted with shrimp acclimated to low salinities (4-5 ppt) in raceways. Tests examining the effect of adding K to the pond water were evaluated in replicated tests with shrimp held in tanks. Supplementing the diets with either K or Mg did not result in better shrimp growth. Similarly, there were no significant differences in the growth of shrimp related to K content of the water. The osmolarilty of shrimp hemolymph was not affected by the supplemented diets or water. Our data do not support the use of this strategy for increasing shrimp production in inland, saline waters.

The overall goal of the project is to increase the viability of inland shrimp farms in the Western SARE region by improving farm productivity. The project objectives are: 1) to determine the concentrations of K and Mg, both in the pond water and feed, needed to reduce osmoregulation stress, and related mortalities, to shrimp in low-salinity ponds; and 2) to develop pond management strategies based on these results.