Chiang Mai Journal of Science

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This study investigated the effects of using plastic film shelters on the survival, growth and production cost of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). Three ponds were covered with plastic shelters, whilst three other were left unsheltered as controls. The surface area of all ponds was 100 square meters (6x16.7),with a water depth of 1.0 meter. Post larvae (0.012 g. mean initial weight) were raised with a stocking density of 100 individuals/m2. They were grown for 75 days in both treatments. The average temperature of the pond water beneath the film was 3.4 oC higher than that of unsheltered ponds. In sheltered ponds, the lowest temperature recorded was 23^oC, where as in non-sheltered ponds the lowest
recorded temperature was 18^oC. The minimum and maximum temperatures (on average) in the non-sheltered ponds and sheltered ponds were 23.8-27.4^oC and 27.7-30.3^oC, respectively. Although there was no significant difference in the prawn’s survival rate, the growth rate and food conversion ratio between treatments were significantly different (P<0.05). Weight gain of post larvae reared in non-sheltered ponds was 0.037±0.002 gram per day, compared with 0.062±0.002 gram per day for larvae in sheltered ponds. The mean final weight of the prawns raised in sheltered ponds was higher (5.42+0.18g) than that of prawns raised in nonsheltered ponds (2.70±0.16 g). The production cost of using sheltered ponds was lower compared to the cost using non-sheltered ponds. Variation in size of the prawns among ponds with plastic covering was lower than the non-sheltered ponds. Therefore, using plastic film covering over nursing ponds resulted in higher growth performance and lower production cost. It is therefore a promising method for farmers to rear post larvae during the cold season.

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