Interactive effects of diet protein and water salinity on growth and survival of White Leg Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei Boone 1931)

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Shrimp Research Center of Bushehr in winter 2005. We treated reared White Leg Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei Boone 1931) with five diets containing 20%, 25% ,30%, 35% and 40% protein levels and three salinity levels 15-17ppt, 27-30ppt, and 40-45ppt. We focused on growth, survival, food conversion ratio, hemolymph osmolality, hemolymph protein and corpse protein content. We applied 15 treatments each with three replicates in 45 tanks with 300 liter capacity. Shrimps average weight was about 2 grams at the start and reared after 60 days of culture. Shrimp biomass growth in 15-17 salinity was higher than other salinities showing statistically significant difference with those grew in 40-45ppt salinity (P>0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between growth of the shrimp in 15-17ppt and in 27-30ppt water.