Nursery rearing of Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus: Optimization of dietary protein levels and stocking densities under different management regimes

Abstract Two sets of experimental trials (45 days each) were carried out to optimize protein requirement and stocking densities of Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus post-larvae in nursery rearing. In experiment 1, the effect of varying dietary protein levels (30, 40, 50, and 60%) on the growth performance of nursery reared P. indicus (PL12) was evaluated. The experiment 2 had 3 × 3 factorial design with three levels of stocking density (1650, 3350, 8350 PL m−3) and three management systems; zero water exchange (ZWE), ZWE with soil base (ZWE + SN), and ZWE with soil base and substrate integration (ZWE + SN + SUB) resulting in nine treatments. Experiment 2 was followed by a 21-day growth trial in low volume floating cages to estimate the compensatory growth performance. In Exp I, shrimp fed with 30% dietary protein recorded on par (p > 0.05) growth (0.39 ± 0.02 g) and survival (89.13 ± 5.04%) compared to higher protein fed shrimps (ABW: 0.39–0.44 g and 86–93% survival). In experiment 2, both the stocking density and management system had a significant effect (p   0.05). However, a density-dependent growth reduction (p