BIOFLOC SYSTEMS AS NURSERY REARING UNITS FOR Penaeus vannamei SHRIMP CULTURE SYSTEMS BY UTILIZING MOLASSES AS CARBON SOURCE

Biofloc Technology is gaining popularity for culture of shrimp, tilapia and recently its usage in other culture sectors like ornamental culture is also evident. After the introduction of Penaeus vannamei in India the shrimp production in the country has touched new highs. But over the years the farmers are facing many other problems viz., size variation, slow growth, running mortality syndrome, white feces, AHPND, white gut syndrome, white muscle syndrome etc. To cope with these issues many new technologies were introduced and one among that is nursery rearing of vannamei seeds prior to grow out. The main aim of the nursery rearing is reducing the phase of seeds in grow out, increased immunity against diseases, compensatory growth in grow out phase and reduction in cost of production. In this context the present study aims to nurse the P.vannamei seeds in

biofloc nursery rearing systems by utilizing molasses as carbon source.

The study was carried out in one ton tanks in triplicate wherein 1500 P.vannamei post larvae were stocked per cubic meter. Control tanks were also maintained in triplicate with clean water systems. The growth characteristics, survival was taken into consideration to assess the system efficiency. A significant difference was observed in the growth characteristics between biofloc and control tanks.