Diversity of commercially important freshwater prawns and their aquaculture potential in India

Abstract

Of the 200 taxa of freshwater prawns, Macrobrachium rosenbergii is the most preferred species due to its suitability for aquaculture on account of fast growth rate, omnivorous feeding habit, hardy nature, compatibility for polyculture, resistance to certain diseases, unique appearance and high price in domestic as well as in international markets. In natural system, it attains a size of 30-35 cm with 400-450 g weight thus being the largest prawn available for culture. It grows well in almost all freshwater and low-saline water bodies such as lakes, rivers, swamps, irrigation ditches, canals, ponds and small dams. While cultured in earthen ponds, the marketing size of 70-80 g is obtained over a period of 8-10 months under the tropical climate. Polyculture with compatible species of carps facilitate better utilization of pond resources and also control excessive growth of algae and zooplankton. The grass carp, silver carp, catla, rohu, milkfish and green chromids can be used for polyculture with scampi, however, the bottom feeders like mrigal, common carp and tilapia are not advisable as they compete for food and space.