The effects of the decomposition of mangrove leaf litter on water quality, growth and survival of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798)

An experiment was conducted for 8 weeks at the Cantho University, Vietnam, to determine the acceptable level of mangrove leaf litter load and its effect on water quality, growth and survival rate of tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). Shrimps were cultured in plastic tanks containing 50 L of brackish water (salinity of 15 parts per thousand). Leaf litter of Rhizophora apiculata, Avicennia officinalis, Excoecaria agallocha and Acacia auriculiformis were loaded to tanks at rates of 0.0 (control), 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g L-1 with and without aeration. Tiger shrimp post-larvae (PL; 0.05 +/- 0.01 g) obtained from the shrimp hatchery of Cantho University were stocked at a density of 20 PL per tank and fed with pelleted feed containing 38% protein at a rate of 10% body weight (BW) day(-1). The high leaf-loading rates significantly reduced dissolved oxygen (DO) and survival rates of shrimp in the non-aerated treatments, and all shrimps died after 2 days in the treatments with loading rates above 0.5 g L-1. Leaf litter loads significantly increased tannin content, chemical oxygen demand (COD), H2S and pH in the aerated treatments. Stepwise regression analysis showed COD, tannin and H2S concentrations had negative effects on shrimp growth in the aerated treatments. Tannin concentration was found to be highest in the treatments with Excoecaria (32 mg L-1) and Avicennia (24 mg L-1) leaves. However, there were no significant differences in growth and survival rates of shrimp among the aerobic treatments loaded with different leaf types. The results of this study showed that moderate load of mangrove leaves could play an important role in promoting shrimp growth and survival in aerobic condition. Mangrove leaves at a loading rate of 1 g L-1 positively influenced both the survival and growth rate of shrimps. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.