Penaeus

Monodon

Hatchery Management

Introduction
Giant Tiger Prawn(P. monodon, also
known as "black tiger shrimp") occurs in
the wild in theIndian Oceanand in
thePacific Oceanfrom Japan to
Australia. The largest of all the
cultivated shrimp, it can grow to a length
of 36cm and is farmed inAsia. Because
of its susceptibility towhitespot
diseaseand the difficulty of breeding it
in captivity, it is gradually being replaced
byL. vannameisince 2001.

P. Monodon Taxonomy
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostracea
Order: Decapoda
Suborder:
Dendrobranchiata
Family: Penaeidae
Genus: Penaeus
Species: P.
Monodon

Biological Features
The shell is smooth, polished and
glabrous.
The rostrum extends beyond the
tip of the anntennular peduncle,
is sigmoidal in shape and
possesses 6-8 dorsal and 2
ventral teeth, most 7 and 3
respectively.
The carapace is carinated with
the adrostal carina almost

 The gastro orbital carina

occupies the posterior one-third
to one half distance between the
post-orbital margin of the
carapace and the hepatic spine.
The hepatic carina is prominent
and almost horizontal.
The antennular flagellum is
subequal to or slightly longer
than the peduncle.

 Europods are present on the first

four pereopods but absent in the
fifth.
The abdomen is carinated
dorsally from the anterior onethird of the fourth, to the
posterior end of the sixth
somites.
The telson has a median groove
but w/o dorso-lateral spines.

Life Cycle
The eggs are demersal and tend
to sink while larvae are
Planktonic.
Prawn larva thrives mainly
offshore and undergoes three
main stages: nauplius,
protozoea, and mysis.
At the postlarval and juvenile
stages, the prawn migrates
toward the estuary.

 As it grows, it starts moving to the

shallow coastal waters. The adult prawn
inhabits the open sea.
Sexes are separate and can be easily
distinguished through the external
genitalia located at the ventral side. The
thelycum in females and petasma in
males.
During mating, the male deposits the
spermatophore inside the thelycum of the
female.

 Mating can only occur between

newly molted females and hardshelled males.
Spawning tanks place
throughout the year. The eggs
are fertilized in the water after
the female simultaneously
extrudes the eggs and the
spermatophore.
The number of eggs released by

Eggs
The eggs are small, spherical,
and vary from 0.25 to 0.27 mm in
diameter.
The developing nauplius almost
fills up the entire space inside
the egg.
At 28-30C, the eggs hatch 12-17
h after spawning.

Nauplius Stage
Stage after eggs have hatched.
The prawn nauplius is very tiny,
measuring from 0.30 to 0.58 mm
in total length.
It swims intermittenly upward
using its appendages in a batlike manner.
It is attracted to light and in
aerated tanks, it will concentrate
in the most lighted areas if

 The nauplius molts through each

of six sub stages for a total of
about 1.5-2 days.
The substrates differ from each
other mainly on the furcal spine
formula. The latter indicates the
number of spines at each side of
the furca.

Protozoea Stage
Its body is more elongated and
measures from 0.96 to 3.30 mm
in total length.
It consists of the carapace,
thorax and abdomen.
It can also be distinguished by
its movements, it swims
vertically and diagonally forward
towards the water surface.

 The protozoea undergoes three

sub-stages. The paired eyes of
protozoea I can be obscured as
two dark spots in the upper
portion of the carapace.
These eyes become stalked at
protozoea II.
At protozoea III, the dorsal
medain spine at the sixth
abdominal segment first

Mysis Stage
Shrimp-like with the head pointing
downward.
Its body measures from 3.28 to 4.87 mm
in total length.
The telson and uropods are developed.
The mysis swims in quick darts
accomplished by bending the abdomen
backwards.
For mysis sub-stages, the most prominent
change is the development of pleopods.

 The pleopods appear as buds at

Mysis I, which protrude at Mysis
II and finally become segmented
at Mysis III.

Postlarval Stage
The post larval resembles an
adult prawn.
At postlarva I the rostrum is
straight and exceeds the tip of
the eye.
It usually has one dorsal rostral
oine w/o any ventral spine.
Plumose hairs are present on the
swimming legs.

Reproduction
P. Monodon is heterosexual.
The female attains a relatively larger
size than the male.
The sexually mature prawn can be
distinguished by the presence of the
external genital oragans: joined
petasma, a pair of appendix masculina
on the exopods of the second pleopods,
and a genital opening on the coxa of
the fifth of pereopod for the female.

 In females, the thelycum is

situated between the fourth and
fifth pereopod w/ the genital
opening on the coxa of the third
pereopod.

Male Genital Organ

The internal reproductive organ of
the male consists of paired testes,
vasa deferentia, and terminal
ampoules located in the cardiac
region dorsal to the hepatopancreas.
The testis is translucent and
composed of six lobes, each
connected in the inner margins
leading to the vas deferens.

 The vas deferens consists of four

porions, namely: the short
narrow proximas vas deferens,
and the muscular portion
referred to as terminal ampoule.
The terminal ampoule contains
the terminal spermatophore and
opens at the base of the
coxopod of the fifth pereopods.

 The spermatozoa are minute

globular bodies composed of the
head of about 3 microns in
diameter and a short spike.
The petasma is a pair of
endopods of the first pleopods
formed by the interlocking hooklike structures.
The appendix masculina is oval
and is located on the endopod of

Female Genital Organ

Consists of paired ovaries and oviducts.
Ovaries are bilaterally symmetrical,
partly fused and extend almost the
entire length of the mature female.
It is composed of the anterior lobe
located close to the esophagus and the
cardiac region of the stomach; the
lateral lobes located dorsal to the
hepatopancreas; and the abdominal
lobe w/c lies

Hatchery Facilities

Larval and Postlarval

Tanks
Rubberized canvas, marine
plywood, fiberglass, or concrete.
These can either be circular, oval
or rectangular, depending on the
operators preference or
financial capability.
The capacity of each tank may be
from 1-20 t but 10-12 t tanks are
more economical and practical

 Depth should only be about 1m

because tanks w/c are too deep
are difficult to manage.

Algal tanks
Minute plants (phytoplankton)
are needed as food for the early
life stages of prawn.
Algal tanks must be shallow
(ideally 0.5 m deep) to allow
sufficient light prevention.

Spawning Tanks
It is advantageous to have
smaller tanks w/ volumes
ranging from 0.25 to 1 t where
egg washing is done

Artemia Hatching Tanks

Artemia or brine shrimp is a
protein-rich live food organism
given to prawn larvae starting at
the Mysis stage.
Artemia is available in cyst form
w/c has to be hydrated and
incubated in tanks for at least
18-24 h.

Reservoir
Storage tank is necessary for
chlorination and holding of
filtered and treated water for
daily use.
This must have a total capacity
of at least 50% total larval tank
volume.

Aeration System
Aeration is necessary in hatchery
operations to keep food particles
and algal cells in suspension and
to maintain sufficient dissolved
oxygen levels.
Continuous aeration is essential
during operations. A standby
generator will be very useful
during power interruptions.

Preparation of Spawning, Larval,

and Nursery Tanks
To prevent disease outbreak, the hatchery
should be totally dried after several
production runs.
Tanks and facilities in the hatchery must
also be cleaned well prior to a hatchery
run.
New tanks need to be filled w/ fresh or
seawater for at least a week to avoid
mortalities due to toxic effects of
chemicals used during construction of the
tanks.

Selection and Stocking of

Spawners
Nauplii to be reared to the fry
stage can come from
a) broodstock wild or pondreared immature females
induced to mature by unilateral
eyestalk ablation.
b)Wild spawners female prawns
caught from the sea w/
developed ovaries.

 The number of spawners needed for a

hatchery runs is dependent of the
nauplii requirement.
For every million nauplii about 4-5
wild spawners or 7-8 m female
broodstock are needed.
Spawner procured as nauplii source
must be carefully selected to obtain
high fertilization and hatching rates
of eggs.

 Stage of maturity should not be

used as the basis for selection.
Spawners must also be disease
free. To ensure development of
the eggs, females should be
mated to ensure release of
sperm cells necessary for
fertilization.

Stocking of Nauplii
During stocking and throughout
the culture period, prawn must
not be exposed to abrupt
changes in environmental
conditions.
The prawn must be given time to
gradually adapt to new
conditions to avoid stress and
mortalities.

Feeding
Nauplii subsits on the yolk stored
in their bodies.
Larvae start to feed at the first
protozoeal sub stage ( diatoms like
Skeletonema or Chaetoceros)
Larvae at the second protozoeal
sub stage may be fed Tetraselmis.
At the Mysis Stage, some fish
protein must be present in the diet.

 Newly hatched artemia nauplii and

microparticulate diets, most
commonly used protein source w/c
contain about 45-50% protein.
When they reach the postlarval
stage, egg custard, trash fish, mussel
meat or ground dried acetes (small
shrimp or alamang) can be given to
supplement the Artemia nauplii diet.

Water Management and

Treatment
The quality of the rearing water
in larval tanks deteriorates after
sometime due to the
accumulation of feces, and
decomposition of uneaten food
and dead larvae.
The resulting water temp. and
salinity after water change must
not differ by more than 1C or
2ppt.

 In high density cultures by more (100

nauplii/liter) water change is done daily
starting at the second protozoeal
substage.
About 30% of the water volume is
changed at the protozoeal stage and 50%
at the Mysis stage.
At lower density (50-80 nauplii) water
change is done only after all the prawn in
the tank have metamorphosed to the post
larval stage.

 The latter water mngt. Scheme and

lower stocking densities result to
better survival rates because of lesser
stress due to water change.
Water for rearing is treated w/ 5-10
ppm hypochlorite.
Treated water can be neutralized by
strong aeration until all chlorine
residues are evaporated or by
addition of sodium thiosulfate.

 Hypochlorite kills are retards the growth

of possible harmful microorganisms.
However, it is also toxic to larvae or
postlarvae so water must be neutralized.
Water should also be treated w/ 5-10 ppm
EDTA (ethylene diamine tetracetic acid) to
chelate heavy metals.
High survival rates could also be obtained
when water is allowed to stand about 3
days after neutralization before this used
for culture.

Harvest, Transfer, Packing, and

Transport
Proper procedures must be observed for
harvest, packing, and transport to ensure
high survival of prawn fry.
The number of fry loaded per bag will
depend or the size and age of fry, travel
time, distance, and means of
transportation.
During extended transport periods, water
temperature must be reduced to decrease
molting and metabolic rates and the
incidence of cannibalism among prawn fry.

 However, there is no need to

lower water temperature in
transport bags when
transporting at night or during
cool weather.

Seawater Quality and

Quantity
Seawater w/ minimum seasonal
fluctuation in quality is most
desirable.
It should not be affected by
inland discharges containing
agricultural runoff or industrial
wastes.
Turbidity should be as low as
possible.
Adequate volume of seawater

 The best method to determine

the suitability of seawater for
larval rearing is to conduct
preliminary larval rearing
experiments using pails or small
tanks on the site.
The production of post larvae w/
reasonable survival rate from
eggs in a series of at least three
runs would indicate the

Source of Spawners
Whether the spawners to be used in the
hatchery are matured by means of
eyestalk ablation in tanks, cages or
pens, or caught from the wild, it is most
desirable for a hatchery site to be near
the source of spawners for a constant
supply. Although there are existing
techniques of transporting spawners
over long distances, the quality of eggs
may be greatly affected by the transport
stress.

Road Accessibility
The hatchery should be
accessible by road for
convenience in transporting
supplies and other necessities
for the hatchery operation.
This can also minimize transport
problems in the distribution of
the post larvae to be reared in
ponds far from the hatchery.

Availability of Electric
Power
Electric Power is necessary for
the life system in the hatchery.

Fresh Water Source

The need for fresh water is
minimal but an adequate supply
is essential for miscellaneous
activities and personal needs of
hatchery staff.

Availability of Technical
Staff
The technical expertise
necessary for hatchery
management at this stage is still
rare.

Harvesting
Harvesting is done by first draining out
three-fourths of the volume of water in
the tank. A strainer is used to prevent
the fry from being drained out. The drain
valve is then opened slowly and the
contents discharged into a 150-L
harvesting box. The upper one-fourth
portion of the walls of the harvesting
box is fitted with plastic screen to allow
the water to overflow while retaining the
fry inside.

Questions?