Growth Curves for Macrobrachium rosenbergii in Semi‐Intensive Culture in Brazil

Abstract.— Four 0.02‐ha earthen ponds at the UNESP Aquaculture Center, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil, were stocked with newly metamorphosed Macrobrachium rosenbergii post‐larvae at 1.5 animals/m 2 . After 8 mo, prawn density at harvest ranged from 0.3/m 2 to 0.8/m 2 . Growth curves were determined for each population using von Bertalanffy growth functions. Asymptotic maximum length and asymptotic maximum weight increased as final population size decreased indicating that a strong density effect on prawn growth occurs in semi‐intensive culture, even when populational density varies within a small range of less than 1 animal/m 2 .