IHHN Virus as an Etiological Factor in Runt-Deformity Syndrome (RDS) of Juvenile Penaeus vannamei Cultured in Hawaii

Runtdeformity syndrome (RDS) is an economically significant, frequent disease problem of cultured Penaeus vannamei . RDS is characterized by variable, often greatly reduced, growth rate of up to 30% of a cultured population and many shrimp with cuticle deformities of the rostrum, anterior appendages or other parts. The cause of RDS is undetermined.
Nursery trials comparing histologically IHHN-positive and histologically IHHN-negative Penaeus vannamei cultured under identical conditions were conducted at The Oceanic Institute. The IHHN-positive populations developed RDS symptoms including increased individual size variation, reduced population growth, and high prevalance of rostrum, antennae or cuticle deformity, while the IHHN-negative groups displayed none of these symptoms. No other diseases or parasites were identified in the IHHN-positive populations that would account for the RDS symptoms.
A single commercialele nursery was stocked with histologidly IHHN-positive P. vannamei and a high prevalence of RDS was observed. Shrimp growth was bimodal with a subpopulation growing normally and a subpopulation growing slowly. Significant relationships between shrimp harvest size and IHHN prevalance, selected individual organ IHHN severity grades and IHHN severity index (six organs evaluated) were found. Large, apparently normal shrimp were less severely infected with virus and did not display any cuticle deformities.
In sum, these data provide epidemiological and histopathological evidence for the hypothesis that infection by IHHN virus is the cause of RDS in cultured P. vannamei .     

Induced Ovarian Maturation of Penaeus vannamei by Implantation of Lobster Ganglion

Induction of ovarian maturation in Penaeus vannamei , by implantation of ganglion prepared from female lobster, Homarus americanus , with developing ovaries was investigated under tank culture conditions. Four of six females with thoracic ganglion implants were maturing while only two of thirteen females of the control groups with abdominal ganglion or no implant matured. Two ripe stage V were found 18 days after implantation of lobster's thoracic ganglion. This indicates that ovarian maturation of P. vannumei in tanks can be induced and accelerated by implantation of thoracic ganglion prepared from maturing females of another species. Ovarian maturation may be induced by a gonad-stimulating hormone, secreted by the thoracic ganglion of maturing females. This gonnd-stimdating hormone is not species specific in activity in the shrimp and lobster.     

Biochemical Composition of Pond Biota, Shrimp Ingesta, and Relative Growth of Penaeus vannamei in Earthen Ponds

Indigenous pond biota contribute to the nutrition of shrimp grown in semi-intensive and extensive earthen ponds. Penaeus vannomei ingesta was used to assess the nutritional contribution of pond biota and applied feed in model 225 m² nominally managed earthen ponds. Biochemical analyses were also performed on representative pond biota and pond environment samples. Average dry matter shrimp ingesta composition ( N = 64) was: available carbohydrate, 4.2%± 1.8%; lipid, 4.8%± 2.3%; available protein, 9.6%± l.0%; carbon, 9.6%± 1.0%; nitrogen, 5.9%± 2.9%. Ingesta carbon decreased from 27.0%± 3.9% on week 2 to 16.3%± 3.3% on week 8, and nitrogen content decreased from 9.5%± 4.3% to 3.6%± 0.8% during the same interval. The decrease of ingesta C:N ratio from weeks 2 to 8 may indicate changing nutritional requirements of the shrimp. Ingesta essential amino acids varied by less than 10% from short-neck clam protein. Except for several samples which were low in arginine, pond biota and environment samples contained amino acid profiles which were close to short-neck clam. Essential fatty acid composition of shrimp ingesta was highly variable. Ingesta 22:6 fatty acid was present in populations of shrimp from ponds experiencing the highest weekly growth rates. Ingesta 22:6 fatty acid was not present in measurable amounts in shrimp experiencing the lowest growth. The unsaturated fatty acids 20:5 and 22:6 were absent from some pond biota and environment samples and abundant in others. The applied diet contained no measurable 20:5 or 22:6. The management implications of shrimp ingesta biochemical analyses are that diets may be fed which nutritionally complement pond biota consumed by the shrimp.     

Paddlewheel Effects on Shrimp Growth, Production and Crop Value in Commercial Earthen Ponds

The effects of continuous paddlewheel operation on shrimp growth, yield and crop value were studied in Hawaii. Six 0.4 ha earthen ponds were stocked with Penaeus vannamei at 25 postlarvae/m². Three ponds served as controls with no mechanical aeration or mixing. Each of the other three ponds had two 1 hp paddlewheel aerators (3.7 kw/ha) running continuously throughout the five month trial (29 April-8 October 1986). All other management factors were applied uniformly.
Daily water temperature and use were significantly different between treatments. Paddlewheel ponds had lower water temperatures (28.3 vs. 28.5 C) and lower water use (0.8% exchange per day vs. 2.2% exchange per day) than control ponds.
Faster shrimp growth in paddlewheel ponds was evident in week 8. At week 14, mean shrimp body weights and growth rates were significantly greater. Shrimp at harvest were 21.2 ± 2.6 g in paddlewheel ponds versus 15.3 ± 2.6 g in control ponds. Mean shrimp production was 2,852 ± 222 kg/ha in paddlewheel ponds compared to only 2,061 ± 558 kg/ha in controls. Mean crop value was $13,719 per pond per crop for paddlewheel ponds versus $9,111 for control ponds. Hence, paddlewheels afforded an increase of 42% in net crop value after subtracting purchase and operating costs.     

Shrimp Yields and Economic Potential of Intensive Round Pond Systems

Three intensive growout trials using Penaeus vunnumei were conducted in round ponds in Hawaii in 1987. A 337 m² experimental pond was stocked at 100 shrimp/m² for two trials; a 2,000 m² commercial prototype pond was stocked at 75/m² for one trial. In the experimental pond trials, shrimp survival averaged 88 ± 10% (SE) and feed conversion averaged 2.2 ± 0.2. Growth averaged 1.5 ± 0.3 g/week, yielding 18.2 ± 1.7 gram shrimp in 80 ± 5.5 days. Combined production in the experimental trials was 32,272 kg/ha in 174 days (from stocking of trial 1 to harvest of trial 2). Comparing these results to 1986 results (Wyban and Sweeney 1988), it was concluded that shrimp growth is not affected and production is doubled by increasing stocking density from 45/m² to 100/m². Pooling data from 1986 and 1987, a significant linear regression was obtained when weekly growth of shrimp above four grams individual size was regressed on mean weekly pond temperature: growth = 0.37 * temperature - 8.44, (r²= 0.41; P < 0.01). Multiple regression to examine effects of shrimp size, pond biomass, and shrimp age on the temperature-growth relationship was not significant. In the commercial prototype pond trial, survival was 67% and feed conversion was 2.0. Growth averaged 1.4 g/week, yielding 18.1 gram shrimp in 88 days. Production was 9,120 kg/ha. Individual shrimp size distribution at harvest in the commercial pond was similar to experimental pond results, indicating that shrimp growth in the two systems was comparable. Financial characteristics of a hypothetical 24 pond shrimp farm using these results were determined using an electronic spreadsheet model (hung and Rowland 1987). Feed costs were 40% of total operating costs while postlarvae and labor were 14% and 16% of total operating costs, respectively. Breakeven price (BEP) was far more sensitive to changes in revenuedetermining inputs such as survival and growth than to comparable changes in costdetermining inputs such as feed and postlarvae costs. Together these results suggest that commercial scale round pond production mimics experimental scale production and that round pond technology has commercial potential.