POLYCULTURE OF PACIFIC WHITE SHRIMP (Litopenaeus vannamei) POSTLARVAE WITH VARYING STOCKING DENSITIES OF ORANGE- SPOTTED SPINE FOOT (Siganus guttatus) FINGERLINGS

Stocking performance and production of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) polycultured with orange-spotted spine foot (Siganus guttatus) fingerlings were determined by using 12 hapa net cages, each ImxImx1.5m, used as enclosures installed in bamboo frames in one of the experimental ponds. Complete randomized design using shrimp post larvae initial body weight, 0.0025g) and orange-spotted spine foot weighing 1.07g were stocked into 12 enclosures at a rate of 5:20, 10:20, 15:20, and 0:20 spine foot to shrimp ratio per cubic meter as Treatment I, II, II, and IV respectively. Shrimp was reared by feeding commercial feed and by administration of chemical fertilizer. Overall survival rate of shrimp was 98.33%, 85.00%, 83.33% and 98.33% treatments J, II, III and IV respectively and did not differ among treatments. Mean final sizes of shrimp decreased with increase in spine foot stocking density. As stocking density of the spine foot increased from 5/m2 to 15/m^2, mean shrimp yield decreased from 8.9033g/m^2 to 7.5733g/m^2. There was a pronounced influence of spine foot density on growth, survival and yields of shrimp. At 5spinefoot/m^2, survival rate (98.33%), final body weight (8.9033g) of shrimp was high. The optimum stocking density of spine foot and shrimp was 5:20, respectively.