• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2000

Successive management of prawn farm is strongly dependent upon monitoring of pond seawater quality which is generally influenced by an excessive food supplied sediment type and phytoplankton composition in the pond. For good condition of seawater quality it must need exchangning of fresh seawater by tidal current. Two distinct shrimp ponds Galha and Yunho which were different in seawater exchanging system and sediment type were selected to understand how some factors affected to seawater and sediment qualities in the pond. Prawn growth was also determined. Galha pond characterized by sand bottom with water exchanging by turn of the tidal current accumulated 1.8 mgS/g-dry as sulfide in sediment while Yunho pond mud- bottomed with seawater exchanging of pumping system showed 4.7mgS/g-dry when it was highest, Ammonia-N and hydrogen sulfide measured in the seawater were 0.31mg/${\ell}$ and 21.2 ${\mu}$${\ell}$/${\ell}$in Yunho and 0.10mg/${\ell}$and 10.8${\mu}$${\ell}$/${\ell}$in Galha pond respectively. Dissolved oxygen remained below 6.0mg/${\ell}$ in Galha and 5.0mg/${\ell}$in Yunho pond from June through August. Less growth of prawn was found in Yunho pond than in Galha pond. Prawn growth expressed as body length and weight were 138.3mm 22.9g in Yunho pond while they were length 158.2mm and 28.9g in Galha pond respectively when they were harvested in October. These results indicate that higher levels of ammonia-N and hydrogen sulfide and lower dissolved oxygen in bottom seawater of Yunho pond might affect the growth of cultured prawn.