Some Methods of Binding Prawn Diets and Their Effects on Growth and Assimilation

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Abstract
A test was devised for estimating the water-stability of bound dry meal diets for prawns. Using this system the water-stability of a standard diet bound in the form of jellies, pastes or dry pellets with different binding agents was estimated. On the basis of these tests the following binding agents were selected for some preliminary experiments to determine their effect on assimilation efficiency and growth in the prawn Palaemon serratus; the concentration used (% dry w/w) is given in parentheses: Jellies, agar (3·0): Pastes, XB-23 (2·5); carboxymenthyl cellulose (2·5); Carbopol 934 (2·5); guar gum (2·5): Dry pellets, polyvinylalcohol (2·0); Manucol EA/LH (2·0); XB-23 (2·0); casein (4·0). The experiments showed that none of the binders had a serious effect on assimilation efficiency but that growth in short-term feeding experiments (4 weeks) was affected by the form of the diet. A comparison with growth on an agar bound diet (= 100%) showed that mean growth on pastes was generally less (88·3%), and mean growth on dry pellets was 60·5%. Some possible explanations for these results are discussed, together with some further considerations on the selection of a suitable binding agent for prawn diets, such as possible binder toxicity and cost.

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