UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

A 120 days research experimental work from 09-04-2025 to 06-08-2025 was conducted in the uniform size glass aquarium tanks with 60 cm X 25 cm X 40 cm dimensions of 60 liters capacity to assess the influence of red seaweed Gracilaria edulis meal on survival and growth performance of pacific white leg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei through administration with various levels in the experimental diets. A total of 144 shrimps were randomly allotted to 12 tanks with an average initial weight of 1.09 ± 0.02 g (12 shrimps per tank) with 4 different treatment groups and 3 replicates per treatment and fed trice per day. Four practical iso-nitrogenous diets (~ 36% Protein) were manufactured with graded levels of red seaweed Gracilaria edulis meal. The control treatment diet (C) comprised of a basal ingredients without Gracilaria edulis meal; in contrast, the remaining treatment groups were complement with varying levels of Gracilaria edulis meal i.e. T-1 diet with 2% of Gracilaria edulis meal; T-2 diet with 4% of Gracilaria edulis meal and T-3 diet with 6% of Gracilaria edulis meal. According to research study regarding of nutrient profile red seaweed Gracilaria edulis meal consisted of desirable crude protein levels with 16.86 ± 0.28%, but low in crude fat levels with value of 1.14 ± 0.06% and a significant difference (P< 0.05) was noticed in growth and nutrient utilization parameters such as weight gain%, specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER) including survival rate of the experimental animals. The highest weight gain, weight gain% and specific growth rate were observed in the group fed with diet T-3, whereas the lowest values of those respective growth parameters were found in control diet. Related to nutrient utilization parameters the lowest feed conversion ratio and the higher protein efficiency ratio were detected in the experimental animal Litopenaeus vannamei fed diet T-3, in contrast the highest feed conversion ratio and lower protein efficiency ratio were discovered in control diet. The highest survival rate of selected animal was found in T-3 group fed diet compared to other treatment groups including control. The overall results indicated that the pacific white leg shrimp fed with 6% red seaweed Gracilaria edulis meal (T-3 group) revealed the best performance in terms of growth and nutrient utilization parameters in this study. Hence, it can be concluded that Gracilaria edulis meal can be included up to 6% in the diet of Litopenaeus vannamei for optimum production without any deleterious effects.