Growth of Juveniles of the Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium nipponense in the Laboratory, with Special Reference to the Estimation of Longevity for Wild Individuals

Abstract

Growth of juveniles of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium nipponense was investigated at the controlled water temperature 28±1°C in the laboratory. Among the individuals derived from a single brood, about a half of the females attained the body length 25 to 32 mm after ten weeks from the time of metamorphosis into postlarva, i. e., roughly estimated 15 weeks from the time of spawning by mother prawn. As the body size of such females was large enough to sexually mature in the field, it is probable that, under certain environmental conditions, females born at the beginning of a breeding season grow up and breed at the end of that breeding season which lasts three to four months. With this result, the data for growth and longevity of M. nipponense individuals in the field was critically reviewed.