AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT HEALTH OF EARTHEN PONDS AND CONDITION INDEX OF WHITELEG SHRIMP (Litopenaeus vannamei Boon, 1931)

The study on the Aquatic Environment Health of Ponds and Condition Index are important factors for evaluating the physiological status of the shrimp. The morphometric measurements studied were the total length and weight of 1200 randomly selected shrimp specimens from four different earthen ponds located at Palsana, Valsad (Gujarat) during the culture period. Based on the findings of this research, it is concluded that the water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, and hardness were optimum which indicated the suitable environmental conditions for shrimp growth. The observed length, weight, and condition factor (K) of shrimp in all the studied ponds (A, B, C and D) were significantly different. The Correlation coefficient (r) between the variables Condition factor and AEHP showed salinity as an important regulatory factor. The findings showed that the farm operation would be helpful for the farmers to proceed with the economic shrimp production. The findings suggest that the ecological indices (AEHP and Condition Index) in cultured shrimps provide useful information about cultural conditions to the farmers and aquaculture experts. The farm operators could use these indices to assess individual health and habitat conditions through the application of appropriate farming operations. KEYWORDS: Length, weight, condition, culture, earthen pond