The potential of mixed culture of freshwater giant prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii de Man and tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon Fab. at Khulna region, Bangladesh

The freshwater giant prawn (golda), Macrobrachium rosenbergii and tiger shrimp (bagda), Penaeus monodon were stocked together with or without fin fishes at different stocking rates in semi-saline waters at Khulna region and their growth, survival, yield and costreturn analysis were made. Survival rate of golda and bagda ranged from 23.0 to 36.8% and 8.2 to 24%, respectively. The both species were significantly affected by their own stocking density. The average final weight of golda and bagda ranged from 62.4 to 73.3 g and 32.0 to 66.4 g. The bivariate analysis of average final weight of both golda and bagda revealed that golda positively and bagda negatively influenced by the total stocking density. However, the results of the individual sizes of both golda and bagda showed an increase in the proportions of smaller animals and a decrease in the proportion of larger ones with increasing stocking rates. The harvesting weights of all animals in the experimental ghers were in marketable sizes although their prices varied with the individual size. The total production comprised of both golda and bagda ranged from 514.6 to 952.8 kg ha·1, over a culture period of 10 months. Return on investment ranged from 51.0 to 125.7%.