Two sets of experimental trials (45 days each) were carried out to optimize protein requirement and stocking densities of Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus post-larvae in nursery rearing. In experiment 1, the effect of varying dietary protein levels (30, 40, 50, and 60%) on the growth performance of nursery reared P. indicus (PL12) was evaluated. The experiment 2 had 3 × 3 factorial design with three levels of stocking density (1650, 3350, 8350 PL m⁻³) and three management systems; zero water exchange (ZWE), ZWE with soil base (ZWE + SN), and ZWE with soil base and substrate integration (ZWE + SN + SUB) resulting in nine treatments. Experiment 2 was followed by a 21-day growth trial in low volume floating cages to estimate the compensatory growth performance. In Exp I, shrimp fed with 30% dietary protein recorded on par (p > 0.05) growth (0.39 ± 0.02 g) and survival (89.13 ± 5.04%) compared to higher protein fed shrimps (ABW: 0.39–0.44 g and 86–93% survival). In experiment 2, both the stocking density and management system had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on growth performance parameters. The final body weight and survival in low (1650 PL m⁻³) and medium-density (3350 PL m⁻³) groups were not significantly different (p > 0.05). However, a density-dependent growth reduction (p < 0.05) was observed in high-density (ZWE and ZWE + SN) groups. Integration of substrate (ZWE + SN + SUB) in nursery rearing has resulted in better growth characteristics even at high-density groups (8350 PL m⁻³) through alleviating the adverse effects of crowding stress. Water quality parameters such as total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), nitrite-N, dissolved oxygen level, and total suspended solids (TSS) varied significantly (p < 0.05) among the treatments. Significantly lower TSS (p < 0.01) and TAN (p < 0.05) were recorded in zero water exchange (ZWE) and zero water with substrate integrated nurseries (ZWE + SN + SUB), respectively. The compensatory growth of the nursery reared shrimp in cages exhibited stocking size-dependent (p < 0.05) growth gain. The study explores the growth potential of Indian white shrimp under different nursery rearing techniques in tropical conditions.

进行了两组实验试验（每组45天）以优化苗圃饲养中印度白对虾印度对虾对虾的蛋白质需求量和放养密度。在实验1中，评估了日粮蛋白质水平（30％，40％，50％和60％）变化对育苗印度对虾（PL12）生长性能的影响。实验2采用3×3因子设计，具有三个水平的放养密度（1650、3350、8350 PL m ^-3）和三个管理系统；零水交换（ZWE），具有土壤基础的ZWE（ZWE + SN）和具有土壤基础和底物整合的ZWE（ZWE + SN + SUB），共进行了9种处理。实验2之后是在小容量浮笼中进行的21天生长试验，以评估补偿性生长性能。在实验I中，饲喂30％日粮蛋白的虾的 生长水平（p > 0.05）（0.39±0.02 g）和存活率（89.13±5.04％），而饲喂高蛋白虾类（ABW：0.39–0.44 g和86–86） 93％的生存率）。在实验2中，放养密度和管理系统都 对生长性能参数产生了显着影响（p <0.05）。低体重（1650 PL m ^-3）和中密度（3350 PL m ^-3）的最终体重和存活率）组无显着差异（p  > 0.05）。但是， 在高密度（ZWE和ZWE + SN）组中观察到了密度依赖性的生长减少（p <0.05）。通过减轻拥挤胁迫的不利影响，即使在高密度群体（8350 PL m ^-3）下，在育苗场中整合底物（ZWE + SN + SUB）也具有更好的生长特性。各处理之间的水质参数，如总氨氮（TAN），亚硝酸盐-N，溶解氧含量和总悬浮固体（TSS）差异显着（p  <0.05）。TSS显着降低（p 分别在零水交换（ZWE）和零水与基质集成苗圃（ZWE + SN + SUB）中记录了<0.01）和TAN（p <0.05）。网箱育苗虾的补偿性生长表现出放养的大小依赖性（p  <0.05）。该研究探索了热带条件下不同育苗技术下印度白虾的生长潜力。