In this study, an effort was made to cure the pigment deficiency syndrome (PDS) exhibited by pond-reared Fenneropenaeus indicus (H.Milne Edwards) broodstock, using the blue-green algae Spirulina as a carotenoid source in diet. The PDS symptoms included bleaching of ovary and reduced early larval performance. Biochemical analysis indicated reduced quantity of total carotenoids in egg and nauplii from the females with PDS. When PDS females were fed 30 g kg )1 Spirulina-supplemented diet immediately after the appearance of symptoms, the egg and nauplii carotenoid values improved gradually and attained the pre-PDS values after a minimum of 4 week period. Spirulina supplementation also improved significantly (P < 0.05) the spawn quality (hatch per spawn, nauplii per spawn, nauplii viability) and larval quality indices (P < 0.05). The egg and nauplii protein values exhibited a trend similar to carotenoids, confirming the influence of latter on protein stability previously reported by researchers. The study confirms the bioavailability of carotenoids from Spirulina to shrimp broodstock and recommends its regular inclusion in diet to preclude carotenoid deficiency-related problems in shrimp hatcheries. KEY WORDSKEY WORDS: egg carotenoids, larval quality, pigment deficiency syndrome, shrimp broodstock, Spirulina platensis.

Settlement of the fouling community is generally influenced by the physical, chemical and biological properties of the settling surface. The colour of the substratum may also exert an influence on larval settlement. In the present study, the influence of surface colour on the recruitment of fouling communities was investigated by suspending acrylic panels (red, green, blue, white and yellow) in coastal waters. Results showed that the colour of the substratum plays an important role in the recruitment of sessile species. Recruitment was comparatively high on red and blue coloured surfaces. Barnacle and tubeworm recruitment showed significant variation (Tukey test, P , 0.05) between different coloured surfaces. The significant conclusion of this study is that the colour of the artificial substrata should be taken into consideration when interpreting results from short-term biofouling studies.

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