This article reports the changes in growth, production
and histology of Penaeus monodon infested with loose
shell syndrome in modified extensive grow-out ponds.
The carapace of the affected shrimp is papery in nature
and the gill is brown in colour. The gill filament shows
fouling by protozoa and muddy particles. Hepatopancreas
tissue reveals the absence of fat globules in its cells.
Secondary infection of shrimp is caused by microbes and
this fouling leads to the severity of the disease. In the loose
shell-affected pond, the final average body weight of
shrimps on 147 days of culture is 27.87 g, but in the case of
the normal pond it is 31.29 g on the 140th day. The average
daily growth rate of the loose shell-affected shrimp
is 0.18 g and in the normal pond it is 0.22 g. The mean
final survival rate of the loose shell-affected pond is
60.65% and in the normal pond it is 81.95%. The mean
biomass production of the affected pond is 1058.97 kg/ha–1.
and in the normal pond it is 1915.21 kg ha–1. The poor
survival and biomass production in the loose shell-affected
pond is due to cannibalistic behaviour of the shrimp
during loose shell disease. There is also a derangement
of parameters, especially salinity and temperature in the
loose shell-affected pond.