Occurrence and growth of the commercially important red algae in a fish culture pond at Mandapam

Abstract

The red algae Gracilaria edulis, Hypnea valentiae, Acanthophora spicifera and Sarconema indica have been observed to occur and grow in a culture pond. Over a period of eight months, the algae grew to 104 kg in the pard of 800 sq m. The hydrological conditions in the pond are compared to those in the sea containing natural beds of these algae during the period of observations. This occurrence and growth may open up the possibility of growing these algae in culture ponds providing the required hydrological and nutrient conditions.