Occurrence and Growth of the Commercially Important Red Algae in a Fish Culture Pond at Mandapam

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 pond 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 occurenceand growth may open up the possibility of growing  thses algae in culture ponds providing the requisite hydrological and nutrient conditions.