Although qualitative requirements for vitamins and
minerals have been elucidated for several commercially
important penaeid shrimp species, quantitative requirements
for these nutrients are not well defined (Conklin,
1997; Davis and Lawrence, 1997). Difficulties in quantifying
water-soluble vitamin requirements for shrimp exist
because of challenges associated with delivering these
nutrients to aquatic organisms. Shrimp are slow eaters and
feed pellets can remain submerged in water for several
hours prior to ingestion. Once a pellet is located, it is
grasped by the shrimp's pereiopods and transferred to the
mouthparts (Hindley and Alexander, 1978). Small particles
are placed directly in a pre-oral cavity, whereas larger items
are held to the mouthparts by the third maxillipeds for