Mouthpart and alimentary canal development was examined in Lysmata amboinensis larvae using scanning electron microscopy and histology. The gross morphological features of external mouthparts and internal digestive tract structures of larvae at different developmental stages indicate that ingestive and digestive capabilities are well developed from early on. With increasing age of the larvae the mouthpart appendages increased in size, the hepatopancreas in tubular density and the midgut in length. The density of setae and robustness of teeth and spines of individual structures increased. The most pronounced changes from early to late stage larvae involved formation of pores on the paragnaths and labrum, transformation of the mandibular spine-like teeth to molar cusps, development of the filter press in the proventriculus and of infoldings in the previously straight hindgut. The results suggest that early stage L. amboinensis larvae may benefit from soft, perhaps gelatinous prey, whereas later stages are better equipped to handle larger, muscular or more fibrous foods.

Aquaculture production of the cleaner shrimp Lysmata amboinensis, a high‐valued marine ornamental, has been problematic because of prolonged larval development punctuated by periods of mortality. Broodstock maturation diets have been shown to affect fecundity and offspring quality and early survival. The common practice in shrimp culture is the use of fresh frozen foods supplemented with artificial diets. The objective of the study was to identify a suitable maturation diet (natural or artificial) for L. amboinensis. Six diets, comprised of squid, mussel, adult Artemia, a commercial feed, and combinations of the aforementioned, were fed to L. amboinensis for four reproductive cycles. Broodstock fed the squid–mussel diet lost a large proportion of the eggs during incubation, with decreased larval production (P < 0.05). In contrast, broodstock fed Artemia retained the highest proportion of the egg mass; however, hatchability was poor, resulting in low larval numbers per hatch. The Artemia and squid–mussel diets produced significantly fewer larvae than the combination or commercial diets (P < 0.05). In L. amboinensis, a maturation diet consisting of natural feeds alone resulted in poor reproductive performance and partial or complete replacement with an artificial diet was feasible.

Broodstock maturation diets are an important component of shrimp hatchery management, since the nutritional status of spawners can impact on gonadal maturation, egg fecundity, embryo hatchability and overall larval quality. The ability to manipulate the biochemical composition of Artemia to deliver key nutrients to cultured animals has rendered their inclusion in broodstock feeds increasingly common. Lipid enrichment of Artemia to boost their highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) content is a standard procedure. During this study, frozen, lipid-enriched adult Artemia were fed to Lysmata amboinensis broodstock to investigate the suitability of Artemia as maturation diet for the species and elucidate the role of essential fatty acids (EFAs) in the reproductive performance of the shrimp. Four lipid enrichment levels, un-enriched ('

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