Growth of the hatchery-produced juveniles of commercial sea cucumber Holothuria (Theelothuria) spinifera Theel

Abstract

The present study was conducted to develop the hatchery technology for seed production of the widely exploited commercial sea cucumber Holothuria spinifera Theel 1886, to facilitate an e¡ective stock enhancement programme. Broodstock collected by skin divers were used for spawning trials. The embryonic and larval stages were similar to other aspidochirotes. The larval survival rate was 43.5% on day 9, which decreased to 18.3% nearing metamorphosis on day 13, the growth rate was 48 mm day À1 and the settlement rate was 3.5%. Algamacs used to induce settlement also served as the food source for the early settled juveniles, followed by Sargassum spp. extract (o40 mm) for the ¢rst month. Sargassum spp. powder along with ¢ne sand (1:1) was given to juveniles 420 mm. Addition of Spirulina spp. along with Sargassum spp. powder and ¢ne sand (0.5:1:2) enhanced the growth rate of the juveniles. In the hatchery, the juveniles attained an average size of 1, 30 and 48 on 20, 80 and 120 days respectively.

Evaluation of the growth and survival rate of the Caribbean Sea cucumber, Isostichopus badionotus (Selenka, 1867), early juveniles produced in captivity

“…In this study, postsettled I. badionotus juveniles showed a GR of 0.18 mm/day and 0.30 mm/day in small and large organisms, respectively. In tropical sea cucumber species, the highest GR of early juveniles until their release to outdoor ponds or the wild to complete their growth was reported for H. spinifera (1.5 mm/day), with a mean length of 48 mm after 120 DPF (Asha & Muthiah, ). Other tropical species, including Stichopus sp.…”

Present Status and Future Prospects of Sea Cucumber Breeding and Culture in India

“…3 One-month-old juveniles of sea cucumbers: (a) H. scabra and (b) H. spinifera juveniles attained an average length of 20 mm, a mixture of Sargassum spp. powder and fine sand in a proportion of 1:2 was given at 1 % of the body weight of the juveniles (initially <80; <200 μm as the days progressed) (Asha and Muthiah 2007). Addition of Algamac at 2 % level was provided along with the above feed.…”

“…The newly settled pentactulae can continue to feed Algamac for 1 month with slowly raising the concentration from 0.5 g to 1 g 500 À1 (Asha and Muthiah 2007). The periodic thinning out of the pentactulae to reduce the stocking density is found to improve the growth rate (Sui et al 1986).…”

Untitled

“…Although, the success of artificial feeds as Algamac in promoting growth of a tropical sea cucumber Holothuria scabra has been reported by Giraspy and Ivy (2008), the efficiency on growth of Holothuria tubulosa is not well known and commercially availability is limited in Turkey. Thus, a natural macroalgal diet which is successfull in postlarval and nursery rearing stages (Asha and Muthiah, 2007;Liu et al, 2010;Yanagisawa, 1998) had been used as feed in this study. The proximate composition of macroalgal diet was analyzed Wendee Analyse Method (Nehring, 1960) and listed in Table 1.…”

“…tubulosa as a deposit-feeder, ingests superficial sediment, feed on non-living detritus and associated microorganisms (Massin and Jangoux, 1976, Moriarty, 1982, Birkeland, 1988 and inhabits Posidonia oceanica meadows where it often occurs in dense populations and represents a significant part of the macrozoobenthic biomass of the Mediterranean Sea (Mezali, et al, 2006;Costa et al, 2014). Most aspidochirotid holothurians follow the life cycle of pre-auricularia, early, mid and late auricularia and subsequent metamorphosis to the doliolaria (nonfeeding) stage before settlement, pentactula, juvenile and adult stages (Hamel and Mercier, 1996;Hamel et al, 2003;Laxminarayana, 2005;Asha and Muthiah, 2002;Asha and Muthiah, 2005).…”