Preliminary observations on the tank and pond culture of the glass eels of the Australian shortfin eel, Anguilla australis Richardson

Abstract

There is expanding interest in the culture of the Australian short®n eel Anguilla australis Richardson; however, there is a lack of fundamental biology and husbandry information necessary to further develop an industry within Australia. The present study was undertaken to gain a preliminary understanding of basic husbandry requirements for rearing of juvenile A. australis (glass eels and elvers) in tanks and earthen ponds. Newly caught glass eels were successfully acclimated to culture conditions. During tank culture trials, speci®c growth rates (SGR) and survival rates ranged from ±2.1 to 2.8% day ±1 and 52% to 100% respectively. Glass eels weaned onto a commercial eel diet exhibited a signi®cantly greater SGR and survival rate than those weaned onto a commercial trout diet. Glass eels weaned onto an eel diet over a 15-day period grew slightly faster than eels weaned over a 5-day period, but survival rates were not signi®cantly different for each treatment. SGRs (up to 2.8% day ±1 ) were signi®cantly higher for glass eels fed at 9 and 12% day ±1 than at 6% day ±1 . Stocking densities between 2.5 kg m ±3 and 30 kg m ±3 did not in¯uence either SGR or survival rates. SGRs were signi®cantly higher for glass eels cultured at 25°C than at lower temperatures. During pond culture trials, SGRs and survival rates ranged from 1.36 to 1.65% day ±1 and 39% to 77% respectively. The SGR and survival rates of juvenile eels stocked into ponds receiving supplementary feeding with a commercial eel diet were not signi®cantly different to those of eels stocked into ponds that did not receive supplementary feeding.

Effects of salinity and temperature on the growth and survival of New Zealand shortfin,Anguilla australis, and longfin,A. dieffenbachii, glass eels

“…Our results indicate that shortfin and longfin glass eels have the ability to acclimate to a wide range of salinities. Similar results have been reported with shortfin (Ingram et al 2001) and European glass eels (Fontaine & Raffy 1932; Wilson, Antunes, Buça & Coimbra 2004). The adaptability of glass eels to salinity was evaluated from the development and the physiological responses of gill CC morphology.…”

“…Anguillid eels are an important aquaculture species in several European and Asian countries, and to a lesser extent in North America and Australia (Ingram, Gooley, De Silva, Larkin & Collins 2001). Worldwide production is estimated at 242 000 million tonnes per annum, which is worth over $US 1 billion (FAO 2005).…”

Modification in Body Fat Content and Fatty Acid Profile of Wild Yellow Shortfin Eel, Anguilla australis, through Short‐term Fattening

“…Several studies have been conducted on the culture of the glass eel and elver stages of the shortfin eel life cycle (De Silva et al 2001a, 2001b; Ingram et al 2001; Gooley and Ingram, 2002; Engin and Carter 2002; Gunasekera et al 2002; Engin and Carter 2005, 2006; Kearney 2009, among others). By contrast, studies on culturing or fattening of the yellow stage of this species are limited.…”

Estuarine habitat preferences of Anguilla australis and A. reinhardtii glass eels as inferred from laboratory experiments

“…The size of each batch varied but comprised enough eels to provide a sample size of between 24 and 30 eels for each experimental tank (a density of 0.28-0.35 glass eels l )1 ). These densities were considered conservative since, in tank culture trials, Ingram et al (2001) showed that stocking densities of glass eels at approximately 15 glass eels l )1 did not influence the growth or survival rates of shortfins.…”