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This study investigated short-term effects of temperature on survival, body weight and the fatty acid profile of farmed marine polychaete Perinereis helleri-an excellent live feed maturation diet for penaeid shrimp broodstock. Two consecutive experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of low temperature (4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 • C) and high temperature (20, 24, 28, 32 and 36 • C) on a 7-month-old population of P. helleri farmed at Bribie Island Research Centre, Australia. The experimental polychaetes were purged for 24 h at 20 • C before being transferred directly into 500 ml glass chambers, sealed and submersed in different target temperature water baths. The jars were then kept for 3 or 6 h in the low-temperature experiment and 1 or 3 h in the hightemperature experiment, respectively. Results showed that mortality occurred only at 4 • C and 8 • C (p < 0.01). Weight loss occurred across all treatments of the lowtemperature experiment, but only at 36 • C in the high-temperature one. Analysis of lipid classes and fatty acids show that farmed P. helleri is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, i.e. 37% of total fatty acids), especially arachidonic acid (ARA,.The total value of essential fatty acids was 15.8% of total fatty acids or 16.8 mg/g dry matter. The n-3:n-6 ratio was 1.07 ± 0.04. This study suggests that P. helleri can be transported at ambient temperature of 16-20 • C and can be farmed in a tropical climate.