Yolk resorption and larval development in the brackish river prawn Macrobrachium macrobrachion under laboratory conditions: Perspectives for aquaculture

Abstract

Macrobrachium macrobrachion is an African native brackish river prawn with a high commercial value. Currently, there is little information on the post‐larval production of this species. Two experiments were conducted in the laboratory to develop production techniques for this species. The first experiment analyzed the duration of yolk resorption and the second described the larval stages. Yolk resorption was studied in 240 newly hatched larvae for 24 h based on the reduction in yolk area over time. For larval development stages, six breeding tanks containing 100 L with a density of 50 larvae/L were used. Larvae were fed a combination of Artemia nauplii, Brachionusplicatilis, and pelleted food (Larviva ProStart, Biomar Efico). The results have shown that the area of yolk reserves varied significantly in the hours after hatching. At 14 h after hatching, each larva resorbed approximately 85% of its yolk reserve, and at 18 h after hatching, each of them still had approximately 6.1%. Twelve larval stages were identified and described in three critical stages. M. macrobrachion larvae are lecithotrophic and need to start exogenous feeding at 14 h at the earliest and 18 h at the latest after hatching. These results are the first to highlight the potential for mass production of brackish river prawns.