Potential inert diets to supplement Artemia in larviculture of the giant Africa river prawn Macrobrachium vollenhovenii (Herklots, 1857) (Crustacea: Palaemonidae)

Abstract

The protocol of culture of Macrobrachium vollenhovenii the main indigenous candidate for freshwater prawn culture in Africa is still under study. Though just few information exists, the transition of larvae from stage V to stage VI has been reported as the critical rearing period in larviculture. This study was to evaluate the efficiency of two locally diets to supplement Artemia in the feeding scheme from stage V to post larvae in the larviculture of this species. The two experimental diets were differentiated by the main source of protein: fish silage (Diet 1) and shrimp meat (Diet 2). One batch of larvae was cultured till stage V. The experiment itself was conducted in triplicate with three treatments: feeding Artemia exclusively (TA, control); fed partial replacement of Artemia with inert diet 1 (T1) or fed partial replacement of Artemia with diet 2 (T2). Larval development in T2 was significantly faster than TA and T1. Survival rate was significantly higher in T2 (12.64±1.2%) than TA (6.57±0.29%) and T1 (6.77±0.17%). The total length of larvae in T2 was significantly higher than TA and T1. Though the highest survival obtained in this study is still low, it’s however higher than those reported in other studies with this species. Also, the importance of finding alternatives to Artemia and cheaper diets remains very important.