The Effect of Starvation and Feeding Regimes On Survival, Intermoult Period and Growth of Cultured Panulirus Japonicus and Thenus Sp. Phyllosomas (Decapoda, Palinuridae and Scyllaridae)

Abstract

The effect of initial starvation and duration of feeding period on survival, intermoult period, and growth of newly hatched phyllosomas of Panulirus japonicus and Thenus sp. was examined under laboratory conditions. P. japonicus larvae were fed on newly hatched Artemia nauplii while Thenus sp. larvae were fed on three-day cultured Artemia nauplii and chopped frozen mussel gonad. During the experiments, P. japonicus and Thenus sp. larvae developed to the fifth and fourth instar, respectively. Results showed that longer periods of time-to-first-feeding (TFF) effectively lengthened the intermoult period of the first instar, but did not affect the duration oflater intermoult periods or growth in size. The 50% level of point-of-no-return (PNR50) in TFF for phyllosomas was estimated to be 3.4 days for P. japonicus and 1.7 days for Thenus sp. The 50% levels ofpoint-of- reserve-saturation (PRS50) were estimated to be 2.0 days and 4.6 days, respectively. These results suggest that palinurid phyllosomas can survive longer periods of starvation than can scyllarid phyllosomas, and indicate differences in metabolism and/or growth rates between the two species.