A preliminary study of the Caprella scaura amphipod culture for potential use in aquaculture

The caprellid amphipod Caprella scaura Templeton, 1836 was investigated as a mass culture organism, for potential use as natural prey in aquaculture. C. scaura showed good population growth during 3 months of culturing with nauplii of Artemia sp. and microalgae as food source. A final mean population size of 12,510.67 individuals/tank and a maximum density of 10,460 individuals m^? 2 were obtained; a 50-fold increase of the initial population was observed. Juveniles were the most abundant stage in the culture (86.0% of total), followed by mature females (5.4%) and immature males (3.1%). Three kinds of plastic mesh with different complexity levels were used as artificial substrates for amphipods to attach to and shelter. There were no significant differences in the total number of individuals present on each kind of mesh, although female and male adults were more abundant in folded meshes with larger pore diameter. This research demonstrated that the caprellid amphipod C. scaura may be readily cultured at high densities with a variety of mesh morphologies allowing more efficient use of tank volume and improved handling.