Aerated sea mud is beneficial for post-nursery culture of early juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka)

Abstract

The incorporation of sea mud into formulated diets could improve sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka, 1867) growth in aquaculture systems. This study focused on the activation of sea mud by aeration 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days (marked as A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, and A5) and dealt with the effects of the processing time on growth, feeding rate, and other physiological parameters of juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Activation time greatly affected the proportion of potential probiotics present in sea mud. The growth, survival, ingestion rate, digestibility, and ammonia-nitrogen production of sea cucumbers increased as the percentage of probiotics increased. The growth and survival rates of juvenile sea cucumbers fed diet A1 were significantly higher than those in all other groups. These results suggest that it is beneficial to activate natural sea mud for 1 day prior to inclusion in the diet of post-nursery juvenile sea cucumbers. The findings should be helpful in the development of environmentally sustainable and healthy culture technique for holothurians.