Breeding and larval rearing in hatchery of Macrobrachium vollenhovenii (Herklots, 1857) in a perspective of biological control against human Schistosomiasis in tropical area

Abstract

As part of an effort to use biological control against human schistosomiasis, post-larval production of the prawn Macrobrachium vollenhovenii was carried out in a hatchery. This species is a freshwater native and is fond of mollusks, intermediate hosts of schistosomes that transmit human diseases in the wild. The larval production of this species occurred in six (06) tanks - two 200 L and four 600 L. The management of brood stock took place in fresh water, with a ratio of one male to four females. Each fertilized female produced thousands of eggs attached to the abdomen until hatching about two weeks later. The larvae resulting from this reproduction were raised to the post-larval stage in brackish water at a salinity of 15 ppt. The larvae must undergo a molt between each stage. We identified 15 morphological stages between stage 1 and the post-larval stage. The duration from stage 1 until onset of the first post-larval stage in the six (06) tanks was on average 54 days after hatching. The success of larvi culture is defined by the rate of metamorphosis of the larvae into post-larvae, which, in our case, varied between 0.17% and 3.08%, depending on the production tanks, with an average of 2.8%. These results show that the production of M. vollenhovenii in hatchery is possible, presenting a possibility for aquaculture production of this species as well as for biological control against schistosomiasis in a tropical area