Preliminary assessment of a microencapsulated diet for larval culture of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea commercialis (Iredale & Roughley)

Abstract

A microencapsulated artificial diet was assessed against a standard diet of micro algae in rearing larvae of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea commercialis (Iredale & Roughley). Unfed control larvae did not develop beyond the straight-hinge stage during the 8-day experiment, whereas those receiving exogenous nutrients, either microalgae or the artificial diet, reached umbone stage. The artificial diet supported larval growth in excess of 80% that of algae-fed larvae in terms of shell length increment; however, there was no significant difference in ash-free dry weight increment between larvae fed the artificial diet and those fed microalgae. Dissolved yeast extract did not enhance larval growth when used as a supplement to the microcapsules. The relative growth rates obtained are the best to date for oyster larvae reared on an artificial diet. The artificial diet used will serve as a benchmark for future nutritional studies with S. commercialis larvae, allowing further development of artificial diets for this species.