Cultivo, desenvolvimento morfológico, crescimento e sobrevivência de Hippocampus reidi (Teleostei: Syngnathidae): Nascimento ao 63° dia

Abstract

The demand in Brazil for studies that evaluate the viability of seahorse aquaculture is urgent, given that our country is a leading exporter of these fishes for ornamental purposes. The results presented in this study were obtained from experiments conducted at LAPEC (Laboratório de Peixes – Ecologia e Conservação), Universidade Federal da Paraíba, and focused on feeding, growth and morphological development of the early stages of H. reidi. The following questions served as the main guidelines for the study: 1) Can the early stages of Hippocampus reidi successfully cultivated using diets based on Artemia enriched with low cost and easily accessible supplements? 2) Will the type of product used to enrich the food influence the growth and survival of juveniles of H. reidi? 3) Are there peaks in mortality during the initial phase? In the experiments, we used five offsprings of H. reidi, which were kept in 12 liters aquária, integrated with a water recirculation system with mechanical filters, UV filter, biological filter and skimmer. The experimente comprised six treatments, as follows: Ac – Artemia enriched for 24 hours with a shrimp-based emulsion; Ag - Artemia enriched for 24 hours with the trophic substance glutamine; Ap - Artemia enriched for 24 hours with a fish-based emulsion; Apc - Artemia enriched for 24 hours with a fish + shrimp-based emulsion; As - Artemia enriched for 24 hours with the commercial emulsion DC-DHASELCO; An – newly hatched Artemia. As in other studied species of Hippocampus, H. reidi exhibited allometric growth patterns in the head and in tail regions; values obtained in terms of growth and survival rates, values of Condition Factor and Food Convertion rate at the end of sampling period (63º day) were close to those recorded for the genus Hippocampus. The results suggest the possibility of using alternative enrichments (in relation to commercial enrichers) to cultivate the initial phases of H. reidi. Therefore, this work represent na additional step in Brazil for research directed to seahorse aquaculture, without depending on the wild-caught food.