Cultivation of shrimps treated with sulfated polysaccharides of Halymenia pseudofloresia rhodophyceae through a prophylactic strategy

Abstract

The development of strategies in the intensive cultivation of shrimps is a key element for stress prevention and infectious diseases control. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the administration of sulfated polysaccharides (SP) from the red marine algae Halymenia pseudofloresia in the development from post-larvae to juveniles of the Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp. SP were extracted by enzymatic digestion, from seaweeds collected on Flecheiras Beach/CE. The experiment was started with shrimps weighing 0.130 ± 0.016 g, which were cultured for 45 days in 38 L aquariums. The bioassay consisted of control (T1) without SP and another treatment (T2) containing 1.0 mg L^-1 of SP, with four replications each treatment, administered every 48 hours, in the water of the animals cultivation. At the 42^nd day, the suspension of SP and in the aquariums water renovation generated a situation of stress, which resulted in no significant differences in the animals’ survival rates or weight gain. However, during the compound application period, there were recorded improvements on the animals survival rate, weight gain and food consumption. The results suggest that the administration of low quantities of SP of H. pseudofloresia in the water of the juveniles L. vannamei cultivation can be a valuable tool for larviculture. The animals showed no resistance when challenged to stress.