Effect of stocking density on the growth and settlement of Haliotis discus hannai larvae in a recirculating aquaculture system

Settlement and metamorphosis is the key stage during which Haliotis discus hannai larvae change from planktonic to benthic life. Larvae tend to be highly sensitive to changes in the external environment, which can result in increased mortality. In the aquaculture industry, increasing the metamorphosis rate of larvae is considered to be a critical factor for increasing yield. In this study, we modified a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) for dense rearing of abalone larvae. We set up five density groups (1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 ind/ml) and compared the effects of traditional aquaculture (TA) and the RAS on the hatching success rate, metamorphosis rate and the expression levels of metamorphosis-related genes. At stocking densities of 1, 5 and 10 ind/ml, the survival rate, metamorphosis rate and expression levels of MIRP, alpha 2ADR and DopR2 in both culture modes were significantly higher than those in the 20 and 40 ind/ml densities (p < 0.05). The metamorphosis rate and survival rate of larvae in the RAS groups were significantly higher than those in the TA groups (p < 0.05). Under TA at the 40 ind/ml stocking density, the dissolved oxygen concentration in the water declined and the TAN concentration significantly increased (p < 0.05). As the stocking density increased, the size of metamorphosed larvae under each mode tended to increase in both culture modes. In particular, when the density was highest, the time required for metamorphosis was significantly extended (p < 0.05). Based these results, use of the RAS with stocking density of 10 ind/ml would maintain a stable aquaculture water environment, prevent fertilized eggs from hatching or becoming densely aggregated before larval metamorphosis, and significantly increase the stocking density per unit water. These results provide an important reference for scaling up reproduction of larval abalone and further developing the culture mode for this economically important shellfish.