Anodonta grandis as a potential new species for freshwater aquaculture

Abstract

A series of experiments was conducted to test the suitability of the freshwater mussel Anodonta grandis as a candidate species for aquaculture in the Dominican Republic. Polyculture experiments with the freshwater prawn resulted in a moderate positive change in size distribution with more prawns closer to the average values and an estimated production of 2.27 ton/ha/year. A simultaneous crop of Anodonta was produced in 4 months. Estimated production was 2.73 ton/ha/year at an initial stocking size of 2.5 cm. Cumulative mussel mortality was below 3%. Reproduction experiments indicated that oxytocin injection at 4-10 ul/g into the mantle of sexually mature mussels was the best agent for inducing glochidia release. Fish host experiments demonstrated that although Anodonta glochidia were able to infest the three tested species, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) appeared to be the most appropriate host. Filtration experiments performed using algae cultures indicated a low filtration rate (75 ml/h/mussel), which appeared to be independent of the algae species used. This low rate of filtration may allow for increased stocking rates (up to 200/m2) in grow-out operations, according to mussel pond carrying capacity equations. The ability of Anodonta to filter cyanobacteria may prove of utility as a part of a bloom-controlling system in outdoor aquaculture.