Ammonia toxicity and its effect on the growth of the South African abalone Haliotis midae Linnaeus

Abstract The current study investigated acute toxicity to ammonia of the South African abalone, Haliotis midae , from three size classes relevant to mariculture operations, and the chronic impact of sub-lethal ammonia levels on growth of juvenile abalone. Results showed that tolerance to ammonia (at pH 7.8 and T a  = 15 °C) increases with body size (i.e. age) as indicated by 36 h LC 50 values: juvenile abalone (1–2.5 cm shell length) had the lowest LC 50 of 9.8 μg l − 1 FAN, whereas LC 50 was 12.9 μg l − 1 FAN in “cocktail”-size abalone (5–8 cm shell length). The highest LC 50 of 16.4 μg l − 1 FAN was observed in “brood stock”-size animals (10–15 cm). When “cocktail”-size abalone were allowed to acclimatize to sub-lethal ammonia levels for 48 h, their ammonia tolerance increased compared with non-acclimatized abalone of the same size: LC 50 was 2.0 μg l − 1 FAN higher at 14.8 μg l − 1 FAN. Growth of juvenile abalone (1–2.5 cm shell length) during chronic exposure to sub-lethal FAN levels is inhibited: specific growth rate (SGR) is significantly reduced by 58.7% to 0.10 ± 0.03% d − 1 (weight) compared with 0.24 ± 0.06% d − 1 of abalone of a control group (no ammonia). The results demonstrate the negative effects of ammonia not only on survival but also on growth of farmed abalone, both impair profitability of the farming operation. The information from the present study will be helpful in determining water quality requirements in South African abalone farms.