Optimization of forage in two food-filtering organisms with the use of a continuous, low-food concentration, agricultural drip system

An alternative feeding system for food-filtering organisms in hatcheries is presented. The system consists of a modified agricultural irrigation drip system. The use of this system allows for a continuous water flow and a permanent supply of food in multiple rearing tanks. The system was evaluated using two experimental subjects; white shrimp larvae (Penaeus vannamei) and catarina scallop (Argopecten ventricosus) broodstock. Shrimp larvae under this system grew larger and had a higher survival than those grown under a no-flow, batch-feeding system. Also, this rearing system resulted in a reduction of differences between shrimp larvae derived from spawns of different quality, evidenced by a reduction in the between-family variance component when using it versus a batch, no-flow system. For scallop broodstock, the use of this system optimized forage, inasmuch as it provided a constant supply of food that resulted in a steady removal rate of microalgae by the scallops. That result contrasted with the batch, no-flow system for conditioning scallop broodstock, for which the large amounts of food required during maturation conditioning, added in intervals, resulted in pseudofeces produced and in a large variation in food availability and therefore also of the microalgae removal rate.