A potential endemic cyprinid for aquaculture and food security: The embryonic development of the Bornean spotted barb Puntius sealei (Herre, 1933)

The Bornean Spotted Barb is endemic fish species and widely distributed throughout Borneo in various freshwater bodies and can be considered as a potential aquaculture candidate for food security and the ornamental trade. However there has yet to be scientific studies on the early life history and developmental stages of this species. Thus the present study reveals the embryonic development of Puntius sealei embryo, from fertilization to post-hatching using the induced breeding method. The induced spawning on P. sealei using Ovaprim hormone at a dose of 0.5 ml/kg for females and 0.25ml/kg for males respectively was successfully conducted and the embryonic development of the fertilized eggs were observed. The zygote, cleavage, blastula, gastrula, segmentation, and larval phases were the six major stages of embryogenesis that investigated in this experiment. This study contributed major knowledge to the early developmental biology of this particular species. The information will be useful for accessing the potentiality of this species for aquaculture as well as the management, and production of the species. Asian Australas. J. Food Saf. Secur. 2021, 5 (2), 55-62

Biological controls to manage Acropora-eating flatworms in coral aquaculture

Coral aquaculture is expanding to supply the marine ornamental trade and active coral reef restoration. A common pest of Acropora corals is the Acropora-eating flatworm Prosthiostomum acroporae, which can cause colonial mortality at high infestation densities on Acropora spp. We investigated the potential of 2 biological control organisms in marine aquaria for the control of P. acroporae infestations. A. millepora fragments infested with adult polyclad flatworms (5 flatworms fragment-1) or single egg clusters laid on Acropora skeleton were cohabited with either sixline wrasse Pseudocheilinus hexataenia or the peppermint shrimp Lysmata vittata and compared to a control (i.e. no predator) to assess their ability to consume P. acroporae at different life stages over 24 h. P. hexataenia consumed 100% of adult flatworms from A. millepora fragments (n = 9; 5 flatworms fragment-1), while L. vittata consumed 82.0 ± 26.76% of adult flatworms (mean ± SD; n = 20). Pseudocheilinus hexataenia did not consume any Prosthiostomum acroporae egg capsules, while L. vittata consumed 63.67 ± 43.48% (n = 20) of egg capsules on the Acropora skeletons. Mean handling losses in controls were 5.83% (shrimp system) and 7.50% (fish system) of flatworms and 2.39% (fish system) and 7.50% (shrimp system) of egg capsules. Encounters between L. vittata and P. hexataenia result in predation of P. acroporae on an Acropora coral host and represent viable biological controls for reducing infestations of P. acroporae in aquaculture systems.

First report of freshwater atyid shrimp, Caridina formosae (Decapoda: Caridea) as a host of ectosymbiotic branchiobdellidan, Holtodrilus truncatus (Annelida, Citellata)

In recent years, ornamental shrimps gained increasing popularity in the aquarium trade. Unfortunately, they are potential vectors of epibionts, which may be unintentionally introduced to aquaria with imported shrimps. This contribution presents the first report of the occurrence of Holtodrilus truncatus on aquarium freshwater shrimp Caridina formosae. A total of 120 shrimp imported from Taiwan as aquarium pets were examined for the presence of epibionts. Holtodrilus truncatus occurred in 23.3% of shrimps. A total of 29.6% of crustaceans showed signs of damages as a result of H. truncatus activity. The shrimp is not common in the ornamental trade and is not subject to selective breeding. Therefore C. formosae populations available on the market, if not wild-caught, are most likely very similar to those occurring in Taiwanese natural water bodies, where H. truncatus occurs in Neocaridina shrimp. Neocaridina spp. are a known host for this epibiont, and transmission between species might occur in nature as well as in the aquarium trade were densities of animals are often high. The ability of H. truncatus to infect also highly invasive crayfish Procambarus clarkii, might also pose concern for regions where this crustacean is widespread. The actual lack of preventive measures for shrimp epibionts as well as confirmed releases of ornamental crustaceans into new aquatic ecosystems may result in further spread of H. truncatus, a potential new threat to native crustaceans and other epibionts.

First record of the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1859) in inlandwaters of Turkey

The ever-increasing global trade of ornamental aquarium fishes is one of the most important pathways for aquatic invasion. Occurrence of ornamental freshwater fishes in natural freshwaters has been increasing in recent years. The ornamental trade accounts for a limited but steadily growing proportion of fish introductions to Turkish inlandwaters. In this study, Guppy, Peocilia reticulata, is recorded for the first time from natural inlandwaters of Turkey. P. reticulata was probably released into the wild, but is now established in aquifer of Çeşme-Ildır (İzmir).

Native species exploited by marine aquarium trade in Brazil

Brazil has an important role in marine ornamental trade, exploiting native species for both international and domestic market. A few works have previously assessed wild species exploited by the Brazilian marine aquarium industry and most of them focused solely on fish. Hence, the present paper intends to address an information gap regarding the species currently traded in the country, as well as concerning their conservation statuses. Thus, different sources of information were investigated and each species was categorized in accordance with existing lists of threatened species. A wide variety of native species was identified in Brazilian marine aquarium trade, including not only fish but also invertebrates, seaweeds and macrophytes. Some of these species were legally protected, but are still commerced anyway. Such illegal exploitation of native species causes increasing concerns about the sustainability of the activity. Therefore, in order to reduce environmental impacts caused by marine ornamental trade, Brazilian authorities should encourage the implementation of eco-fees, the purchase of eco-labeled aquarium products, the development of sustainable ornamental aquaculture and ecosystem-based management initiatives.