Effect of light and aeration on the metamorphosis rate from nauplii to protozoea and larval quality of Litopenaeus vannamei

In order to determine the optimal ranges of the factors light intensity and aeration that reflect the best rate of metamorphosis from nauplii to the first protozoea stage of Litopenaeus vannamei, and also the highest quality of the larvae, two separate experiments were carried out. The nauplii were exposed to four different light intensities (0; 5,000; 10,000; and 15,000 lux) and four aeration conditions (static, low, medium and strong). The data were subjected to one-way ANOVA (significance level of 5%), followed by Tukey test for comparison of means. There were no significant differences between the percentages of metamorphosis under the different conditions of light and aeration that were tested (P>0.05). However, the score of the quality of the larvae was significantly lower (P