Study on the effect of stocking density on the growth and survival rate of razor clam cultellus maximus at the grow - out stage

Abstract

The study was aimed to evaluate the effect of stocking density on the growth and survival rate of razor clam Cultellus maximus at the grow-out stage. The experiment was conducted at density of 10, 20, and 30ind/m2 with three replications. The juvenile razor clam C. maximus with an initial length of 5.10 ± 0.8 cm (4.34 ± 1.19g)/ per individual were chosen. Growth in live weight and shell length was measured weekly for the three different stock groups. Water quality parameters as temperature, salinity, pH, TAN, NO2, NO3, kH and H2S were in a suitable range for razor clam culture. After 16 weeks of culture, the results indicated that the most significant length of 9.63 cm and weight 21.31 g was obtained from the treatment 10 ind/m2 and the highest survival rate in the treatment, up to 82 ± 2 %. There was a significant difference among the three treatments for growth and survival rate (p < 0.05). Our findings suggested that juvenile razor clam C. maximus should be stocked at the level of 10 ind/m2. However, further studies are needed in different locations to ensure the effectiveness of low stocking density in each region. Our results provide a reference standard for farmers and future studies.