Variations in Weight and Proximate Composition of Newly Hatched Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier 1797) Paralarvae

Abstract

Survival and growth of juvenile octopi vary considerably. The objective of this research was to determine variations in weight, total lipids (TL), and total protein (TP) of newly hatched Octopus vulgaris paralarvae (0 days old) over the course of the spawning period. Newly hatched paralarvae dry weight from three females decreased throughout the spawning period. Similarly, newly hatched paralarvae TL percent decreased consistently (p < 0.05) in two of them and remained similar (p > 0.05) for the third female. Contrary, TP% did not vary regardless of the female or the time of hatching throughout paralarvae spawning. In conclusion, we believe that paralarvae used in O. vulgaris culture should be collected during the first 10 days of spawning, as they are larger and have higher lipid content; this increases the chances of a successful paralarvae culture, which is the major bottleneck in the culture of this species.

Keywords:

• Lipids
• Octopus vulgaris
• paralarvae quality
• proteins
• proximal composition
• weight

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the projects OCTOPPHYS-MICIN and NUTRIPULPO by the national Plan JACUMAR from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture.