Mating behaviour and embryonic development of the marine ornamental shrimp, Stenopus hispidus Olivier, 1811 in captivity.

The present work was conducted to describe the mating behaviour and embryonic development of the marine ornamental shrimp Stenopus hispidus. Twenty adult Stenopus hispidus were collected from the lagoons of Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, and raised as breeding pairs in captivity. The pairs were individually maintained in the aquaria under constant conditions of salinity (36–37 ppt), temperature (29–30 °C), and photoperiod (12 L:12 D). The results reveal that spawning and fertilization often occurred between 20 and 60 min after mating activity. The mean fecundity of the species was 4000 ± 150 eggs per shrimp, and the volume of eggs ranged from 0.33 to 0.58 mm3. During the incubating period, the colour of the eggs changed from pale green to tawny with dark spots prior to hatching. The observations on moulting, mating, spawning, and hatching were recorded for three consecutive reproductive cycles. The hatching process often took place at dusk, from 18:30 to 19:00. The investigation also showed that the marine ornamental shrimp was a successive breeder with a typical reproductive cycle with an average of 16.25 days. The results revealed that the eggs of S. hispidus completed embryonic development within 15–16 days at 29–30 °C passing through seven phases, such as the cleavage, blastula, gastrula, pre-nauplius, nauplius, post-nauplius, and complete embryo stages. The present study constitutes the first complete description of the embryonic development of the ornamental shrimp, S. hispidus in captivity, forming the baseline data for its aquaculture. The classification of embryonic development obtained is suitable for comparative purposes and was determined in captive conditions. • First complete description on the embryonic development of the ornamental shrimp, S. hispidus in captivity. • Information on embryogenesis is essential for studying the developmental process and physiological regulatory mechanisms. • Embryological studies help in designing reproductive protocols and standardisation of captive breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]