INFLUÊNCIA DA REFRIGERAÇÃO NA PRESERVAÇÃO DO NÚMERO TOTAL DE HEMÓCITOS DE CAMARÕES MARINHOS Litopenaeus vannamei CULTIVADOS UTILIZANDO-SE CITRATO DE SÓDIO

For carrying out blood cell count, the use anti-coagulants is necessary, and in the specific case of the hemolymph in shrimp, there is still no standard solution to avoid its coagulation. Sodium citrate is frequently used as anti-coagulant, because it has been previously proven to be efficient in the preservation of the hemocytes of the sea shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. In 140 samples of hemolymph with sodium citrate (10%) in the ratio of 1:1, collected at 2 stages of cultivation, in dry and wet season, were examined for HTC immediately after collection and then again after storage in the refrigerator. All data were analyzed using modeling mathematics formulas (P < 0.05). After storage in the refrigerator, the number of cells decreased considerably. Therefore, the anticoagulant sodium citrate only preserved the hemolymph of the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei for HTC when the count was done immediately after collection.