Influence of salinity on hatching rate, larval and early juvenile rearing of sea cucumber Holothuria scabra Jaeger

The fertilized eggs, auricularia larvae and one month old juveniles of Holothuria scabra, obtained from \ninduced spawning were used for various experiments to assess the effect of salinity on hatching rate and \nlarval and early juvenile growth. The experiments were conducted for two days on hatching rate of \nfertilized eggs, for ten days on larval survival, growth and development and for 30 days on juvenile’s \ngrowth rate. The maximum hatching of 39% at 35 ppt, followed by 32% at 33 ppt indicated the suitability \nof an ambient salinity of 33 to 35 ppt for effective hatching of fertilized eggs. High survival, growth \nrate and fastest development of auricularia were obtained at salinity between 33 and 35 ppt. The maximum \ngrowth rate in length and weight, was at 30 ppt, which may be the optimum for juvenile rearing. \nThe one way ANOVA on differences in the hatching rate, larval growth and survival rate and juvenile \ngrowth rate at different salinities indicated high level of significance (p<0.001 ).