Effects of Rearing Density on Growth of the Polychaete Rockworm Marphysa sanguinea

Effects of rearing density on growth and survival of the polychaete rockworm Marphysa sanguinea have been investigated in order to develop rearing techniques for this species. This study was examined over a nine-month period in the Fisheries Science and Technology Center of Pukyong National University. Three rockworm densities, 500, 1,000 and $2,000worms{\cdot}m^{-2}$ with weight ranges of < 0.5 g, 0.6-1.5 g, and 1.6-2.5 g, and the no feed control treatment, were stocked in triplicate $0.10m^2$ boxes with sand bottoms. Growth rates were checked with 15 randomly sampled rockworms from each box at months 3, 6 and 9. Results showed that SGRs in all treatments were higher during the first period (0-3 months) than the second (3-6 months) and third periods (6-9 months) for all treatment densities, while SGRs decreased with increasing density. However, survival and growth of worms at high density was not better than low density, but daily biomass production in medium and high density groups was $6.28gm^{-2}day^{-1}$ for the rockworms of 0.6-1.5 g with $2,000inds{\cdot}m^{-2}$, and $12.6gm^{-2}day^{-1}$ for group between 1.6-2.5 g with $2,000inds{\cdot}m^{-2}$, and $14.7gm^{-2}day^{-1}$ for the group of individuals <0.5 g with $1,000inds{\cdot}m^{-2}$. Results showed that M. sanguinea can be one of the most suitable species to commercially exploit in a farming system. In particular, specified densities permit elevated pure production.