Eyestalk Ablation to Increase Ovarian Maturation in Mud Crabs

Apr 17, 2023Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE

Removing Eyestalks to Speed Up Egg Development in Mud Crabs

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Abstract

Eyestalk ablation using cauterization or surgery did not result in mortality during or after the procedure.

Eyestalk ablation is associated with accelerated ovarian maturation in mud crabs.
Two techniques for eyestalk ablation are described: cauterization and surgical removal.
Sexually mature females were anesthetized at temperatures of 4 °C before the procedure.
Recovery from anesthesia was facilitated using flowing seawater at 28 °C.

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Mud crabs (Scylla spp.) are commercially important crustacean species that can be found throughout the Indo-West Pacific region. During culture, the induction of ovarian maturation is important to meet the consumer demand for mature mud crabs and hasten seed production. Eyestalk ablation is an effective tool to enhance ovarian maturation in mud crabs. However, there is no standard protocol for the eyestalk ablation of mud crabs. In this study, two eyestalk ablation techniques are described: cauterization (the use of hot metal to ablate the eyestalk of an anesthetized crab) and surgery (the removal of the eyestalk using surgical scissors). Before eyestalk ablation, sexually mature females (CW > 86 mm) were anesthetized using an ice bag (-20 °C) with seawater. When the water temperature reached 4 °C, the ice bag was removed from the water. Flowing seawater (ambient temperature: 28 °C) was used for recovery from the anesthesia immediately after eyestalk ablation. Mortality did not occur during or after the process of eyestalk ablation. The eyestalk ablation protocol presented here accelerated the ovarian maturation of the mud crabs.

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