Evaluation of five food sources in the reproduction of freshwater snails (Pomacea flagellata Say, 1827)

Abstract

Five food sources were evaluated in the reproduction of freshwater snails Pomacea flagellata lodged in a house on the old street of El Carmen, municipality of San Salvador. The investigation lasted 204 days. The snails under study were fed their respective food sources at a rate of 5g per week per individual. Five females and one male were sexed by repetition and treatment. A randomized block design was used with five treatments: T1 = ojushte leaf, T2 = chipilin leaf, T3 = banana peel, T4 = concentrate for tilapia and T5 = aquatic nymph. Variables under study were weight of the snails, oviposition, volume of ootheca, hatching onset, hatching percentage and survival of the snails at 35 days of birth. The different treatments produced the same effects on all the variables. The ojushte leaf-treatment, despite not being statistically significant, presented the best effect on the weight of the snails, with a mean of 8.16 ± 0.42 g. All treatments presented at least one oviposition, with a total of 9 ovipositions at the end of the experiment. The highest number of oviposition was observed when feeding ojushte leaves (5 ootheca); likewise, the highest volume of ootheca was achieved with a mean of 21.63 cm³ ± 11.66 cm³. This was followed by feeding with aquatic nymph, tilapia concentrate, chipilin leaf and banana peel. The shortest hatching time was 28.5 days when feeding banana peel. The best percentage of snail hatching and survival was obtained when using the ojushte leaf treatment (89.06 ± 5.70 and 89.13 ± 5.45% respectively). The main conclusion was: There were not significant differences in all the variables, but there was at least one posture in each of the different treatments. The ojushte leaf treatment presented the highest number of ovipositions and best survival of snails. Regarding cost of the different food sources for the snails, the ojushte leaf and the aquatic nymph were the lowest