LABORATORY CULTURE OF THE 
GRASS SHRIMP 
Palaemonetes vulgaris 
by 
Thomas E. Bigford 
Environmental Research Laboratory 
United States Environmental Protection Agency 
Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882 
ABSTRACT 
Experiments have been undertaken to test the feasibility of hatching, 
rearing, and breeding an in-laboratory population of the grass shrimp, 
Palaemonetes vulgaris. Primary objectives include continual availability of all 
life stages (for use in experiments or as food organisms) and comparisons of 
lab-reared and field-collected animals. 
Systems have been designed for culturing the grass shrimp throughout its 
life cycle. Larval survival percentages reached 70 percent in the beaker and 
“hatching jar” culture systems. Up to 75 percent of these metamorphosing 
larvae survived to adult stages. Both Artemia salina and the flake food Tetra 
Marin were proven to be successful diets for P. vulgaris . 
Results indicate that P. vulgaris can be maintained and propagated in the 
laboratory. Larvae hatched in the lab have been induced to produce normal 
larvae within as little as 90 days. This generation time is apparently shorter 
than the time in field populations. 
INTRODUCTION 
Most marine biology research efforts require a consistent supply of 
experimental animals. Field-collected organisms often confer variability due to 
individual differences in life history, nutrition, etc. Many of these problems can 
be controlled by culturing the animals under rigorous, well-documented 
laboratory conditions. 
The purpose of this study was to develop and standardize laboratory 
holding and culture techniques for the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes vulgaris 
(Say). Establishment of suitable methods would permit testing of the 
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