Culture of the gastropod Pomacea dolioides (Reeve, 1856): effects of calcium on growth, survival and shell regeneration

Gastropods of the genus Pomacea are exploited for food in different parts of the world. Pomacea dolioides has recently received attention on its stocking density and meat characteristics, remaining a gap on the effects of calcium in its cultivation. The present study evaluated the influence of calcium dissolved in water on the culture of the gastropod P. dolioides considering the growth, weight, survival, ultrastructure, and shell regeneration time. Juveniles were distributed into six treatments with different concentrations of Ca2+. The calcium dissolved in water was essential, as gastropod did not survive for more than 40 days without calcium. Also it showed greater growth and fattening with 60 mg*L-1 of CaSO4 or more, in addition to a thicker shell with two layers of crystals. The calcium carbonate content in the shells was significantly higher in the treatment with 80 mg*L-1 of CaSO4. The regeneration time did not differ between treatments. Based on these results, it was concluded that the calcium dissolved in the water influences the culture of the gastropod P. dolioides in relation to the length, inorganic and organic weight and calcium of the snail, and 80 mg*L-1 of CaSO4 is the ideal concentration to culture species.